He went by many names- Rice, Willie, Footsie, The Goat. His real name may have been Aleck Miller. He claimed to be the well-known bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson. When it was pointed out to him that this was another man, he insisted he had adopted the name first. Of course he was an imposter, but he told so many stories, and told them so well, you soon gave up trying to separate the truth from the bamboozle.
He was a consummate entertainer. (Check out his “no hands” technique in this clip). He could be obsequious, violent, and charming; at once elegant and utterly downhome. Above all he was a superb songwriter and musician, and there has never been anyone remotely like him since.
[Ed. Note – According to the Youtube description, this is “Live in the UK 1963. Otis Spann on Piano, Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy on Guitar, Willie Dixon on Bass and Bill Stepney on Drums.” John Siscoe confirms this to be the correct lineup.]
Sonny Boy Williamson Backing Muddy Waters – “Got My Mojo Working.”
Also from Sonny Williamson – Your Funeral and My Trial, I am a Lonely Man, Nine Below Zero, and Bye Bye Bird.
Bio of Sonny Boy Williamson which begins with the words, “So, do we know who he really was?”
