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in 1995. His accompanists included the keyboard player Rudy
Robinson, a regular session musician in Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s, and the guitarist Aaron Willis, Jr., Little Sonny's son, who had both played on
179:. Nevertheless, Little Sonny stated that his nickname was originated by his mother: " called me 'Sonny boy' from the time I can remember." He has released eight albums, including three for a subsidiary of
215:." Willis was "spellbound at the way he played. After the show I went home and practiced for hours. Every day after that I would practice until I got the sound I wanted." His daytime job was working in a
338:, Washboard Willie, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Little Sonny performed on October 4, 2008, at the Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival, in Detroit, with Eddie "Guitar" Burns,
258:. He received $ 25 for that track. He then established his own label, Speedway Records, and sold enough copies of his next single, "The Mix Up", to pay his production costs.
211:
Willis was born in 1932 and raised solely by his mother. He relocated to
Detroit in 1953. He had no real interest in music, he said, "But then I saw
261:
Home-recording his own tracks, in 1966 he leased "The
Creeper" and "Latin Soul" to Revilot Records. A later track, "Sonny's Bag", became his first
326:
His photograph collection, housed in the basement of his
Detroit home, includes shots of John Lee Hooker, Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Eddie Kirkland,
582:
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226:'s backing group. He put together his first band in March 1956. For the following fifteen years he performed in numerous Detroit
283:
productions, Little Sonny released three albums for the label in the early 1970s. He also briefly appeared in the Stax stadium
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303:(1973) followed, with Little Sonny using an Old Standby 34B harmonica. A lean period ensued, until the British label
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254:. It was co-written by Little Sonny's wife, Maggie. His follow-up release, "Love Shock", was for
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250:, accompanied him on Little Sonny's debut single, "I Gotta Find My Baby" (1958), released by
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which he cut in less than six hours. It was released by
Enterprise, a subsidiary of
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in
Detroit. By late 1969, Little Sonny recorded his debut album, the predominantly
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His first professional appearance was at the Good Times Bar in
Detroit, playing in
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492:"Captured for Life: A Detroit Narrative in Photos by a True Motor City Original"
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harmonica player, singer and songwriter. His early mentor and inspiration was
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customers between his performances on stage. He often performed with
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634:"Black & Blue - Little Sonny | Releases | AllMusic"
389:
Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz
Festival, Vol. 2: Blues with a Feeling
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609:"Vinyl Album: Little Sonny - Black & Blue (1971)"
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367:(1971), Enterprise/Stax (reissued in 1992)
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373:(1973), Enterprise/Stax (number 42,
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115:, singer, songwriter, photographer
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230:, often boosting his earnings by
733:American blues harmonica players
768:People from Greensboro, Alabama
391:(1995), Schoolkids (live album)
279:. Despite their reputation for
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601:
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457:Dahl, Bill (October 6, 1932).
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1:
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753:Blues musicians from Alabama
321:Black Hills State University
273:New King of Blues Harmonica,
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689:"Little Sonny: Discography"
420:The Best Love I've Ever Had
356:New King of Blues Harmonica
10:
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585:. Bhsu.edu. Archived from
319:Little Sonny performed at
171:, Alabama) is an American
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763:Harmonica blues musicians
748:American male songwriters
557:"Little Sonny: Biography"
459:"Little Sonny: Biography"
246:. Another club stalwart,
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773:Songwriters from Alabama
93:, Alabama, United States
19:Not to be confused with
758:Detroit blues musicians
316:over 20 years earlier.
213:Sonny Boy Williamson II
177:Sonny Boy Williamson II
738:American blues singers
662:"Little Sonny: Awards"
167:; October 6, 1932, in
60:Background information
743:American male singers
534:. Concord Music Group
405:Blues with a Feeling
248:Eddie "Guitar" Burns
183:. His 1973 release,
563:. November 26, 2013
407:(1996), Sequel (UK)
358:(1970), Enterprise/
25:Little Sonny Warner
411:Live in Japan 1994
323:on June 24, 2000.
21:Little Sonny Jones
697:. October 6, 1932
583:"Campus Currents"
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123:Harmonica, vocals
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297:Black & Blue
224:Washboard Willie
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256:Excello Records
244:Baby Boy Warren
236:John Lee Hooker
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85:October 6, 1932
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532:"Little Sonny"
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422:(2003), P-Vine
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305:Sequel Records
240:Eddie Kirkland
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187:, reached the
173:electric blues
157:Musical artist
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395:Sonny Side Up
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371:Hard Goin' Up
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120:Instrument(s)
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87:(age 91)
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699:. Retrieved
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671:. Retrieved
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660:Dahl, Bill.
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643:. Retrieved
637:
628:
616:. Retrieved
613:45worlds.com
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603:
591:. Retrieved
587:the original
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565:. Retrieved
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536:. Retrieved
503:February 26,
501:. Retrieved
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468:. Retrieved
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419:
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332:Eddie Willis
325:
318:
313:
308:
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296:
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288:
285:concert film
277:Stax Records
272:
270:instrumental
260:
252:Duke Records
221:
217:used car lot
210:
192:
184:
181:Stax Records
165:Aaron Willis
164:
161:Little Sonny
160:
159:
133:1952–present
129:Years active
70:Aaron Willis
36:Little Sonny
29:
723:1932 births
701:January 27,
673:January 27,
593:January 27,
567:January 27,
538:January 27,
497:Metro Times
470:January 27,
350:Discography
336:Bobby Bland
299:(1971) and
113:harmonicist
108:Occupations
53: 1981
717:Categories
427:References
344:Bobby Rush
328:Joe Hunter
281:soul music
169:Greensboro
111:Musician,
91:Greensboro
81:1932-10-06
66:Birth name
645:March 18,
618:March 18,
376:Billboard
340:Otis Clay
207:Biography
194:Billboard
694:AllMusic
667:AllMusic
639:AllMusic
464:AllMusic
413:(1997),
397:(1995),
290:Wattstax
561:Last.fm
380:R&B
307:issued
198:R&B
191:in the
48:Sonny,
415:P-Vine
399:Sequel
263:Top 20
189:Top 50
163:(born
150:P-Vine
146:Sequel
138:Labels
98:Genres
383:chart
228:clubs
201:chart
703:2014
675:2014
647:2021
620:2021
595:2014
569:2014
540:2014
505:2010
472:2014
401:(UK)
360:Stax
342:and
242:and
142:Stax
75:Born
266:hit
23:or
719::
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636:.
611:.
559:.
548:^
513:^
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83:)
50:c.
705:.
677:.
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385:)
79:(
27:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
