Big Joe Williams
Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (born October 16, 1903 in Crawford, Mississippi; died December 17, 1982 in Macon, Mississippi) was a blues guitarist and songwriter. He toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels based in Port Gibson, Mississippi and performed with the Birmingham Jug Band in the 1920s, appearing on their 1930 recordings for Okeh records.
Williams signed with Bluebird Records in St Louis, Missouri in 1935 and established himself among the Mississippi delta blues guitarists that sustained some popularity through the 1960s, touring Europe and Japan. Williams distinguished himself with a heavily-modified 9-string guitar on which he plucked lead lines while singing. He died in Mississippi in 1982 and was buried in a private cemetery outside his home town. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1992.
External links
- Big Joe Williams discography by Stefan Wirz