Homesick James
Homesick James , actually James A. Williamson ( April 30, 1910 in Somerville , Tennessee , † December 13, 2006 in Springfield (Missouri) ) was an American blues musician.
He began to play the guitar as a child and developed his style in the widespread, small, poor bars for the blacks of the south, where he had performed since he was 14 years old. In the following years he played a. a. with Sleepy John Estes , Sonny Boy Williamson II. , Snooky Pryor , Muddy Waters , Honeyboy Edwards , Blind Boy Fuller (who became a "mentor" and important sponsor for Homesick). He also appeared with Robert Johnson , as well as with Son House , for whom he had great admiration.
In his own band, the "Dusters", which he led in the 1930s, Albert King played drums for a while. Towards the end of the decade, Homesick James began his career in the studio, making early records for RCA and Vocalion . In the 1940s he moved to Memphis (Tennessee) , where he performed regularly with Big Walter Horton , one of the most important harmonica players in the blues. In the early 1950s he moved further north and settled in Chicago .
Here he became an integral part of the blues scene and had a decisive influence on the sound of Maxwell Street at the time. He has performed with Memphis Minnie (Homesick's longtime girlfriend), Big Bill Broonzy , Lonnie Johnson , Tampa Red , Yank Rachell , Robert Lockwood Jr. , Junior Wells , Sunnyland Slim , Little Walter, and Elmore James . A particularly close friendship developed between him and Elmore James, whom Homesick referred to as his cousin for decades. Homesick is said to have given Elmore his first guitar and he taught him to play slide. He played in Elmore's band from 1955 until Elmore James' death in 1963 and participated in numerous Elmore James hits such as The Sky Is Crying , Dust My Broom and Roll and Tumble . Elmore James died in 1963 in Homesick's Chicago apartment.
After the death of Elmore James Homesick worked mainly under his own name and recorded numerous albums for Delmark , Prestige / Fantasy , Bluesville , Appaloosa , Stanhope , Trix , Black and Blue , Earwig and Icehouse . He appeared at practically all major blues festivals and was a guest at the most important blues festivals of all ( Chicago Blues Festival , San Francisco Blues Festival and the St. Louis Blues Festival ).
The Living Blues Magazine saw him as "one of the most wonderful phenomena of the blues at all"; the music magazine Option stated that listening to him was "just as compelling as discovering recordings by Robert Johnson for the first time" and further that it was "like finding the roots of all blues guitarists bundled in a single source". The Chicago Reader attested Homesick that he “turned anger into an art form. He throws together snippets of blues standards from recent times as well as from the beginnings of the blues, pulls and tears the strings of his guitar with anarchic ferocity, only to switch to a smooth slide in the next moment. He intersperses his expressive singing with anecdotes and aphorisms from his long life as a constant traveler. "
Williamson recorded his last record in 2004. Homesick James died on December 13, 2006 and is buried in Covington , Tennessee.
Discography
- "Stones In My Passway" on "Blues On the South Side," Prestige OBCCD-529-2, 1990 (recorded 1964);
- " Crossroads " on "My Home Ain't Here", Fedora FCD-5023, 2004 (recorded 2004).
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Homesick James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williamson, James A. (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 30, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Somerville , Tennessee |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 2006 |
| Place of death | Springfield, Missouri |