Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 1930s and 1940s, he navigated a change in style to a more urban blues sound popular with working-class black audiences. In the 1950s, a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century. Broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs, including adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. As a blues composer, he was unique in writing songs that reflected his rural-to-urban experiences. |
Birth and Death Data: Born June 26, 1893 (Scott County), Died August 14, 1958 (Chicago)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1953
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, composer, lyricist, songwriter, speaker
Notes: Often billed as Big Bill; composer credits as Williard Broonzy.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 226-250 of 251 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gennett | 16571 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Tadpole blues | Big Bill Johnson | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
Gennett | 16572 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Grandma's farm | Big Bill Johnson | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
Gennett | 16573 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Skoodle do do | Big Bill Johnson | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
Gennett | 16576 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Nancy Jane | Famous Hokum Boys | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 16577 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Black cat rag | Famous Hokum Boys | Guitar duet, with talk | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 16578 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Saturday night rub | Famous Hokum Boys | Guitar duet, with talk | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 16579 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Pig meat strut | Famous Hokum Boys | Guitar duet, with talk | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 16580 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Guitar rag | Famous Hokum Boys | Guitar duet, with talk | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
Gennett | 16581 | 10-in. | 5/2/1930 | Papa's getting hot | Big Bill Broonzy and Frank Brasswell | Male vocal duet, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17275 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | What's that I smell | Mozelle Alderson ; Thomas Andrew Dorsey | Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17276 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | Terrible operation blues | Mozelle Alderson ; Thomas Andrew Dorsey | Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17277 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | Where did you stay last night | Mozelle Alderson ; Thomas Andrew Dorsey | Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17278 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | Fix it | Mozelle Alderson ; Thomas Andrew Dorsey | Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano. | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17279 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | Ain't goin' there no more no. 2 | Mozelle Alderson ; Hokum Boys [Thomas Andrew Dorsey and Big Bill Broonzy] | Mixed vocal trio, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
Gennett | 17280 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | That's the way she likes it | Mozelle Alderson ; Hokum Boys [Thomas Andrew Dorsey and Big Bill Broonzy] | Mixed vocal trio, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
Gennett | 17281 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | The banker's blues | Big Bill Broonzy | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17282 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | The levee blues | Artists vary | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17283 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | That won't do | Big Bill Johnson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
Gennett | 17284 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | How you want it done? | Big Bill Broonzy | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17286 | 10-in. | 11/19/1930 | Leave my man alone | Georgia Tom ; Jane Lucas | Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17287 | 10-in. | 11/20/1930 | Hip shakin' strut | Hokum Boys [Thomas Andrew Dorsey and Big Bill Broonzy] ; Jane Lucas | Female-male vocal duet, with guitar, piano, and tambourine | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17288 | 10-in. | 11/20/1930 | Hokum stomp | Hokum Boys [Thomas Andrew Dorsey and Big Bill Broonzy] ; Jane Lucas | Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17289 | 10-in. | 11/20/1930 | Don't leave me blues | Thomas Andrew Dorsey | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 17290 | 10-in. | 11/20/1930 | Been mistreated blues | Georgia Tom | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Decca | 62471 | 10-in. | 8/2/1937 | Country gal blues | Lee Green | instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Broonzy, Big Bill," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/108656.
Broonzy, Big Bill. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/108656.
"Broonzy, Big Bill." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Big Bill Broonzy
Discogs: Big Bill Broonzy
Allmusic: Big Bill Broonzy
Grove: Big Bill Broonzy
IMDb: Big Bill Broonzy
Britannica: Big Bill Broonzy
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Broonzy, Big Bill, 1893-1958 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no88003463
Wikidata: Big Bill Broonzy - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q449239
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/10032630
MusicBrainz: Big Bill Broonzy - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/05bc49f8-3108-44c8-82b9-ac3254896a69
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.