Nice photo up there, no? The full size version is something to behold. It may be the best studio photo of Sonny Boy Williamson that exists and it can be found here in all it's high resolution glory. That's the real reason for this post, the music's just a little padding.
Williamson was, of course, a great harp player, but he was an even better bullshitter, so much so that no one actually knows when he was born. When he went to Europe in the sixties, towards the end of his career, he found appreciative new fans and wide acclaim courtesy of the British blues craze. Alas, his bullshitting was so known by then that when he returned many of his peers didn't believe that he went anywhere near Europe.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:Sonny Boy Williamson - Eyesight to the Blind mp3 at Willy's New Joint
Sonny Boy Williamson - Dissatisfied mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Sonny Boy WillIamson - Don't Start Me Talkin' mp3 at Madison Amps (?)
Token oddball cover:
Bob Dylan - Don't Start Me Talkin' (live) mp3 at Nu Rave Brain Wave
Visit:
Sonny Boy Willamson at Wikipedia
Full size Sonny Boy - high resolution version of the photo above here
2 comments:
I visited Sonny Boy's grave in Mississippi, in 2016. He lived in one of the toughest parts of the U.S...There are still plantations there, where people have little alternative other than picking cotton. Tragically, he encountered BAD TROUBLE as a younger man. He very well might have wound up lynched or in the nearby grim penitentiary in Tutweiler, had he not shifted his identity. The racism, until his death in the 60s, was so bad, that he lived out his life fearing the past. To dismiss him as a bullshitter shows poor insight into the life and times of this genius. The photo in this blog is embossed upon his headstone. If you visit his grave or nearby Clarksdale, you will see the dangerous poverty, still in existence, in these parts. Go early in the day - you will NOT want to be there after dark! The good news is that fine performances and recordings live on via YouTube. Gair Linhart, La Joya, NM gairlinhart.com
Dude, I wasn't there. I'm mot dismissing him as a bullshitter. Added emphasis this time: "Alas, his bullshitting was so known by then that when he returned MANY OF HIS PEERS didn't believe that he went anywhere near Europe."
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