Big Joe Williams
Play Radio
Listen to Big Joe Williams Radio,
featuring artists like Sleepy John Estes, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Bukka White, Blind Boy Fuller and more…
-
Search on Spotify
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
344,484 plays (74,428 listeners)
Big Joe Williams (born Joseph Lee Williams, October 16, 1903 - December 17, 1982) was an American blues musician and songwriter, known for his characteristic style of guitar-playing, his nine-string guitar, and his bizarre, cantankerous personality.
Born in Crawford, Mississippi, Williams performed frequently, wandering across the United States busking and playing stores, bars, alleys and work camps, as well as recording for Okeh, Bluebird Records, Delmark Records, Prestige Records and Vocalion.
Big Joe’s guitar playing is decidedly in the Delta Blues style, and yet is unique. He played driving rhythm and virtuosic lead lines simultaneously, and sang over it all. He played with picks both on his thumb and index finger, plus his guitar was very heavily modified.
Williams added a rudimentary electric pick-up, whose wires coiled all over the top of his guitar. He also added three extra strings, creating unison pairs for the first and second courses and an octave pair for the fourth course.
Born in Crawford, Mississippi, Williams performed frequently, wandering across the United States busking and playing stores, bars, alleys and work camps, as well as recording for Okeh, Bluebird Records, Delmark Records, Prestige Records and Vocalion.
Big Joe’s guitar playing is decidedly in the Delta Blues style, and yet is unique. He played driving rhythm and virtuosic lead lines simultaneously, and sang over it all. He played with picks both on his thumb and index finger, plus his guitar was very heavily modified.
Williams added a rudimentary electric pick-up, whose wires coiled all over the top of his guitar. He also added three extra strings, creating unison pairs for the first and second courses and an octave pair for the fourth course.
Shouts:
13 shouts
Top Albums
-
Baby Please Don't Go
Big Joe Williams
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $6.99
- 7digital $8.99
- iTunes $0.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $11.99
- eBay Search
-
These Are My Blues
Big Joe Williams Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $39.86
- eBay Search
-
Chicago 63
Big Joe Williams Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
hashbrown_jr wrote:
thanks you Big Joe Williams blues star
-
Parisblues wrote:
Il y a un large choix d'images sans faire d'incitation au tabac. s'il vous plait votez . / there's a large choice of pictures without doing tabacco incitation. please vote.
-
maskeraddanne wrote:
Master of the... NINE-string guitar, really? That makes him stand out, for damn sure! [2]
-
Druid66 wrote:
Master of the... NINE-string guitar, really? That makes him stand out, for damn sure!
-
staytooned wrote:
@staytooned007 (tweet me). STAYTOONED WAS HERE~
-
JoshCIVM wrote:
...I think everyone was just a cracked nutcase. Which is what makes them so cool.
-
Jim_Lithium wrote:
Pigmeatl - I think you got it wrong. I have the 'High Times Reader' book which includes a lenghty account by Michael Bloomfield called "Me and Big Joe" about his friendship and trips with the guy. They went to see Jazz Gillum together and he was the one who was living in a shack, stoking a raging fire in the middle of the summer.
-
BluesRok wrote:
At the group Blues Artist of the Week, you can vote for up to 5 artist for the title each week, and play some great blues games! Hope to see you there!
-
PigmeatI wrote:
I remember reading an account by Paul Butterfield about trying to locate Big Joe in the 60's when the blues revival took off. He was going to take him out on tour. He found Big Joe holed up in a shack in the middle of summer,fire blazing in the stove,every stitch of clothes he owned on, widows and doors sealed tight hollerin' about how the fire was keeping the Devil away. Butterfield got him out and spent some time with him,but I think Big Joe scared the living Hell out of him? Sometimes you need to let sleeping dogs lie.
-
BlindWilliam wrote:
I'm'a build me a scaffold/and hang my doggone self. Bring your bags from the south over to Great Black Music. P E A C E > bw
-
SYL2Oh wrote:
The many years spent on roads have fed the imagination of this guitarist whith the full game!
-
Carlos44 wrote:
big man ;)
-
safe-as-milk wrote:
history will favour me as the first person on the shoutbox. some of the best delta guitar work out there
Videos
Top Listeners
-
YkYrI
Top Listener
-
miguimi
Top Listener
-
whispernoise
Top Listener
-
avadores
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
mutzigger, Saskatchewan_, curtisbarker and 3 other people added Big Joe Williams to their libraries. 2 hours ago
-
Nortaneous tagged Big Joe Williams with ‘blues’. Sunday morning
-
JackieMT, vapurya, mcnuggetjesus and 16 other people added Big Joe Williams to their libraries. last week
-
maddogBlues tagged Big Joe Williams with delta blues, classic blues and blues. last month
-
maddogBlues, JerzyCHa, greenbay39 and 1 other person added Big Joe Williams to their libraries. last month
-
EduRocker12 tagged Big Joe Williams with ‘delta blues’. last month
-
marsyman tagged Big Joe Williams with old blues, blues guitar, guitar and 2 other tags. last month
-
A deleted user added Big Joe Williams to their library. last month
-
Denis-Vojd tagged Big Joe Williams with classic blues, delta blues and blues. last month
-
lfbtessarolli tagged Big Joe Williams with rock and blues rock. December 2011
Related Journals
-
Smoking kills, so start today
by Kainyn-Kutho |
29 Jun 2010
| 31 comments
-
Aerosmith, Bogotá- Mayo 20 de 2010
by dodkurt |
23 May 2010
-
Another Glance in the Mirror
by BlindWilliam |
9 Jan 2010
Groups (12)
-
Pre-War Blues
358 members
-
Smithsonian Folkways
198 members
-
BLUES council
147 members
-
78 RPMs
128 members
-
The Blues House
111 members
More Information
- Links
- Labels
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Big Joe Williams from Universal Music.
