Sonny Boy Williamson II retrospective with Giles Robson and Jim Basinger

Giles Robson and Jim Basnight join me on episode 136 for a retrospective on Alex ‘Rice’ Miller (aka Sonny Boy Williamson II). 

Information on Sonny Boy’s early life is sketchy. Sonny Boy was likely born in 1912 and had a hard upbringing working on a plantation before becoming a travelling musician. Arriving in Helena, Arkansas, he found fame performing on the King Biscuit Time radio show before making his first recordings with Trumpet Records at age 38 in 1951. Sonny Boy made his classic cuts for Checker Records (a subsidiary of Chess) in 1955. 

He then toured Europe in 1963/64, becoming a celebratory in England and having a huge impact on the British Blues Boom.

Returning to Helena, where he died in 1965, Sonny boy is one of the true giants not only of the harmonica but also the blues, with his charismatic vocals, songwriting and enigmatic charm.

Links:

Giles Robson: https://gilesrobson.com

Extract from Bill Donohue biography: https://www.furious.com/perfect/sonnyboy.html

Chris Strachwitz remembers Sonny Boy: https://arhoolie.org/chris-strachwitz-remembers-sonny-boy-williamson/

Bob Corritore photo gallery of Sonny Boy: https://bobcorritore.com/photos/sonny-boy-williamson-ii/

Sonny Boy discography: https://sonnyboywilliamson2.blogspot.com/2013/08/sonny-boy-williamsons-chronological.html

Macie J Blues blogspot on Sonny Boy: https://sonnyboywilliamson-maciejblues.blogspot.com/

Videos:

Sonny Boy live in Manchester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwiJTa-620

Possibly the late Chris Strachwitz recordings of Sonny Boy: ‘Last Sessions’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLco7ZmxqUs&t=10s

Live in Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yhcNEgd3uI

Concert from the Jazz House, Wiesbaden, Germany, November, 1963: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGGR5l4zOzw&t=1s

Playing with the Chris Barber Band in the UK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euSd5TtPe68

‘Solo Harp’ album, containing the recordings from home of German photographer Stefanie Wiesand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6RkAlhX7fg

Robbie Robertson recalls meeting Sonny Boy shortly before he died: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90-O6c20PLk

The grave of Sonny Boy, with comments from Giles Robson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-XQwpBTGRI

Bye Bye Bird in Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZArN9y5qZc

Chapters

• 1:57 Giles Robson returns to the podcast from his first appearance way back on episode 3 and has been busy as ever
• 2:38 Giles released a duo album with John Primer in 2024: Ten Chicago Blues Classics, where John plays rhythm guitar
• 4:12 When Neil first saw Giles perform he played the Sonny Boy song: My One Room Cabin
• 4:52 The influence Sonny Boy has had on Giles’ career and comparisons with Little Walter
• 5:10 Sonny Boy prompted Giles to play purely acoustic harmonica
• 6:42 Sonny Boy was highly admired during his time and the positive write-up he received in the UK press at the time
• 7:31 Sonny Boy dominated the European American Folk Blues tours
• 7:39 Sonny Boy was received virtually no press coverage about him in the US
• 9:09 Jim asks Giles aout a comparison between Walter Horton and Sonny Boy, and Big Walter may have taught Sonny Boy some harmonica
• 10:53 Jim Basinger is a singer, guitar player and bandleader, who doesn’t play harmonica
• 11:48 Jim is writing a biography on Sonny Boy, who Jim sees as a complete artist, not just a harmonica player
• 12:56 It will be a comprehensive 500 page biography on Sonny Boy
• 13:53 The biography is likely to be released either late 2025 or in 2026
• 14:27 Jim is also looking at making a documentary film on Sonny Boy after the book is published
• 15:14 There has previously been a biography released on Sonny Boy, by William (Bill) E Donoghue: Fessor Mojo's Don't Start Me To Talkin’
• 15:33 The Bill Donoghue biography is reasonably short. Jim was involved with this and Jim’s book will be more in-depth
• 16:15 Bill Donoghue had wanted to produce a documentary film on Sonny Boy
• 16:56 Lillian McMurry, of Trumpet Records, had a headstone placed on Sonny Boy’s grave in 1980, which probably doesn’t show an accurate year of birth
• 17:08 Gravestone correctly shows Sonny Boy died in 1965
• 17:59 Sonny Boy was the youngest of 21 children, likely born in late 1912 or early 1913
• 18:58 Brother was the one who named Sonny Boy ‘Rice’ due to Sonny Boy’s love of rice
• 19:55 Sonny Boy probably lived until the age of 52
• 20:06 Sonny Boy’s real name was Alex Miller (not Aleck, as written on his gravestone)
• 20:17 Born in Glendora, Mississippi
• 20:25 Sonny Boy ‘mis-represented’ facts about his life to the journalists who interviewed him and there isn’t reliable documentation showing the truth
• 21:16 Family later moved to Money, Mississippi where Sonny Boy worked on a plantation until age 17, where conditions were very tough and 12 out of 18 people didn’t make it past age 18
• 22:50 Sonny Boy looked older than he was due to his rough life and lifestyle, including alcohol abuse
• 23:59 Didn’t have a strong concept of time or dates
• 24:27 Jim tells of how Sonny Boy’s early life made him an habitual liar as he had to evade the law and other sources of trouble
• 24:55 Started the life as a wandering musician after leaving the plantation at age 17, which made him an outlaw at that time in the US
• 27:27 Travelled up to Memphis where met other musicians, including Howling Wolf, marrying his sister
• 27:59 Sonny Boy has various recorded marriages and likely a child
• 28:27 Travelled from town to town, centred around the town of Greenwood
• 30:08 Teamed-up with Robert Lockwood, which led to Sonny Boy working on the King Biscuit Time radio show
• 30:47 Sonny Boy reportedly stabbed a white man who was “trying to kill him” and he had to flee the Greenwood area
• 32:44 Moved around until arriving at Helena, Arkansas, where the radio station KFFA was located, which ran the King Biscuit Time show
• 34:27 Sonny Boy was on the King Biscuit Time show for about two years, and Pinetop Perkins played with him on that
• 35:01 Sonny Boy played amplified harmonica on the King Biscuit Time show, and so was one of the earliest to play amplified harp
• 35:50 Only recordings of Sonny Boy playing through a mic are his recordings on Chess records
• 36:23 Sonny Boy probably recorded his amplified tracks with Chess using a Shure Slim X mic, which Giles doesn’t rate as a good harp mic
• 36:41 Difference with Sonny Boy and Little Walter playing amplified is that Little Walter ‘played the amp’ whereas Sonny Boy just used the mic for amplification
• 37:40 The early photo of Sonny boy holding a mic is from 1939 when he had a radio show in Illinois
• 38:10 Jim thinks the Storyville recordings capture the best sound of Sonny Boy
• 39:44 There are no known recordings of his playing of the King Biscuit Time radio show
• 40:27 Sonny Boy falsely claimed to have recorded a Jimmy McCracklin in 1927 during the Wiesbaden concert in Germany
• 41:06 On whether Sonny Boy ‘stole’ the name Sonny Boy Williamson from John Lee Williamson
• 41:35 Giles talks about how the world was different and the circles Sonny Boy moved in weren’t always the most honest
• 42:39 Jim emphasises the point that the alleged Sonny Boy stabbing had a profound effect upon Sonny Boy wanting to remain anonymous
• 43:30 Sonny Boy reputedly knew John Lee Williamson from a young age
• 43:53 John Lee Williamson released records first so was known through those and Rice Miller used the name Sonny Boy Williamson to market himself
• 44:55 Memphis Slim told a story where another performer used his name, and also someone who used Little Walter’s name
• 45:36 Sonny Boy also used various other names to perform under
• 46:21 John Lee Williamson visited the KFFA radio station after he found out his name was being used and was given a radio show on there himself for a short time
• 47:43 Made his first recordings in 1951 on the Trumpet label, when he was 38 years old
• 48:28 First recording Sonny Boy made with Trumpet was destroyed in a fire but some of the original records were distributed and Jim has been searching for them to no avail
• 49:01 Elmore James played on the first (lost) version of Eyesight To The Blind
• 49:48 Other famous artists on Trumpet included Elmore James, with whom Sonny Boy recorded Dust My Broom
• 50:37 The Sonny Boy Trumpet records sold quite well and the record label treated black artists fairly
• 51:05 The owner of Trumpet records, Lillian McMurry, sold Sonny Boy’s contract to Chess records
• 51:34 Giles likes that the Trumpet recordings and talks of how Sonny Boy was able to adapt himself to different audiences and scenarios
• 53:22 Really leads the band on Trumpet records releases, whereas with Chess recordings he fits in perfectly with the accomplished city musicians
• 53:59 Started recording with Checker Records (subsidiary of Chess) in 1955
• 54:19 Sonny Boy was a big star from his Trumpet recordings, with hits including Nine Below Zero, Mighty Long Time and Dust My Broom
• 55:03 Recorded several hits with the superstar band on the Chess Recordings, including Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters
• 55:30 The expansion of Black radio coincided with the success of Chess Records
• 56:16 Adapted the song Good Evening Everybody, the theme tune to King Biscuit Time, on the first Chess recording session
• 56:49 Don’t Start Me Talkin’ on the first Chess recording session is a very well constructed song
• 57:16 Sonny Boy as a genius songwriter and he was able to read and write (not typical for people with his upbringing)
• 58:42 Sonny Boy was very smart and determined to learn how to read, and the need to hide this due to the racism in society at that time
• 1:00:39 Due to his success Sonny Boy had to act in ways where he would draw attention away from himself
• 1:00:55 Sonny Boy’s music was heard by some white audiences, including Elvis
• 1:03:43 Went over to Europe in 1963 and 1964 and had a huge influence on the British Blues boom
• 1:04:31 Sonny Boy created a new style to play to the European audiences, who listened in silence like they did to highbrow music such as opera, classical and jazz music
• 1:06:16 Memphis Slim really capitalised on the European blues scene and put on a classical pianist poise, while playing blues music, but Sonny Boy managed to overshadow him in the European American Folk Blues Festivals
• 1:07:56 The recordings with the Yardbirds and Animals weren’t good, mainly because those bands were so young at that time
• 1:08:30 The recording with the Chris Barber band was the only one of note with a British band during his stay there
• 1:09:19 Despite the famous quote of: "those British boys want to play the blues real bad, and they do”, Sonny Boy still appreciated his time in England
• 1:09:40 Jim backs-up the comment from Giles on how adaptable Sonny Boy was, with an ability to play in virtually any setting
• 1:10:43 Sonny Boy made some recordings in the home of German photographer Stephanie Wiesand which show off his ability to play solo
• 1:11:59 Wrote a lot of lyrics, but some were in collaboration with others, such as Elmore James, and who wrote them all is unclear
• 1:12:45 Favourite Sonny Boy songs from the panel: Jim selects Help Me, which he played without overdubs
• 1:13:43 Jim’s second choice is So Sad To Be Lonesome
• 1:14:45 Neil’s favourites are You Killing Me and Don’t Lose Your Eye
• 1:15:17 Giles favourites are Nine Below Zero and She’s My Baby
• 1:16:52 The Sky Is Crying song on the Storyville label
• 1:18:32 His characteristic style of bowler hat, case and umbrella
• 1:18:51 The black blues musicians were given a level of respect in Europe that they didn’t receive in their homeland
• 1:19:19 Sonny Boy was on British TV a lot in the 1960s
• 1:19:34 Dressed with the bowler hat from way before visited England
• 1:20:12 Well known for playing the Hohner 364 diatonic with the extra low octave and played with a harp in his mouth
• 1:20:32 Giles demonstrates Bye Bye Bird and the fact that it’s a riff and not just a rhythm
• 1:21:11 The extended range diatonic was Sonny Boy’s USP, and Hohner made some for him in different keys
• 1:21:26 The difference in the harmonica techniques of Sonny Boy and Little Walter included Sonny Boy being rhythmical and Little Walter more melodic
• 1:22:14 Giles demonstrates a riff from Don’t Start Me Talking
• 1:22:43 Giles thinks Sonny Boy still sounds fresh today, whereas Little Walter has a 1950s sound
• 1:23:20 How Sonny Boy influenced The Beatles to use the harmonica on their recordings via the harmonica playing of Delbert McClinton
• 1:25:04 Sonny Boy played with lots of big acts in his time in England, including Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker and The Moody Blues
• 1:25:42 Van Morrison’s third most performed live songs is Help Me
• 1:26:02 After successful time in England he returned to the US after his visa had expired, but he also knew he was approaching the end of his life
• 1:27:00 Initially went back to Chicago and then to Helena and then travelled to Alabama where he possibly took part in the civil rights movement there
• 1:28:08 Returned to Helena to say his goodbyes
• 1:28:15 Played his last gig at a house party in Greenwood
• 1:29:16 Robbie Robertson from the band met Sonny Boy a few weeks before he died and recounts the story on a video available on YouTube and who this might have impacted Bob Dylan’s harmonica playing if Sonny Boy had joined The Band
• 1:31:11 Cause of death was put down as heart attack, but that isn’t confirmed
• 1:31:32 Lillian McMurry had headstone placed on his grave in 1980
• 1:31:40 There was some celebration of his life after he passed away
• 1:32:55 Sonny Boy is buried in Tutwiler, Mississippi, at the Whitfield Baptist Church Cemetery
• 1:33:22 When Jim visited the gravestone had been knocked over and was broken and Jim had it put back in place
• 1:33:50 Sonny Boy was well loved
• 1:34:04 His wife Maddy stuck with Sonny Boy despite his shortcomings
• 1:34:26 Was elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in the first year of balloting in 1980