Williams as a youth began wandering across the United States busking and playing stores, bars, alleys and work camps. In the early 1920s he worked in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels revue and recorded with the Birmingham Jug Band in 1930 for the Okeh label.
In 1934, he was in St. Louis, where he met record producer Lester Melrose who signed him to Bluebird Records in 1935. He stayed with Bluebird for ten years, recording such blues hits as "Baby, Please Don't Go" as Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers (1935) and "Crawlin' King Snake" (1941), both songs later covered by many other performers. He also recorded with other blues singers, including Sonny Boy Williamson I, Robert Nighthawk and Peetie Wheatstraw.
Williams remained a noted blues artist in the 1950s and 1960s, with his guitar style and vocals becoming popular with folk-blues fans. He recorded for the Trumpet, Delmark, Prestige and Vocalion labels, among others. He became a regular on the concert and coffeehouse circuits, touring Europe and Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s and performing at major U.S. music festivals.
He died December 17, 1982 in Macon, Mississippi. Williams was buried in a private cemetery outside Crawford near the Lowndes County line. His headstone was primarily paid for by friends and partially funded by a collection taken up among musicians at Clifford Antone's nightclub in Austin, Texas, organized by California music writer Dan Forte, and erected through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund on October 9, 1994. Harmonica virtuoso and one time touring companion of Williams, Charlie Musselwhite, delivered the eulogy at the unveiling. Williams' headstone epitaph, composed by Forte, proclaims him "King of the 9 String Guitar."
Remaining funds raised for Williams' memorial were donated by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund to the Delta Blues Museum in order to purchase the last nine-string guitar from Williams' sister Mary May. The guitar purchased by the Museum is actually a 12-string guitar that Williams used in his later days. The last nine-string (a 1950s Kay cutaway converted to Williams' nine-string specifications) is missing at this time. Williams' previous nine-string (converted from a 1944 Gibson L-7) is in the possession of Williams' road agent and fellow traveler, Blewett Thomas.
One of Williams' nine-string guitars can be found under the counter of the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago, which is owned by Bob Koester, the founder of Delmark Records. Williams can be seen playing the nine-string guitar in American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours, 1963-1966, a 2007 DVD release.
Blues historian Barry Lee Pearson (Sounds Good to Me: The Bluesman's Story, Virginia Piedmont Blues) attempted to document the gritty intensity of the Williams persona in this description:
"When I saw him playing at Mike Bloomfield's "blues night" at the Fickle Pickle, Williams was playing an electric nine-string guitar through a small ramshackle amp with a pie plate nailed to it and a beer can dangling against that. When he played, everything rattled but Big Joe himself. The total effect of this incredible apparatus produced the most buzzing, sizzling, African-sounding music I have ever heard".
Marc Miller described a 1965 performance in Greenwich Village:
"Sandwiched in between the two sets, perhaps as an afterthought, was the bluesman Big Joe Williams (not to be confused with the jazz and rhythm and blues singer Joe Williams who sang with Count Basie). He looked terrible. He had a big bulbous aneuristic protrusion bulging out of his forehead. He was equipped with a beat up old acoustic guitar which I think had nine strings and sundry homemade attachments and a wire hanger contraption around his neck fashioned to hold a kazoo while keeping his hands free to play the guitar. Needless to say, he was a big letdown after the folk rockers. My date and I exchanged pained looks in empathy for what was being done this Delta blues man who was ruefully out of place. After three or four songs the unseen announcer came on the p. a. system and said, "Lets have a big hand for Big Joe Williams, ladies and gentlemen; thank you, Big Joe". But Big Joe wasn't finished. He hadn't given up on the audience, and he ignored the announcer. He continued his set and after each song the announcer came over the p. a. and tried to politely but firmly get Big Joe off the stage. Big Joe was having none of it, and he continued his set with his nine-string acoustic and his kazoo. Long about the sixth or seventh song he got into his groove and started to wail with raggedy slide guitar riffs, powerful voice, as well as intense percussion on the guitar and its various accoutrements. By the end of the set he had that audience of jaded '60s rockers on their feet cheering and applauding vociferously. Our initial pity for him was replaced by wondrous respect. He knew he had it in him to move that audience, and he knew that thousands of watts and hundreds of decibels do not change one iota the basic power of a song".
Williams' guitar playing was in the Delta blues style, and yet was unique. He played driving rhythm and virtuosic lead lines simultaneously and sang over it all. He played with picks both on his thumb and index finger, plus his guitar was heavily modified. Williams added a rudimentary electric pick-up, whose wires coiled all over the top of his guitar. He also added three extra strings, creating unison pairs for the first, second and fourth strings. His guitar was usually tuned to Open G, like such: (D2 G2 D3D3 G3 B3B3 D4D4), with a capo placed on the second fret to set the tuning to the key of A. During the 1920s and 1930s, Williams had gradually added these extra strings in order to keep other guitar players from being able to play his guitar. In his later years, he would also occasionally use a 12-string guitar with all strings tuned in unison to Open G. Williams sometimes tuned a six-string guitar to an interesting modification of Open G. In this modified tuning, the bass D string (D2) was replaced with a .08 gauge string and tuned to G4. The resulting tuning was (G4 G2 D3 G3 B3 D4), with the G4 string being used as a melody string. This tuning was used exclusively for slide playing.
Stepfather Blues
Big Joe Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I was a little boy, baby, 'bout sixteen inches high
I had a mean stepfather, Lord, he didn't want me to eat a bite
I got a mean stepfather, now, know you got a-one, too
I got a mean stepfather and I know you have one, too
And my Mother's dead and gone, nothin' in the world that he will do
Well, my Mother, she gone, hoo, Lord, and I hope she goin' to stay
I have mean stepfather, he done drove me 'way
When I was a little boy, Lord, my stepfather didn't 'low me around
When I was a little boy, mama, stepfather didn't 'low me around
He's a no-good weed, mama, and the cows won't mow him down
Well, poor Joe leavin' this mornin', my face is full of frowns
Well, I'm leavin' this mornin', face is full of frowns
I got a mean stepfather, my dear Mother, she don't 'low me around
That's all right, may be home someday
Ooo, Lord, Lord, mama, may be home someday
My mean stepfather is gwine give me a place to lay
I am, ma'am, a little boy, done cried all night long
Hoo, Lord, I'm a little boy, I cried the whole night long
My stepfather, he sweared, he done done me wrong
And 'fore I be dogged, mama, I leave my happy home
'Fore I be dogged now, baby, I leave my happy home
He's a no-good weed, well, he's done gone
In Big Joe Williams's song "Stepfather Blues," the singer speaks about his experience with his stepfather as a child. He describes his stepfather as mean and controlling, not even allowing him to eat. He relates to his listeners, stating that he knows they also have a mean stepfather. Unfortunately, his mother has passed away, and he feels trapped with this malicious figure who only seeks to make his life miserable. As he leaves his home, he expresses hope that one day he'll be able to return home, and even his stepfather will have a place for him to lay.
The lyrics speak of a challenging life where the singer is dealing with abuse and neglect. His stepfather controls every aspect of his life, from what he eats to where he goes. The singer's mother is absent, and he is left to deal with this cruel figure on his own. The repetition of "when I was a little boy" emphasizes the singer's youth and vulnerability. The feeling of hopelessness is evident as he speaks of leaving his home and his hope to return home again. The lyrics also highlight the pain that comes with abusive relationships as he cries all night long and has been wronged by his stepfather.
Line by Line Meaning
Aw, when I was a little boy, mama, 'bout sixteen inches high
When I was a young child, about 16 inches tall, my stepfather didn't let me eat.
I got a mean stepfather, now, know you got a-one, too
I have a cruel stepfather, and I believe you have one as well.
Well, my Mother, she gone, and I hope she goin' to stay
My mother has passed away, and I hope she is resting in peace.
When I was a little boy, Lord, my stepfather didn't 'low me around
When I was young, my stepfather wouldn't let me be near him.
Well, poor Joe leavin' this mornin', my face is full of frowns
I am leaving this morning, feeling unhappy and upset.
That's all right, may be home someday
It is okay, I may eventually return to my home.
I am, ma'am, a little boy, done cried all night long
I am a small child who has cried all night long.
And 'fore I be dogged, mama, I leave my happy home
Before I am mistreated any further, I will leave my pleasant home.
He's a no-good weed, well, he's done gone
My stepfather was not a good person, and he is now gone.
Contributed by Mason J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.