This
is Neil Harpe's engraving of Broonzy at Neil
Harpe.
|
Born
in 1898, Broonzy played violin in the vicinity of Little Rock, Arkansas
before moving to Chicago, where he took up guitar in the early 1920s.
He first recorded in 1927 and became a hit-maker during the next
decade, enjoying a continuous recording career up to the time of his
death (1958). He was one of the few popular bluesmen associated with a
sound rather than a signature song, and his facile touch combined with
a strong dance beat gave him credentials as both a "city" and "country"
bluesman.
Quote
from Yazoo
Blues Mailorder.
In
terms of his musical skill, the sheer size of his repertoire, the
length and variety of his career and his influence on contemporaries
and musicians who would follow, Big Bill Broonzy is among a select few
of the most important figures in recorded blues history. Among his
hundreds of titles are standards like "All by Myself" and "Key to the
Highway." In this country he was instrumental in the growth of the
Chicago Blues sound, and his travels abroad rank him as one of the
leading blues ambassadors.
Quote
from All-Media
Guide.
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