Reading Big Bill Broonzy

One of the many things i like about listening to Van Morrisons music is that he is such a name dropper.Vans songs are littered with references to the writers and musicians who have influenced him.Van is trying to turn on the listener to the things that he enjoys.He is saying "I dig this,check it out".It is very educational being a Van fan and i have discovered lots of great music because of Van and learned a lot about the history of music.In the song 'On Hyndford Street' Van says
'And reading Mr. Jelly Roll and Big Bill Broonzy
And "Really The Blues" by "Mezz" Mezzrow
And "Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac
Over and over again'.

I have mentioned Really The Blues by Mezz Mezzrow and Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac in previous articles so tonight i would like to have a look at Big Bill Broonzy who i have been curious about for a while.I had never heard any of his music until last week but i had heard the name and i knew that Eric Clapton and Keith Richards were big fans of him.I looked him up on Wikipedia and found that the book that Van must have read was 'Big Bill Blues',his autobiography which Bill narrated to Belgian writer Yannick Bruynogue.It was published in 1955.My curiousity was aroused,i knew i had to read this book.I looked on Ebay and found a hardback edition published by the Jazz Book Club in the UK in 1957." That will do nicely",i thought to myself and clicked 'Buy Now' .Then i thought that it was pointless reading the book without hearing the music so i bought a CD as well, 'Big Bill Broonzy, The Anthology.A couple of days later they both arrived.

The book is a wonderful read.It is divided into three sections,My Life, My Songs and My Friends in which Bill narrates his story in a very droll manner.It is full of amusing anecdotes about his life.There are also lots of great photos of himself and his friends such as Washboard Sam,Memphis Slim,Lonnie Johnson,Memphis Minnie,Jack Dupree,Sonny Terry and many others.I listened to the CD while reading the book and i must say that i really like it.Sometimes when i listen to Blues albums i find them a bit samey and i get bored but not so with this double album because there is lots of variety in it.It contains his most famous song 'Key To The Highway' which as you know Eric Clapton recorded with Derek And The Domino's.The influence on Van can be seen on such songs as Outskirts Of Town,John Henry and Midnight Special.What really impressed me about the album though is the seemingly effortless country blues guitar picking.You can see why the likes of Bert Jansch,Eric and Keef looked up to him.Also you can see where the British Skiffle movement of the 50's got some of its ideas from such as the use of a washboard as an instument and Lonnie Doneghan even took his name from Bills friend Lonnie Johnson.

Like a lot of American blues artists such as Champion Jack Dupree, Sonny Terry,Brownie McGee, Little Walter etc Bill spent a lot of time touring Europe where he was a huge success and even met and fell in love with a lady in Amsterdam and had a son who still lives there. He died in 1958 from cancer.His influence lives on though and many great guitarists cite him as an influence During the inaugaration of President Obama the words of his song Black,Brown And White Blues were used in the benediction.so thank you very much Van for introducing me to the music of Big Bill Broonzy.