Search - Sonny Boy Williamson :: Sugar Mama

Sonny Boy Williamson I -- Never Sounded Better

Keith Mcdonald | Piscataway, NJ USA | 08/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hear the man that was one of the main influences on Little Walter --Sonny Boy Williamson I. He never sounded better than he does on this album. The sound quality is amazing considering some the songs were recorded over sixty years ago (1937 to 1942). His vocals and harp sound better than ever. This sound quality makes the recording worthy of five stars.Included are: Good Morning School Girl, Blue Bird Blues, I've Been Dealing With The Devil, Sloppy Drunk Blues, and Black Gal. These songs are absolute classics.Most of the songs Sonny Boy Williamson sings himself but on some he accompanies Joshua Altheimer and on one --What's Gettin Wrong With You -- he accompanies Big Bill Broonzy.Sonny Boy was essentially a country blues musician before he came to Chicago. His style gradually become more sophisticated as he was influenced by the urban sound of Chicago. His acoustic sound became the foundation for modern Chicago blues. He was a major influence on Little Walter and Junior Wells. Junior Wells did a cover of the first song on the CD -- Good Morning School Girl.This is a must recording for any collector of country blues -- it is an important historical marker in the history of blues."

4 1/2 stars - the definitive single disc collection

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 09/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tennessee's John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson almost single-handedly made the little mouth organ a major lead instrument for blues bands.



He shouldn't be confused with the older Aleck 'Rice' Miller, who also took (or was given) the name Sonny Boy Williamson...John Lee Williamson was already dead, the victim of a street mugging in 1948, when the ageing Rice Miller started his recording career with Trumpet Records in 1951.



John Lee Williamson's first single was 1937's seminal "Good Morning, School Girl", and that song opens this excellent collection which gathers 24 of Williamson's best sides, including "Blue Bird Blues", "Sugar Mama Blues", "Sloppy Drunk Blues", "Decoration Blues", "Got The Bottle Up And Go" and several more.



"Sugar Mama" is a thorough, well-researched compilation, and a great place to start. And if you only want one Sonny Boy Williamson-CD in your collection, this one is actually at least as good as the double-disc "Bring Another Half Pint", which may feature an additional 16 tracks, but it also misses out on a couple of key songs."