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 attachรฉ 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.
more on wikipedia
Santa Claus
Sonny Boy Williamson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Said, "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus."
My baby went shopping yesterday,
Said, "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus."
"I'm gonna take mine with me,"
"But I'll leave yours in my dresser drawer."
So, that started me to rambling,
Wow, that started me to rambling,
Looking all in my baby's dresser drawers.
Trying to find out,
What did she bought me for Santa Claus.
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer,
The landlady got mad and called the law.
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer,
The landlady got mad and called the law.
I was just trying to find,
What did she bought me for Santa Claus.
The police walked in and jarred me on the shoulder,
"What you doing with your hand in that woman's dresser drawer?"
I hand the police a letter my baby wrote me,
Showing where I should find my Santa Claus.
I just kept on pulling out all of my baby's dresser drawers.
I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguing,
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers."
Yes, I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguing,
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers."
But he said, "I got the letter and show the judge."
"The boy just trying to find his Santa Claus."
Oh yeah.
In Sonny Boy Williamson's "Santa Claus," the singer's lover has gone shopping for Christmas gifts and has promised to get them something for Santa Claus. The singer becomes curious about what he will receive and starts looking in his lover's dresser for clues. As he reaches the bottom drawer, the landlady gets upset and calls the police. The singer hands over a letter from his lover, which directs him to where he can find his Christmas present. He leaves amid the disturbance, and the police and landlady are left to argue.
The song can be interpreted in a few ways. One is that the singer is a trusting innocent who is just trying to find out what his lover got him for Christmas. Another is that he has a reputation for being a thief or snooper and that's why the landlady called the police. Regardless of the interpretation, the song highlights the anticipation and excitement surrounding Christmas, and it also touches on themes like trust, curiosity, and misunderstandings.
Line by Line Meaning
My baby went shopping yesterday,
My significant other went out to get some things yesterday,
Said, "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus."
My significant other mentioned that they were going to buy the things I needed for Christmas,
I'm gonna take mine with me,
However, I am to have mine with me,
"But I'll leave yours in my dresser drawer."
But they said they would put what I need in their dresser drawer.
So, that started me to rambling,
This got me thinking and kept me moving,
Looking in all of my baby's dresser drawers.
So I started looking through all of my significant other's dresser drawers.
Wow, that started me to rambling,
This got me really curious and kept me moving,
Looking all in my baby's dresser drawers.
So I continued to search through all of my significant other's dresser drawers.
Trying to find out,
I was attempting to figure out,
What did she bought me for Santa Claus.
What my significant other bought for me for Christmas.
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer,
When I reached the bottom of the dresser drawer,
The landlady got mad and called the law.
The apartment manager got angry and called the police.
I was just trying to find,
I wasn't doing anything wrong but just attempting to look for,
What did she bought me for Santa Claus.
What my significant other bought for me for Christmas.
The police walked in and jarred me on the shoulder,
Then the police entered and tapped me on the shoulder,
"What you doing with your hand in that woman's dresser drawer?"
Asking me what I was doing with my hand in my significant other's dresser drawer.
I hand the police a letter my baby wrote me,
I gave the police a letter my significant other wrote to me,
Showing where I should find my Santa Claus.
To show them where I could find what I needed for Christmas.
I just kept on pulling out all of my baby's dresser drawers.
I just continued to go through all of my significant other's dresser drawers.
I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguing,
I left the police and apartment manager arguing as I walked out,
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers."
They commented, "Just look at this man who pulled out all of this lady's dresser drawers."
But he said, "I got the letter and show the judge."
However, I told them, "I have the letter and can show it to the judge."
"The boy just trying to find his Santa Claus."
"I was just trying to find what I needed for Christmas."
Oh yeah.
Expressing agreement or confirmation.
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management
Written by: WILLIE WILLIAMSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gard Texas
My baby went shoppin' yesterday
Said "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus"
My baby went shoppin' yesterday
Said "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus
I'm gonna take mine with me
But I'll leave yours in my dresser drawer"
So that started me to
Ramblin'
Lookin' in all of my baby's dresser drawers
Whoa, that started me to ramblin'
Lookin' all in my baby's dresser drawers
Tryin' to find out
What did she bought me for Santa Claus
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer
The landlady got mad and called the law
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer
The landlady got mad and called the law
I was just tryin' to find
What did she bought me for Santa Claus
The police walked in and tapped me on the shoulder
"What you doing with your hand in that woman's dresser drawer?"
I hand the police a letter my baby wrote me
Showin' where I should find my Santa Claus
I just kept on pullin' out all of my baby's dresser drawers
I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguin'
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers"
Yes, I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguin'
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers"
But he said, "I got the letter and show the judge
The boy just tryin to find his Santa Claus"
Oh yeah
katherine hunter
Christmas Blues, is my favorite Christmas music!
Bless your Heart and Soul for sharing this !
โ๐๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐
Radio Culebra
@katherine hunter gracias! nos escuchasmos my frienda..
katherine hunter
@Radio Culebra Subscribed to your channel tonight !โ๐๐๐บ๐ธ๐ต๐
Radio Culebra
@katherine hunter ye! if u like suscribe the channel! mexican and variada music.. chau <3
katherine hunter
@Radio Culebra From Mexico?!
Fabulous!
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!โ๐๐ฏ๐๐จ๐ฆ
Radio Culebra
bless to u too.. greetings from mexico!! and happy new (and good) year
kruzrken
One of my all time favorite Christmas songs. Great story line- we never grow up!
Radio Culebra
enefecto miamigo! tambiรฉn una de mis canciones navideรฑas favoritas de todos los tiempos..
Gard Texas
My baby went shoppin' yesterday
Said "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus"
My baby went shoppin' yesterday
Said "I'm gonna buy what you need for Santa Claus
I'm gonna take mine with me
But I'll leave yours in my dresser drawer"
So that started me to
Ramblin'
Lookin' in all of my baby's dresser drawers
Whoa, that started me to ramblin'
Lookin' all in my baby's dresser drawers
Tryin' to find out
What did she bought me for Santa Claus
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer
The landlady got mad and called the law
When I pulled out the bottom dresser drawer
The landlady got mad and called the law
I was just tryin' to find
What did she bought me for Santa Claus
The police walked in and tapped me on the shoulder
"What you doing with your hand in that woman's dresser drawer?"
I hand the police a letter my baby wrote me
Showin' where I should find my Santa Claus
I just kept on pullin' out all of my baby's dresser drawers
I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguin'
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers"
Yes, I walked out and left the police and the landlady arguin'
Said, "Look at the man done pull out all the lady's dresser drawers"
But he said, "I got the letter and show the judge
The boy just tryin to find his Santa Claus"
Oh yeah
Bernice Ivery
Sunny Boy is Forever