For our next release in the AVID Roots series we pay tribute to one of the greatest blues men of the 20th Century, Big Bill Broonzy.
Big Bill Broonzy was born into poverty in 1893 in Scott, Mississippi and by 1900 his family had moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas in order to find whatever work they could get to survive. Bill’s early years saw him working at various rough and menial jobs both on the land, in the mines and on the railroads. After the First World War he moved to Chicago where by 1926 he was recording his first sides. By 1932 he was becoming a popular performer being “well known from coast to coast by both urban and rural Negro audiences”.
This release contains the US issued 5 LP set “The Bill Broonzy Story” edited to include all 35 performance tracks and the important bulk of his spoken, constantly fascinating reminiscences, often interspersed with his guitar. In the UK it was released as a 3LP set “Last Session Part 1”; “Last Session Part 2”; “Last Session Part 3” that only included the 35 performance tracks.
CD1
1-23: ‘The Bill Broonzy Story’
1. Key To The Highway
2 . Speech
3. Mindin’ My Own Business
4 . Saturday Evening Blues
5 . Speech
6. Southbound Train
7 . Speech
8. Tell Me What Kind Of Man Jesus Is (Ananias)
9. spoken introduction into Swing Low Sweet Chariot
10. Joe Turner Blues
11 . Speech
12. Joe Turner Blues (instrumental)
13. Speech
14. Plowhand Blues
15. Speech
16. Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad
17. Speech
18. Makin’ My Getaway
19. Speech
20. Stump Blues
21. Speech
22. spoken introduction into See See Rider
23. I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
CD2
1-24: ‘The Bill Broonzy Story’
1. Speech
2. This Train
3. Speech
4 . Hush Hush
5. Speech
6. spoken introduction into Backwater Blues
7. Slow Blues (instrumental)
8. spoken introduction into It Hurts Me Too
9. spoken introduction into Kansas City Blues
10. spoken introduction into In The Evenin’
11 . Worried Life Blues
12. Trouble In Mind
13. Take This Hammer
14. The Glory Of Love
15. Louise Blues
16. Willie Mae Blues
17. Alberta
18. Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)
19. Crawdad Song
20. John Henry
21 . Just A Dream
22. Frankie And Johnny
23. Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home
24. Hollerin’ The Blues
