Who Is Broonzy?
William Lee Conley Broonzy, also named as Big Bill Broonzy or Big Bill, was a very important blues artist. His date of birth is unknown, but her sister stated: “ He is my twin brother, (1)”. She stated that she had proofed that, none of the less there are doubts that Broonzy was born on another date. It remains problematic, if Broonzy was born on the 26 of June 1893 or 1898.
Broonzy is not his real name; he was born as Lee Conley. A lot of his songs are about his bad experiences in the US army, when he returned from France to Mississippi/ Arkansas. He also based a lot of his stories of his mysterious birth date(1).
Same as his parents, Broonzy was born in poverty, along with seventeen other children. Bill’s first instrument was the violin, …show more content…
and his uncle taught him to play it (1). Then he worked in a local church and, at the same time, he was a farmer. He also worked as a country fiddler for local parties and picnics around Scott Mississippi. Between 1912 and 1917, Bill (lee) worked as an itinerant preacher in and around Pine Bluff. There he changed his name and the reason for that is still unknown (1).
Later, he worked in different clubs around Little Rock. In 1924, Big Bill moved to Chicago Illinois where, as a fiddle player, he played occasional gigs with Papa Charlie Jackson. During this time he learned to play guitar and he got a chance to play on live stages, same as records. His first recordings were in 1927, when he was named as Big Bill (1). In 1930 with his next recording, he changed his name again as 'Willie Lee Broonzy' he was 28 years old. He was living with his wife Annie 25 years old and his son Ellis 6 years old (1).
During the years Big Bill became more popular, and on the 23rd of December 1938 he was one of the main solo performers in the first “Form Spirituals to Swing”, the concert was held at the Carnegie hall in New York City (1). At that time he was only known as Big Bill and as Willie Broonzy, only later he became known as Big Bill Broonzy. At that time he was described as:
"...the best-selling blues singer on Vocation’s 'race' records, which is the musical trade designation for American Black music, that is so good that only the Black people can be expected to buy it.(1)" Another fascinating fact about the concert is that it was the first live performance with a white audience.
Broonzy’s influences were the folk music, spirituals, work songs, ragtime music, hokum and country blues. Singers of his time as Jimmie Roggers, Blind Blake, Son House, and Blind Lemon Jefferson also influenced him (2). Big Bill Broonzy influenced Beck and Eric Chaplin. His talent on the guitar influenced them both. They were also very astonished that he could play in so many different styles. They both also adapted his songs and played in a variety of styles, from blues to classic pieces (3).
One thing that makes Big Bill Broonzy such a successful singer is that he played in a lot of different styles. He plays foe example: folk music, country blues, Chicago blues, spirituals and protest songs. He varied his style when he played in front of different audiences. For example in front of a “white audience” he played acoustic guitar more than the electrical one. Generally many singers don’t have that flexibility of changing genres according to the audience. That is one of the major unique qualities that make Big Bill such a successful singer …show more content…
(2).
I will analyze the song “Baby Please don’t go” from Big Bill Broonzy. It was released in 1935, so at the end of the blues. The song was recorded in Chicago, like the majority of his songs. According to Wikipedia (1), “Baby Please don’t go”, was one of the most popular blues songs. There are two different version of it, one from Van Morris and the other one from him. I will compare the two different pieces later in my analysis. Here is the link for my first song
The form is not a typical blues form. At the beginning it stars with a regular 8 bar, then it increases to 10 bar long. This is one feature that makes this song so special. It is weird, because he sang at the end of the blues and it is expected that uses the typical blues form.
There is a musical introduction, 8 bar long, following with a verse. After the verse there is an improvisation and after another verse, finally a small vocal ending. It is very hard to follow the beat to the music, because the guitar goes in the background and it gives the steady beat. After the first verse (1:32-57sec) an improvisation/ instrumental part comes. The improvisation is pretty long, but it builds up very well, even though it doesn’t leave spaces. After the improvisation, it goes to another verse. The second verse varies a little the lyric, but the idea behind is the same. For example verse one (0:21): “Baby please don’t go back to New Orleans you know it hurts me so”, verse two (2:04)“Baby please don’t go and leave me here you know it hurts me so”. The ending is very romantic, because the guitar stops playing, and Big Bill Broonzy sings: “Baby please don’t go” in a very soft way (3:10). The song only has two bid verses, compared to another song, like Sweet home Chicago there are a lot more verses, but they are short. (Link to sweet home chicago)
There is only a vocal and an acoustic guitar. The guitar does the constant beat, same as the improvisation. Usually the guitar is in the background. However, when the vocal is done, the guitar gives an answer and pops up. It is possible to say that this piece is a question and an answer song. The guitar is very thin and clean; therefore it gives the vocal the opportunity to stand out. Personally I like this combination. The guitar plays all the notes very clean. The guitar almost always plays chords.
Now I will compare the guitars from “Baby Please don’t go” Big Bill and “Sweet Home Chicago” from Robbie William. The first major different is that Big Bill’s song uses an acoustic guitar. Robbie William improvises almost the entire the time. The notes that he plays are based on the blues scale. Big Bill plays only chords, and does the chord progression. At the song of Robbie Williams there are a lot more instruments, which means that he doesn’t have to keep the steady beat. In this song the drums keep the steady beat. The guitar from big bill is very clean and light, where the guitar of Robbie William is hard. Both guitars improvise, and make the song stand out.
The feel of the song is joyful, but at the same time it sad, because the lyrics is about a girlfriend going away from the boy friend.
The vocal is not shouted and it is not whispered. Big Bill uses a normal daily tone, but at the same time he makes his voice more dramatic, like in (sec). Personally I think, that his voice fits to the guitar, because the guitar is very light and clean, and also plays major chords. This song can be danced with, but it can also be listened while relaxing. I guess that this makes this song unique. There is the possibility to dance with the guitar, however a person can feel relaxed with the vocal. Unlike a lot of blues songs, the vocals make the audience feel
relaxed. Now I will compare two different versions of “Baby please don’t go”. One from Big Bill Broonzy and one from Van Mooris and Them. Big Bills song is 3:14 sec long and Von Moors song is 2:40. Van Moors song is based on the song of Big Bill. They have similar things, but also a lot of differences.
Differences:
The first big difference is that Big Bill uses an acoustic guitar, and van Mooris uses an electrical one. I think that the guitars fit both the two songs. However if the guitars switched, the songs would be worse. Another difference in the song of van Mooris is that here more instruments are present. There are two electrical guitars, a piano, and a vocal. The verses of van Mooris are shorter, and are said faster. The introduction is also longer in the song . As said before, the song of van Mooris is based on the song of Big Bill, and the lyrics are also similar. I took some of the lyrics of both songs and compared them.
Here I show some similarities and differences:
Big Bill (4) Van Mooris (5)
Baby Please don’t go back to new Orleans you know it hurts me so (19s.) Baby Please don’t go down to new Orleans you know I love you so (23s.)
Baby, I am away down here (29s.) Baby, your mind done gone (36s.)
Baby please don’t go (3:12s.) Baby please don’t go (2:37s.)
There is the possibility to see that the song of van Mooris is based on Big Bills song.
Similarities:
After all, they are both blues songs just the one from van Morris is a modern Blues. Their major instrument is a guitar, which does the improvisation and the instrumental intro. The guitars quite down, when the vocal sings, and pop up after the vocal. Both songs are question and answer songs. The feel of the song is similar, because there is the possibility to dance because of the rhythm, or you can hear it while relaxing. In both songs, the vocal is not shouted nor whispered. At the improvisation are similar, but at the same time different. They are both guitars doing it. In the song of van Morris the improvisation is played at the top of the neck with slide. In the improvisation of Big Bill, the guitar uses chords, and it fits with the context, because it plays the same rhythm.
Broonzy is not his real name; he was born as Lee Conley. A lot of his songs are about his bad experiences in the US army, when he returned from France to Mississippi/ Arkansas. He also based a lot of his stories of his mysterious birth date(1).
Same as his parents, Broonzy was born in poverty, along with seventeen other children. Bill’s first instrument was the violin, …show more content…
and his uncle taught him to play it (1). Then he worked in a local church and, at the same time, he was a farmer. He also worked as a country fiddler for local parties and picnics around Scott Mississippi. Between 1912 and 1917, Bill (lee) worked as an itinerant preacher in and around Pine Bluff. There he changed his name and the reason for that is still unknown (1).
Later, he worked in different clubs around Little Rock. In 1924, Big Bill moved to Chicago Illinois where, as a fiddle player, he played occasional gigs with Papa Charlie Jackson. During this time he learned to play guitar and he got a chance to play on live stages, same as records. His first recordings were in 1927, when he was named as Big Bill (1). In 1930 with his next recording, he changed his name again as 'Willie Lee Broonzy' he was 28 years old. He was living with his wife Annie 25 years old and his son Ellis 6 years old (1).
During the years Big Bill became more popular, and on the 23rd of December 1938 he was one of the main solo performers in the first “Form Spirituals to Swing”, the concert was held at the Carnegie hall in New York City (1). At that time he was only known as Big Bill and as Willie Broonzy, only later he became known as Big Bill Broonzy. At that time he was described as:
"...the best-selling blues singer on Vocation’s 'race' records, which is the musical trade designation for American Black music, that is so good that only the Black people can be expected to buy it.(1)" Another fascinating fact about the concert is that it was the first live performance with a white audience.
Broonzy’s influences were the folk music, spirituals, work songs, ragtime music, hokum and country blues. Singers of his time as Jimmie Roggers, Blind Blake, Son House, and Blind Lemon Jefferson also influenced him (2). Big Bill Broonzy influenced Beck and Eric Chaplin. His talent on the guitar influenced them both. They were also very astonished that he could play in so many different styles. They both also adapted his songs and played in a variety of styles, from blues to classic pieces (3).
One thing that makes Big Bill Broonzy such a successful singer is that he played in a lot of different styles. He plays foe example: folk music, country blues, Chicago blues, spirituals and protest songs. He varied his style when he played in front of different audiences. For example in front of a “white audience” he played acoustic guitar more than the electrical one. Generally many singers don’t have that flexibility of changing genres according to the audience. That is one of the major unique qualities that make Big Bill such a successful singer …show more content…
(2).
I will analyze the song “Baby Please don’t go” from Big Bill Broonzy. It was released in 1935, so at the end of the blues. The song was recorded in Chicago, like the majority of his songs. According to Wikipedia (1), “Baby Please don’t go”, was one of the most popular blues songs. There are two different version of it, one from Van Morris and the other one from him. I will compare the two different pieces later in my analysis. Here is the link for my first song
The form is not a typical blues form. At the beginning it stars with a regular 8 bar, then it increases to 10 bar long. This is one feature that makes this song so special. It is weird, because he sang at the end of the blues and it is expected that uses the typical blues form.
There is a musical introduction, 8 bar long, following with a verse. After the verse there is an improvisation and after another verse, finally a small vocal ending. It is very hard to follow the beat to the music, because the guitar goes in the background and it gives the steady beat. After the first verse (1:32-57sec) an improvisation/ instrumental part comes. The improvisation is pretty long, but it builds up very well, even though it doesn’t leave spaces. After the improvisation, it goes to another verse. The second verse varies a little the lyric, but the idea behind is the same. For example verse one (0:21): “Baby please don’t go back to New Orleans you know it hurts me so”, verse two (2:04)“Baby please don’t go and leave me here you know it hurts me so”. The ending is very romantic, because the guitar stops playing, and Big Bill Broonzy sings: “Baby please don’t go” in a very soft way (3:10). The song only has two bid verses, compared to another song, like Sweet home Chicago there are a lot more verses, but they are short. (Link to sweet home chicago)
There is only a vocal and an acoustic guitar. The guitar does the constant beat, same as the improvisation. Usually the guitar is in the background. However, when the vocal is done, the guitar gives an answer and pops up. It is possible to say that this piece is a question and an answer song. The guitar is very thin and clean; therefore it gives the vocal the opportunity to stand out. Personally I like this combination. The guitar plays all the notes very clean. The guitar almost always plays chords.
Now I will compare the guitars from “Baby Please don’t go” Big Bill and “Sweet Home Chicago” from Robbie William. The first major different is that Big Bill’s song uses an acoustic guitar. Robbie William improvises almost the entire the time. The notes that he plays are based on the blues scale. Big Bill plays only chords, and does the chord progression. At the song of Robbie Williams there are a lot more instruments, which means that he doesn’t have to keep the steady beat. In this song the drums keep the steady beat. The guitar from big bill is very clean and light, where the guitar of Robbie William is hard. Both guitars improvise, and make the song stand out.
The feel of the song is joyful, but at the same time it sad, because the lyrics is about a girlfriend going away from the boy friend.
The vocal is not shouted and it is not whispered. Big Bill uses a normal daily tone, but at the same time he makes his voice more dramatic, like in (sec). Personally I think, that his voice fits to the guitar, because the guitar is very light and clean, and also plays major chords. This song can be danced with, but it can also be listened while relaxing. I guess that this makes this song unique. There is the possibility to dance with the guitar, however a person can feel relaxed with the vocal. Unlike a lot of blues songs, the vocals make the audience feel
relaxed. Now I will compare two different versions of “Baby please don’t go”. One from Big Bill Broonzy and one from Van Mooris and Them. Big Bills song is 3:14 sec long and Von Moors song is 2:40. Van Moors song is based on the song of Big Bill. They have similar things, but also a lot of differences.
Differences:
The first big difference is that Big Bill uses an acoustic guitar, and van Mooris uses an electrical one. I think that the guitars fit both the two songs. However if the guitars switched, the songs would be worse. Another difference in the song of van Mooris is that here more instruments are present. There are two electrical guitars, a piano, and a vocal. The verses of van Mooris are shorter, and are said faster. The introduction is also longer in the song . As said before, the song of van Mooris is based on the song of Big Bill, and the lyrics are also similar. I took some of the lyrics of both songs and compared them.
Here I show some similarities and differences:
Big Bill (4) Van Mooris (5)
Baby Please don’t go back to new Orleans you know it hurts me so (19s.) Baby Please don’t go down to new Orleans you know I love you so (23s.)
Baby, I am away down here (29s.) Baby, your mind done gone (36s.)
Baby please don’t go (3:12s.) Baby please don’t go (2:37s.)
There is the possibility to see that the song of van Mooris is based on Big Bills song.
Similarities:
After all, they are both blues songs just the one from van Morris is a modern Blues. Their major instrument is a guitar, which does the improvisation and the instrumental intro. The guitars quite down, when the vocal sings, and pop up after the vocal. Both songs are question and answer songs. The feel of the song is similar, because there is the possibility to dance because of the rhythm, or you can hear it while relaxing. In both songs, the vocal is not shouted nor whispered. At the improvisation are similar, but at the same time different. They are both guitars doing it. In the song of van Morris the improvisation is played at the top of the neck with slide. In the improvisation of Big Bill, the guitar uses chords, and it fits with the context, because it plays the same rhythm.