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Big Bill Broonzy

Big Bill Broonzy was a key figure in developing the Chicago Blues sound. His songs include standards like "All by Myself" and "Key to the Highway" that have been covered by many later artists - "Key to the Highway" was played by Eric Clapton on the album "Layla". He had a deep influence on performers like Muddy Waters and Memphis Slim.

William Lee Conley Broonzy was born in 1893 in Scott County, Mississippi, and learned to fiddle on a homemade instrument. He moved to Chicago in 1924, where he picked up the guitar and first recorded in 1927 with Paramount as a solo artist. Around 1935 he started issuing disks as "Big Bill and his Chicago Five", accompanied by drums, bass, horns and harmonica. He also played with other artists, including Sonny Boy Williamson. In 1939, Broonzy appeared with Benny Goodman and Louis Amstrong in the movie "Swingin' The Dream".

For much of his life, the income from performing and recording was not enough, and Big Bill was forced to take a variety of low-skilled jobs to pay the bills. However, during the early 1950's Broonzy's became known to a broader public and he began to tour extensively in the USA and Europe. In 1942 he had started using the electric guitar, but in these later years his audience demanded solo performances on the acoustic quitar, which they considered more "authentic".

Big Bill Broonzy died in 1958, leaving a huge repertoire of songs, many of which have become blues classics.

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