Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Sonny Boy Williamson II (* December 5, 1899 or 1912 in Glendora, Mississippi, † May 25, 1965 in Helena, Arkansas, real name Aleck / Alex " Rice " Miller ) was an American blues musician.
Life and work
Sonny Boy Williamson II was an illegitimate son of Millie Ford, who then took the surname of his stepfather, Jim Miller. Around 1920, he taught himself the harmonica. Later, he was considered one of the most inspiring harmonica players of the blues. In the 30s, he married Mary Burnett, sister of Chester Burnett, who later Howlin 'Wolf was called. During this time the two played together from time to time. Otherwise, Williamson played a few weeks or months together with musicians such as Elmore James, Willie Love, and Robert Johnson. The main partner of this period, however, was Robert Lockwood, Robert called Junior. They appeared for the first time in 1931, and toured together from 1938 through the southern United States.
On November 19, 1941, the duo made his first appearance on the radio. At this time, put to Sonny Boy Williamson and his artist name. Since there was already a well-known blues musician named Sonny Boy Williamson, he is known as " Sonny Boy Williamson II ". In 1951, he took the piece Eyesight to the blind on which he blind in Chicago later recorded under the name Born again. This piece can also be found on the album Tommy by The Who again. Over the next four years, he took on a further nine albums. From 1954 his wife lived in Milwaukee, while with Baby Boy Warren, he made recordings in Chicago and Tampa Red in Detroit. He later came to be more precise contract to Chess Records. A big hit was in 1955 with Sonny Boy Do not start me talkin '. On this recording musicians such as Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Jimmy Rogers and Fred Below are heard. With Chess he met again on Robert Lockwood, with whom he made the next five years more pictures. Then he took a hiatus.
On January 12, 1963 Sonny Boy returned after a long break again in the Chess studios back. There the song Help Me The B-side Bye bye bird was recorded by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers in their program. Thanks to this success, he went on an extended tour of Europe, where he performed, among others, Chris Barber, the Yardbirds, the Animals, Jimmy Page and Brian Auger. With the Yardbirds and the Animals he took this case each a live album. But he had when his visa expired, return to the U.S. again. 1965 Sonny Boy Williamson II traveled to Helena to perform there. During this appearance watched his guitarist Robbie Robertson that he constantly spitting blood into her handkerchief. On May 25, 1965 he was found dead in his bed and in Tutwiler, Mississippi, buried.
He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame posthumously in 1980.