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21-480: Sonny Boy Williamson may refer to either of the two 20th-century American blues harmonica players, who both recorded in Chicago: Sonny Boy Williamson I (1914–1948), born John Lee Curtis Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson II ( c.  1912 –1965), born Alex Ford; known as Aleck "Rice" Miller, among other names [REDACTED] Topics referred to by

42-623: A standard . He was popular among black audiences throughout the southern United States and in Midwestern industrial cities, such as Detroit and Chicago, and his name was synonymous with the blues harmonica for the next decade. Other well-known recordings of his include " Sugar Mama ", "Shake the Boogie", "Better Cut That Out", "Sloppy Drunk", " Early in the Morning ", " Stop Breaking Down ", and "Hoodoo Hoodoo" (also known as "Hoodoo Man Blues"). In 1947, "Shake

63-483: A similar service began tracking such releases, so it is difficult to gauge which version was more popular, although the song has been often identified with Williamson. "Sugar Mama Blues", usually called "Sugar Mama", has been recorded a by many blues and other musicians including Tommy McClennan as "New Sugar Mama", John Lee Hooker , and B.B. King . Hooker also used the song as basis for several of his own songs, such as "Sally Mae". In 1964, Howlin' Wolf recorded

84-457: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sonny Boy Williamson I John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson (March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of recordings by many pre–World War II blues artists. Under his own name, he

105-586: Is often associated, was an early collaborator of Rachell. "Themes that Yank Rachell recorded also turn up in the blues of [Sleepy John] Estes, [Sonny Boy] Williamson, and other artists from the [same] area, and it would be difficult to determine which artist actually created any particular theme". Tampa Red recorded two different versions of "Sugar Mama Blues" in 1934, shortly after Rachell's "Sugar Farm Blues". Both are medium tempo twelve-bar blues that featured Red's trademark slide resonator guitar work and vocals. "Sugar Mama No. 1", recorded May 12, 1934, features

126-754: The Leland Tower , a hotel in Aurora, Illinois . The top-floor nightclub at the Leland, known as the Sky Club, was used for live broadcasts of big bands on a local radio station and, during off hours, served as a recording studio for Williamson's early sessions and those of other Bluebird artists. Williamson's final recording session took place in Chicago in December 1947, in which he accompanied Big Joe Williams . On June 1, 1948, Williamson

147-612: The country blues style, but he soon demonstrated skill at making the harmonica a lead instrument for the blues and popularized it for the first time in a more urban blues setting. He has been called "the father of modern blues harp". While in his teens he joined Yank Rachell and Sleepy John Estes , playing with them in Tennessee and Arkansas . In 1934 he settled in Chicago . Williamson first recorded in 1937, for Bluebird Records , and his first recording, " Good Morning, School Girl ", became

168-479: The Boogie" made number 4 on Billboard ' s Race Records chart. Williamson's style influenced many blues harmonica performers, including Billy Boy Arnold , Junior Wells , Sonny Terry , Little Walter , and Snooky Pryor . He was the most widely heard and influential blues harmonica player of his generation. His music was also influential on many of his non-harmonica-playing contemporaries and successors, including Muddy Waters (who played guitar with Williamson in

189-471: The album release) during early recording sessions. The song is credited to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant , although biographer Nigel Williamson identifies it as "a cover of the Sonny Boy Williamson song". Except for bootlegs , "Sugar Mama" remained unreleased until 2015, when it was included on the reissued version (deluxe and super deluxe) of the album Coda . "Sugar Mama" was recorded during

210-472: The confusion, around 1940 the jazz pianist and singer Enoch Williams recorded for Decca under the name Sonny Boy Williams and in 1947 as Sunny Boy in the Sunny Boy Trio. § Credited to Louis Prima and His Orchestra / Sonny Boy Williamson Williamson's recordings were issued on 78 rpm records by Bluebird Records (a subsidiary of RCA Victor Records ) or, after the label was discontinued, RCA Victor. Over

231-409: The lyrics often found in subsequent versions of the song: Sugar mama sugar mama, please come back to me (2×) Bring my granulated sugar, and ease my misery "Sugar Mama Blues No. 2", recorded March 23, 1934, has some different lyrics (although recorded first, it was released later, hence "No. 2"). John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, sometimes identified as the composer of "Sugar Mama", first recorded

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252-499: The mid-1940s) and Jimmy Rogers (whose first recording in 1946 was as a harmonica player, performing an uncanny imitation of Williamson's style). These and other artists, both blues and rock, have helped popularize his songs through subsequent recordings. Williamson recorded prolifically both as a bandleader and as a sideman over the course of his career, mainly for Bluebird. Before Bluebird moved to Chicago, where it eventually became part of RCA Records, many early sessions took place at

273-408: The name Sonny Boy Williamson. It is believed that Miller adopted the name to deceive audiences (and his first record label) into thinking that he was the "original" Sonny Boy. In order to differentiate between the two musicians, many later scholars and biographers have referred to John Lee Williamson (1914–1948) as Sonny Boy Williamson I and Miller (c. 1912–1965) as Sonny Boy Williamson II. To add to

294-413: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Boy_Williamson&oldid=997172672 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

315-588: The song as "My Country Sugar Mama". It was performed as a Chicago blues shuffle with lyrics from the Yank Rachell, Tampa Red, and Sonny Boy Williamson songs. The song was credited to Wolf as are many subsequent versions. Taste (1969 Taste ), and Fleetwood Mac with Otis Spann (1969 Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1–2 ) have also recorded versions of the song. Led Zeppelin recorded "Sugar Mama" (or "Sugar Mama (Mix) " as listed on

336-697: The song three years after Tampa Red. The recording took place during his first session for Bluebird Records on May 5, 1937, that also produced " Good Morning, School Girl ", which was used as the flip side for "Sugar Mama". Williamson's song uses most of the lyrics in Tamp Red's "Sugar Mama Blues No. 1" as well as the overall arrangement. However, his version features a harmonica solo with guitar accompaniment by Robert Lee McCoy, later known as Robert Nighthawk . Williamson later recorded several versions of "Sugar Mama Blues". Both Tampa Red's and Williamson's "Sugar Mama Blues" were released before Billboard magazine or

357-468: The years, RCA has released several compilations of Williamson's material, including: Specialty labels, such as JSP Records , Saga, Indigo, Snapper, and others, have also released compilations. In 1991, Document Records issued Williamson's Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order as five CDs. Sugar Mama (song) Country bluesman Yank Rachell recorded "Sugar Farm Blues" on February 6, 1934. Sonny Boy Williamson I, with whom "Sugar Mama"

378-541: Was a mentor to many up-and-coming blues musicians who moved to Chicago, including Muddy Waters . In an attempt to capitalize on Williamson's fame, Aleck "Rice" Miller began recording and performing as Sonny Boy Williamson in the early 1940s, and later, to distinguish the two, John Lee Williamson came to be known as Sonny Boy Williamson I or "the original Sonny Boy". Williamson was born in Madison County, Tennessee , near Jackson , in 1914. His original recordings are in

399-532: Was killed in a robbery on Chicago's South Side as he walked home from a performance at the Plantation Club, at 31st St. and Giles Avenue, a tavern just a block and a half from his home, at 3226 S. Giles. Williamson's final words are reported to have been "Lord have mercy". Williamson is buried at the former site of the Blairs Chapel Church, southwest of Jackson, Tennessee. In 1991, a red granite marker

420-406: Was one of the most recorded blues musicians of the 1930s and 1940s and is closely associated with Chicago producer Lester Melrose and Bluebird Records . His popular songs, original or adapted, include " Good Morning, School Girl ", " Sugar Mama ", " Early in the Morning ", and " Stop Breaking Down ". Williamson's harmonica style was a great influence on postwar performers. Later in his career, he

441-477: Was purchased by fans and family to mark the site of his burial. A Tennessee historical marker, also placed in 1991, indicates the place of his birth and describes his influence on blues music. His legacy has been somewhat overshadowed in the postwar blues era by the popularity of the musician who appropriated his name, Rice Miller . The recordings made by Williamson between 1937 and his death in 1948 and those made later by Rice Miller were all originally issued under

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