Sonny Boy Williamson

Sonny Boy's from my hometown of Jackson, Tennesse (also the hometown of Casey Jones, Carl Perkins, Gil Scott Heron, and that dude that wrote "Silence of the Lambs"). The first widely recognized bluesman of the day to play harmonica as a lead instrument, he released a handful of recordings between 1937 and his death in the late 40's. Sonny Boy lived the life he sang about, to the extent that his fast living ultimately caught up with him. One of his girlfriend's jealous girlfriends stabbed him 17 times through the skull w/an icepick and left him for dead. If that shit ain't real I don't know what is. When Sonny Boy sings "I got so many women, I just don't know who i love," you know he's not putting up a front. The same goes for the rest of his material. Sonny Boy flawlessly exhibits the best aspects of the blues with a brutally honest sense of hopeful desperation and a yearning to overcome all of life's hardships through whiskey and song.If you enjoy delta blues like Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Mctell, Leadbelly ,John Lee Hooker, etc. Sonny Boy is an essential addition to your daily listening.