Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson is the name used by two distinctive and different blues musicians: John Lee Curtis Williamson (referred to as: Sonny Boy Williamson I) and Aleck "Rice" Miller (referred to as: Sonny Boy Williamson II).
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Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee Curtis Williamson, March 30, 1914 — June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson. His best known songs are: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (1937), Sugar Mama (1937), Shake the Boogie (1946) and Stop Breaking Down (1948). He died early after being murdered in a robbery.
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II (Aleck "Rice" Miller, March 11, 1908 - May 25, 1965) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who started using the name Sonny Boy Williamson in the mid-1940s in an attempt to capitalize on the fame and success of the former. Williamson II once played in Elmore James' band and also performed with The Yardbirds, The Animals and under the pseudonym Big Skol on Roland Kirk's concert album Kirk in Copenhagen (1963).
His best known songs are Eyesight to the Blind (1951), Don't Start Me Talkin' (1955),Fattening Frogs for Snakes (1957), One Way Out (1962) and Help Me (1963). Williamson II died from a heart attack in his sleep.
Frank Zappa and Sonny Boy Williamson
Frank Zappa included Sonny Boy Williamson (it's unclear which one of the two he meant) in the list of influences in the sleeve of Freak Out! (1966), under the heading: "These People Have Contributed Materially in Many Ways to Make Our Music What it is. Please Do Not Hold it Against Them."
In "The Real Frank Zappa Book" (1989) Zappa wrote: "Don was also an R&B fiend, so I'd bring my 45s over and we'd listen for hours on end to obscure hits by the Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Guitar Slim, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Don & Dewey, the Spaniels, the Nutmegs, the Paragons, the Orchids, the etc., etc., etc."
