Aleck "Rice" Miller (December 5, 1899 – May 25, 1965), also known as Sonny … Read Full Bio ↴Aleck "Rice" Miller (December 5, 1899 – May 25, 1965), also known as Sonny Boy Williamson II, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is not to be confused with the original Sonny Boy Williamson, also a blues musician but of no relation.
Although John Lee Williamson was a major blues star who had already released dozens of successful and widely influential records under the name Sonny Boy Williamson from 1937 onward, Aleck Miller would later claim to have been the first to use the name, and some blues scholars believe that Miller's assertion he was born in 1899 was a ruse to convince audiences he was old enough to have used the name before John Lee Williamson, who was born in 1914. Whatever the methodology, Miller became known as Sonny Boy Williamson.
Williamson had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James's band. In the 1960's he toured Europe during the height of the British blues craze, recording with The Yardbirds and The Animals. Accoring to the Led Zeppelin biography "Hammer of the Gods", while in England Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.
Some of his hit songs include "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes", "Don't Start Me To Talking" ,"Keep It To Yourself", "Your Funeral & My Trial", "Bye Bye Bird", "Nine Below Zero", "Help Me", and the infamous "Little Village", with dialogue deemed 'unsuitable for airplay' by Leonard Chess. His song "Eyesight To the Blind" was performed by The Who as a key song in their rock opera Tommy (the only song in that opus not written by a band member) and it was later covered on the Aerosmith album Honkin' on Bobo. His recording og "One Way Out" was reworked from the Elmore James original and became popularized by The Allman Brothers Band in the early 1970s.
Sonny Boy Williamson II has had a big influence on modern day blues and blues rock artists and other legendary artists, as is shown by the number of his songs that are still covered. In interviews given in the concert documentary film The Last Waltz, members of the rock & roll group The Band recount jamming with Miller prior to their initial fame as Bob Dylan's electric backing band, and making plans to hook up with Williamson as his backing band. Unfortunately, Williamson's death prevented any such plans from ever being fulfilled.
Although John Lee Williamson was a major blues star who had already released dozens of successful and widely influential records under the name Sonny Boy Williamson from 1937 onward, Aleck Miller would later claim to have been the first to use the name, and some blues scholars believe that Miller's assertion he was born in 1899 was a ruse to convince audiences he was old enough to have used the name before John Lee Williamson, who was born in 1914. Whatever the methodology, Miller became known as Sonny Boy Williamson.
Williamson had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James's band. In the 1960's he toured Europe during the height of the British blues craze, recording with The Yardbirds and The Animals. Accoring to the Led Zeppelin biography "Hammer of the Gods", while in England Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.
Some of his hit songs include "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes", "Don't Start Me To Talking" ,"Keep It To Yourself", "Your Funeral & My Trial", "Bye Bye Bird", "Nine Below Zero", "Help Me", and the infamous "Little Village", with dialogue deemed 'unsuitable for airplay' by Leonard Chess. His song "Eyesight To the Blind" was performed by The Who as a key song in their rock opera Tommy (the only song in that opus not written by a band member) and it was later covered on the Aerosmith album Honkin' on Bobo. His recording og "One Way Out" was reworked from the Elmore James original and became popularized by The Allman Brothers Band in the early 1970s.
Sonny Boy Williamson II has had a big influence on modern day blues and blues rock artists and other legendary artists, as is shown by the number of his songs that are still covered. In interviews given in the concert documentary film The Last Waltz, members of the rock & roll group The Band recount jamming with Miller prior to their initial fame as Bob Dylan's electric backing band, and making plans to hook up with Williamson as his backing band. Unfortunately, Williamson's death prevented any such plans from ever being fulfilled.
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BD Blues: Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson II Lyrics
All My Love in Vain My heart has been broken And all of my love's in…
Born Blind You talk about your woman, I wish you could see…
Cross My Heart If you cross your heart to someone You're not supposed to…
Don't Start Me Talkin' Well, I'm goin' down to Rosie's, stop at Fannie Mae's…
Eyesight To The Blind You've talking about your woman, I wish to God, man,…
Fattening Frogs For Snakes It took me a long time, to find out my…
Good Evening Everybody Good evening, everybody, tell me how do you do Good evening,…
Keep It To Yourself Baby, do me a favor, keep our business to yourself Please,…
Mighty Long Time Oh been so long, been a mighty mighty long time Been…
Nine Below Zero Yeah, ain't that a pity People ain't that a cryin' shame Ain…
Ninety Nine Darling you know exactly what happened, last year just about…
No Nights by Myself Hmm I'm not going to spend another night by myself Lord, I'm…
Pontiac Blues Yeah, what my baby told me What tonight looks like Oh, what…
She Brought Life Back To The Dead When I first heard about it I didn′t believe what you…
Stop Now Baby Oh baby now, baby now I'm getting so tired You keep on…