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John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson
The Blues Harmonica of Chicago's Bronzeville
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2016
Summary
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson was one of the most popular blues harmonica players and singers from the late 1930s through the 1940s. Recording for the Bluebird Records and RCA Victor labels, Sonny Boy shaped Chicago's music scene with an innovative style that gave structure and speed to blues harmonica performance. His recording in 1937 of "Good Morning, School Girl," followed by others made him a hit with Southern black audiences who had migrated north. Unfortunately, his popularity and recording career ended on June 1, 1948, when he was robbed and murdered in Chicago, Illinois. In 1980, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.
Mitsutoshi Inaba offers the first full-length biography of this key figure in the evolution of the Chicago blues. Taking readers through Sonny Boy's career, Inaba illustrates how Sonny Boy lived through the lineage of blues harmonica performance, drawing on established traditions and setting out a blueprint for the growing electric blues scene. Interviews with Sonny Boy's family members and his last harmonica student provide new insights into the character of the man as well as the techniques of the musician.
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson: The Blues Harmonica of Chicago's Bronzeville provides fans and musicians alike an invaluable exploration of the life and legacy of one the Chicago blues' founding figures.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2016
ISBN-Print
978-1-4422-5442-8
ISBN-Online
978-1-4422-5443-5
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
227
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Series Foreword No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction No access
1 Learning the Blues No access Pages 1 - 14
2 Reaching New Heights No access Pages 15 - 52
3 Windy City Blues No access Pages 53 - 88
4 The Sound of Bronzeville No access Pages 89 - 118
