John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson Harmonica Legend by Adams Gussow

This is so cool I really hope all the blues harmonica players out there watch this video. Adam Gussow gives a very interesting lecture on the importance of Sonny Boy Williamson to the modern blues scene.

Notes from YouTube

Sonny Boy Williamson? Many people--even those who aren't harmonica players or fans of the blues--have heard of him. But there were TWO great harmonica players named Sonny Boy Williamson, and many people don't know much about the first one: John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, native of Jackson, Tennessee.

At the invitation of Sonny Boy archivist and gravesite preservationist Michael Baker, University of Mississippi blues scholar and harmonica player Adam Gussow visited the Jackson-Madison Country Library in May 2011 to give a lecture/demonstration on the artistry of John Lee Williamson. Gussow's researches into the publishing history of Williamson's songs not only make clear that confusion about the "two Sonny Boys" exists at the highest level--i.e., where the money is being made--but suggests that Williamson's primary music publisher, Arc Music, has evolved a startling and hilarious way of drawing attention to his most widely covered song, "Good Morning Little School Girl."

Credit for the film production goes to: Steve Bowers / Baltimore Street Productions 124 E. Baltimore Street, Suite 222 Jackson, TN 38301 Produced for E+TV6 Jackson, TN

If you'd like to learn how to play blues harmonica, please visit Gussow's website, Modern Blues Harmonica:

http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com

Gussow's one-man band version of Williamson's "Good Morning Little School Girl" is available on iTunes and Amazon mp3s. If you're interested in learning this song, a video lesson and tab are available at Modern Blues Harmonica:

video: http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2721206-good-morning-little-school-girl-gussow-mov

tab: http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2721207-good-morning-little-school-girl-gussow-pdf

Sonny Boy Williamson — Polly Put Your Kettle On

Now oh little Susie
How I love you
Nothin' in the world
Gonna make me wor' you

Sonny Boy Williamson - Cross My Heart

Website with full bio here

'Sonny Boy Williamson II, nicknamed "King of the Harmonica" by his peers, was one of the most inspiring harp players in blues history.'

If you cross your heart to someone
You`re not supposed to tell a lie
If you cross your heart to someone
You`re not supposed to tell a lie
Before you say a wrong
Or either do wrong
It have to be so long
Or either goodbye

What's the stone-cold nastiest blues you know?

Check out I'm Gonna Murder my Baby by Pat Hare. Even the guitar licks are nasty.

Pat Hare played with a bunch of different guys in Memphis in the 50s. Here he is with Junior Parker, Feelin so Bad...


Here's Sonny Boy Williamson - I'm a Lonely Man


I eat my breakfast in the mornin, my teeth and tongue begin to fight...

Here's Guy Clark's Dublin Blues

A Good Blues Name

In the history of the blues, it's been important to have a good blues name. There are numerous approaches. One is to have a descriptor tacked on in front of an ordinary name. For instance, who wants to hear a singer named Joe Hunter? Mundane, right? But Ivory Joe Hunter, now that's a whole other ballgame. Naturally Ivory Joe Hunter has to be a piano player because he tickles the ivories.

Here's Ivory Joe Hunter with one of his most popular tunes, Since I met you Baby.


Another approach is to have a name that specifically refers to something else altogether. For instance, Muddy Waters refers to the Mississippi and he's from Mississippi so his name embodies all that history. Howlin Wolf refers to Chester Burnett's vocal style. Of course, it's possible to introduce a little humour too. For instance, a guitar player named Eddy Harrington started calling himself Eddy Clearwater, obviously a different kind of player than Muddy Waters, right? I like Eddy Clearwater's music. I've attended a number of his shows, including a couple in a club he ran for a while in Chicago's Wicker Park area. Eddy also has another nickname. He's known as The Chief. Just to make sure you remember he's The Chief he occasionally wears an Indian head-dress on-stage.
Here's an interview with Mr. Clearwater.

And here he is, doing his thing...

Finally, let's look at a name that is just plain stolen. First there was John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, and what a great harp player he was.
Here's Bluebird Blues

Then, years later along came another remarkable harmonica player named Aleck Ford, who was also known as Aleck Miller or Rice Miller. He changed his name to Sonny Boy Williamson, maybe to capitalize on the success of his predecessor. In spite of this strange name business, the second Sonny Boy developed a very distinctive style. He was a great player, maybe my favourite harmonica player.
Here's Your Funeral and My Trial

The Unemployment Blues

I have always thought that blues music reflects what is going on in the US well. Right now unemployment is high, this is not the first time that this has happened in this country. And blues musicians have documented it and offered over the years
some hope and escape from the frustration of not having a job.

The Y! Raddish Blog put together a play list of blues songs about Unemployment.

I thought it would be cool to see how many of the videos I could find at YouTube, plus some others that fit the theme. Enjoy, and if you are unemployed, here is hoping that you find a job soon.

Big Bill Broonzy @SqueezeMyLemon

Skip James @SqueezeMyLemon

Hank Williams Jr @SqueezeMyLemon

Harmonica Shah @SqueezeMyLemon

Ramblin' Thomas @SqueezeMyLemon

Sonny Boy Williamson @SqueezeMyLemon

Sonny Boy Williamson I - Southern Dream Lyrics

Southern Dream Track #22 2:44
Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee Williamson)
Chicago, November 12, 1947
with Blind John Davis - piano, Big Bill Broonzy - guitar
Ransom Knowling - sbass, Judge Riley - drums
Album Complete Recorded Works Vol 5
October 19, 1945 - November 12, 1947
Document Records DOCD 5059

Well now, I've gotta girl
A-sweet sixteen
Her mother wouldn't listen
To her dreams

I know she was a-dreamin'
She dreamed them old southern dreams
She was the dreamest girl
The dreamest girl I most ever seen

Now, she dreamed I was kissin' her
A-down by the mill
She'd dream that she'd taken me from
The girl on the hill

I know she was a dreamer, now
She dreamed them old southern dreams
She was the dreamest girl
The dreamest girl I most ever seen, yeah

(harmonica & instrumental)

Now she dreamin' I was kissin' her
Hold her close to my breast
She told that much a-dream, but
She wouldn't tell the rest

I know she was a dreamer, now
She dreamed them old southern dreams
She was the dreamest girl
The dreamest girl I most ever seen

Well, she know'd about lovin'
From huggin' on down
She was the dreamest girl
From miles around

I know she was a dreamer
She dreamed them old southern dreams, yeah
She was a dreamest girl
The dreamest girl I most ever seen

Well, she tried to tell her mother
A-what she did
She talked so much
She couldn't hardly l keep it hid

An I know she was a dearmer
She dreamed them old southern dreams
She was the dreamest girl
The dreamest girl I most ever seen.

(harmonica & instrumental to end)

Sonny Boy Williamson I Documentary Clips

Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 5 (1945-1947)

Here is a short documentary film on the life of Sonny Boy Williamson, a pioneer of blues harmonica playing. Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Curtis Williamson, was born on 30 March 1914 and he was murdered on 1 June, 1948. He was first popular harmonica player to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.

The film clips below give excellent bio information of Sonny Boy Williamson and shows photos of him and his wife.

I think that this film is important because I have noticed that some modern blues fans don't know that difference between Sonny Boy Williamson and Rice Miller. And I believe as a harmonica player it is important to study the playing of Sonny Boy Williamson.





Sonny Boy Williamson I @SqueezeMyLemon

Sonny Boy Williamson I @Amazon.com

The Men Behind The Bluesmen: Lester Melrose

Lester Melrose was born on December 14, 1891 and he passed away on April 12, 1968. He was one of the first producers of blues records.

According to Wikipedia;

...a freelance A & R man, combining the roles of talent scout and record producer. He started to promote many blues artists who became popular, recording them mainly in Chicago. His first big success was "It's Tight Like That" with Tampa Red and soon-to-be gospel music legend Thomas A. Dorsey, then still known as Georgia Tom.

He worked for several record companies simultaneously in the 1930s, including RCA Victor and its subsidiary Bluebird records, Columbia records, and Okeh Records. Among the artists he recorded and brought to the world's attention were Joe "King" Oliver, Big Bill Broonzy, the first Sonny Boy Williamson, Memphis Minnie, Roosevelt Sykes, Lonnie Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Bukka White, Washboard Sam, Champion Jack Dupree, Jazz Gillum, Big Boy Crudup, Victoria Spivey and Leroy Carr.

You can read about Lester Melrose and many of the early pioneers of blues music in the book below;

Romancing the Folk: Public Memory and American Roots Music (Cultural Studies of the United States)

musicians @SML who worked with Lester Melrose

Tampa Red,
Big Bill Broonzy ,
Sonny Boy Williamson,
Memphis Minnie,
Lonnie Johnson,
Victoria Spivey,
Leroy Carr,

Blues songs about War Question

Someone asked the question over at Yahoo Answers; Do you know of any blues songs about war?

My Answer

Yes, during Vietnam many blues musicians sang songs that mention that war.

"Vietnam Blues" by JB Lenoir


B.B. King has a couple of songs where he mentions returning from Vietnam.

Sonny Boy Williamson I also sang songs about WWII, as probably other musicians too. See his Decoration Day Blues No. 2 his album Essential Sonny Boy Williamson.

Sonny Boy Williamson


Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Williamson)@SqueezeMyLemon

J.B. Lenoir @SqueezeMyLemon

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - Yardbirds - Budy Guy Video

You would think that I should just be able to post what ever I want to any of my blogs right? Well I try very hard to keep this blog just to blues, and for a while there I really only focused on the pre-war and post war blues musicians.

Then I thought, dude that is way too narrow of a concentration. You need to open up to some of the more contemporary forms of the blues and also some other styles too. Which I figure we will all enjoy. One kind of blues that I plan to post more of is British blues, which I like a lot.

Well it is back to school time, and I thought I would post the song, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" which was written by Sonny Boy Williams I. I have always liked this song, I mean it goes way back to when I was myself a schoolboy.

Well anyway, I'm thinking that the Yardbirds are a British Rock band, so there version should do well. But it sounds a little too much like a Rock song to me so I include Buddy Guy's version which is as blues and you can get. Not that I don't love rock, but that is just not what we are about here at SML. That's all I'm saying.

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - Yardbirds


Buddy Guy - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

Top 10 Blues Harmonica Players

Here is my list of my top 10 favorite blues harmonica players. In loose order, the people listed below #6 can change depending on my mood, the first five guys are set in stone in my opinion. Feel free to leave me a comment with your top 10 favorites.

01. Sonny Boy Williamson II (Alek Rice Miller)
02. Lil Walter
03. Sonny Terry
04. Junior Wells
05. Sonny Boy Williamson I
06. Jimmy Reed
07. James Cotton
08. Charlie Musselwhite
09. Sugar Blue
10. Big Walter Horton

iTunes Store Music

file under;
blues, harmonica

Sonny Boy Williamson I mp3s: Will The Real Sonny Boy Please Stand Up?

OK, in my last couple of post I have been going on and on about my man Sonny Boy Williamson II (Alek Rice Miller), now it is true that pound for pound he is my favorite blues harmonica player. I think this is because he has a more polished and modern sound and he was a master of the harp. And as I am sure you can see from the last two videos he was an excellent showmen and knew how to play the blues.

However he is not the original Sonny Boy Williamson, as a matter of fact he took that name from a harmonica virtuoso by the name of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson who lived and recorded during the late thirties. And I would say that if you are a blues harmonica player or you want to become one you need to become familiar with Sonny Boy Williamson's music. He played with grace and style and he engaged in breathtaking harmonica feats. When you combine that with his particular vocal style of mumbling the words, his music is irresistible.

A friend of the prewar Chicago blues giant, Big Bill Bronnzy, he was murdered at the peak of his fame, at the age of thirty-four. Still he left a mark on blues history and the themes of his music and his style influenced many blues and rock artists to come. His music has been covered by many performers. And finally I would say that if he had not been cut down at such a young age, he may have eclipsed Sonny Boy Williamson II, the pretender.

mp3s by John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson;

Sonny Boy Williamson I - Bad Luck Blues mp3

Sonny Boy Williamson I - New Early In The Morning mp3

Sonny Boy Williamson I - Check Up On My Baby Blues mp3

And if you would like to hear the real Sonny Boy Williamson in all his glory, check these out;

Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Williamson) Complete Recorded Works I (1937-1938)

Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Williamson) Bring Another Half Pint

Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Williamson) Vol. 2 1940/1942

file under;
mp3, blues, music, Sonny Boy Williamson I, harmonica