The two are easy to distinguish. Williamson I played the harmonica acoustically and was essentially a pre-War artist. Williamson II was entirely an electrified harpist, in the style of Little Walter, reflecting the advent of the jukebox and electrified instruments following World War II.
(Compare the albums Sonny Boy Williamson I ~~ Sonny Boy Williamson II)
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Sonny Boy Williamson I (30 March 1914 - 1 June 1948)
also known as John Lee Curtis Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, born in Jackson, Tennessee, whose first record Good Morning little School Girl was a hit in 1937. He was widely popular throughout the whole southeast of the U.S., and was practically synonymous with the blues harmonica for the next decade, making his a commonly used stage name by the time he was murdered in 1948. He is buried at the Old Blairs Chapel Church, south west of Jackson, Tennessee.
more on wikipedia
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Sonny Boy Williamson II (11 March 1908 - 25 May 1965) also known as Willie Williamson, Willie Miller, Little Boy Blue, The Goat and Footsie.
Aleck "Rice" Miller was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.
Born as Aleck Ford to Millie Ford on the Sara Jones Plantation in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, his date and year of birth are a matter of uncertainty. He claimed to have been born on December 5, 1899, but one researcher, David Evans, claims to have found census record evidence that he was born around 1912. His gravestone lists his date of birth as March 11, 1908.
He lived and worked with his sharecropper stepfather, Jim Miller, whose last name he soon adopted, and mother, Millie Ford, until the early 1930s. Beginning in the 1930s, he traveled around Mississippi and Arkansas and encountered Big Joe Williams, Elmore James and Robert Lockwood, Jr., also known as Robert Junior Lockwood, who would play guitar on his later Checker Records sides. He was also associated with Robert Johnson during this period. Miller developed his style and raffish stage persona during these years. Willie Dixon recalled seeing Lockwood and Miller playing for tips in Greenville, Mississippi in the 1930s. He entertained audiences with novelties such inserting one end of the harmonica into his mouth and playing with no hands.
In 1941 Miller was hired to play the King Biscuit Time show, advertising the King Biscuit brand of baking flour on radio station KFFA in Helena, Arkansas with Lockwood. It was at this point that the radio program's sponsor, Max Moore, began billing Miller as Sonny Boy Williamson, apparently in an attempt to capitalize on the fame of the well known Chicago-based harmonica player and singer John Lee Williamson (Sonny Boy Williamson I). 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 (this is made somewhat less likely, however, by the fact that Miller was certainly older than Williamson even if one does not accept the 1899 birthdate.) Whatever the methodology, Miller became commonly known as "Sonny Boy Williamson", and Lockwood and the rest of his band were billed as the King Biscuit Boys.
In 1949 he relocated to West Memphis, Arkansas and lived with his sister and her husband, Howlin' Wolf (later, for Checker Records, he did a parody of Howlin' Wolf entitled "Like Wolf"). Sonny Boy started his own KWEM radio show from 1948 to 1950 selling the elixir Hadacol.
Sonny Boy also brought his King Biscuit musician friends to West Memphis: Elmore James, Houston Stackhouse, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Robert Nighthawk and others, to perform on KWEM Radio.
In the 1940s Williamson married Mattie Gordon, who remained his wife until his death.
Williamson's first recording session took place in 1951 for Lillian McMurry of Jackson, Mississippi's Trumpet Records (three years after the death of John Lee Williamson, which for the first time allowed some legitimacy to Miller's carefully worded claim to being "the one and only Sonny Boy Williamson"). McMurry later erected Williamson's headstone, near Tutwiler, Mississippi, in 1977.
When Trumpet went bankrupt in 1955, Sonny Boy's recording contract was yielded to its creditors, who sold it to Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. Sonny Boy had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James's band. It was during his Chess years that he enjoyed his greatest success and acclaim, recording about 70 songs for Chess subsidiary Checker Records from 1955 to 1964.
In the early 1960s he toured Europe several times during the height of the British blues craze, recording with The Yardbirds and The Animals, and appearing on several TV broadcasts throughout Europe. According 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. Robert Palmer's "Deep Blues" mentions that during this tour he allegedly stabbed a man during a street fight and left the country abruptly.
Sonny Boy took a liking to the European fans, and while there had a custom-made, two-tone suit tailored personally for him, along with a bowler hat, matching umbrella, and an attaché case for his harmonicas. He appears credited as "Big Skol" on Roland Kirk's live album 'Kirk in Copenhagen' (1963). One of his final recordings from England, in 1964, featured him singing "I'm Trying To Make London My Home" with Hubert Sumlin providing the guitar. Due to his many years of relating convoluted, highly fictionalized accounts of his life to friends and family, upon his return to the Delta, some expressed disbelief upon hearing of Sonny Boy's touring across the Atlantic, visiting Europe, seeing the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and other landmarks, and recording there.
Upon his return to the U.S., he resumed playing the King Biscuit Time show on KFFA, and performed around Helena, Arkansas. As fellow musicians Houston Stackhouse and Peck Curtis waited at the KFFA studios for Williamson on May 25, 1965, the 12:15 broadcast time was closing in and Sonny Boy was nowhere in sight. Peck left the radio station and headed out to locate Williamson, and discovered his body in bed at the rooming house where he'd been staying, dead of an apparent heart attack suffered in his sleep the night before.
Williamson is buried on New Africa Rd. just outside Tutwiler, Mississippi at the site of the former Whitman Chapel cemetery.
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Miss Stella Brown Blues
Sonny Boy Williamson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee)
(Sonny Boy Williamson I)
Sonny Boy Williamson - vcl and hca
With Blind John Davis - piano, Ted Summitt - gtr
Armand 'Jump' Jackson - drums
Recording: Chicago, Dec 14, 1944
Album: Vol. 4 Document Records DOCD5058
Miss Stella Brown
I've got something I wanna say to you now
Miss Stella Brown
I've got something I wanna say to you
No, it ain't about none-a yo' bad treatment
I just wanna warn you 'bout the way you do now
Miss Stella, I've got yo' picture
I wants to always keep it in a frame, now
Miss Stella, I've got yo' picture
I wants to always keep it in a frame, now
So when you are dead an gone
I will be lookin' at you just the same
Don't stay out late at night, now
Miss Stella, please don't run around
Don't stay out late at night, now
Miss Stella, ple-eease don't run around
Now, because I'm scared some a-these mean men
They may wanna knock my baby down
(instrumental - all)
I'm going to buy you an Elgin wristwatch, now
And I will even buy you a diamond ring
I'm going to buy you an Elgin wristwatch
And I will even buy you a diamond ring, now
I'm going to make yo' life happy for you
I will buy you almost anything.
~
In "Miss Stella Brown Blues," Sonny Boy Williamson I sings to Miss Stella Brown, warning her about her ways and reminding her of his affection for her. In the first few lines, Sonny Boy tells Miss Stella that he has something to say to her but emphasizes that it has nothing to do with her treatment of him. He then goes on to tell her that he has her picture and wants to keep it in a frame so that he can always look at it, even after she is gone. Sonny Boy advises Miss Stella not to stay out late at night and not to run around because he is scared that some men might harm her.
In the instrumental break, the different instruments take turns showcasing their sounds and styles. The song picks up again with Sonny Boy promising to buy Miss Stella an Elgin wristwatch and a diamond ring. He assures her that he will make her life happy and that he will buy her almost anything she wants. Overall, the song is a love letter to Miss Stella Brown, revealing Sonny Boy's deep feelings for her and his desire to protect and care for her.
Line by Line Meaning
Miss Stella Brown
Addressing the woman known as Miss Stella Brown.
I've got something I wanna say to you now
Introducing the desire to express something to Miss Stella Brown in the present moment.
I've got something I wanna say to you
Restating the desire to speak with Miss Stella Brown about a particular topic.
No, it ain't about none-a yo' bad treatment
Clarifying that the forthcoming message is not related to any bad treatment received from Miss Stella Brown.
I just wanna warn you 'bout the way you do now
Explaining that the artist has a warning to offer regarding Miss Stella Brown's current behavior.
Miss Stella, I've got yo' picture
Informing Miss Stella Brown that the singer possesses her photograph.
I wants to always keep it in a frame, now
Stating the intention to keep the photograph of Miss Stella Brown in a frame for safekeeping.
So when you are dead an gone
Speculating on Miss Stella Brown's future passing.
I will be lookin' at you just the same
Promising to continue admiring and caring for Miss Stella Brown after her death.
Don't stay out late at night, now
Urging Miss Stella Brown to avoid being out late during the night.
Miss Stella, please don't run around
Asking Miss Stella Brown to refrain from running around or engaging in promiscuous behavior.
Now, because I'm scared some a-these mean men
Explaining the motivation behind the artist's request of Miss Stella Brown.
They may wanna knock my baby down
Expressing fear that some men may want to harm the singer's lover or child.
(instrumental - all)
A musical interlude with all instruments playing.
I'm going to buy you an Elgin wristwatch, now
Making a pledge to purchase a high-quality wristwatch for Miss Stella Brown.
And I will even buy you a diamond ring
Going above and beyond by also promising to buy her a diamond ring.
I'm going to buy you an Elgin wristwatch
Repeating the promise to purchase a watch for Miss Stella Brown.
And I will even buy you a diamond ring, now
Re-emphasizing the commitment to buy her a diamond ring.
I'm going to make yo' life happy for you
Stating the intention to bring happiness to Miss Stella Brown's life.
I will buy you almost anything.
Concluding that the artist is willing to purchase almost anything to bring joy to Miss Stella Brown.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind