"Big Bill" Broonzy is one of the most popular and important figures of the
early Chicago blues scene. Broonzy was able to combine elements of folk,
country and urban sounds in his songs. Broonzy often wrote about African-American
dignity. Two of his most famous songs are "Key to the Highway" and
"When Do I Get to be Called a Man".
Broonzy was born in Scott, Mississippi on June 26, 1893. As a young child,
Broonzy learned to play the fiddle and worked for tips at picnics and dances.
He played in churches and began to serve as a country preacher.
Broonzy served in the army in WWI and shortly after returning, moved to Chicago.
A local guitarist, Papa Charlie Jackson, gave Big Bill some pointers and
soon he was deeply involved in the blues scene of Chicago. He made his
first records by the mid 1920's. By the 1930's, he had befriended and
played with such legends as Memphis Minnie, Tampa Red, Memphis Slim,
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Jazz Gillum and Washboard Sam. They were
known as the Bluebird Beat around town because they all recorded at Bluebird Records.
Broonzy also became a part of John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing concerts
at New York's Carnegie Hall.
In the late 1940's blues had evolved into a more electric sound and
Broonzy's style had become old-fashioned. So, he toured Europe in 1951 and 1952
and introduced European audiences to traditional blues and African-American
folk songs and spirituals. Broonzy was one of the very first blues artists
to tour Europe. Big Bill also wrote his autobiography, Big Bill's Blues,
which was published in 1955. In 1957, he was diagnosed with throat cancer
and passed away a year later. He was an active musician up until his death.
In 1980, Big Bill Broonzy was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame.
His cd, Good Time Tonight, includes 20 tracks from the height of his career.
"baby please don't go"
