Interview with Big Bill Broonzy on privilege, jealousy, disloyalty, and violence among Southern blacks
Other Form of Name
Lomax, Alan, 1915-2002; Broonzy, Big Bill, 1893-1958
Identifier
T1008R05; FRID (Lomax Number) 10942
Creation Date
5-13-1952
City
Paris (France)
Disclaimer
Some of the images and language that appear in the digital collections depict prejudices that are not condoned by the University of Mississippi. This content is being presented as historical documentation to aid in the understanding of both American history and the history of the University of Mississippi. The University Creed speaks to our current deeply held values, and the availability of this content should not be taken as an endorsement of previous attitudes or behavior.
Description
Blues singer and guitarist Big Bill Broonzy (1893-1958) was a major figure in Chicago in the 1930s and '40s and brought his music to European audiences in the early 1950s. Alan Lomax, who held Broonzy in high esteem, as did many of his colleagues, spent time with him in Chicago and recorded him at the Decca studios in New York in 1946. In 1952 he and Big Bill met again in Paris, where Bill recorded two hours of songs and talk on numerous subjects, from race and pride to black culture in America. Born in Scott County, Mississippi, on the banks of the Mississippi River, William Lee Conley Broonzy learned the violin on a homemade instrument and was playing for social functions by the age of ten. He was briefly a travelling preacher and did a stint in the Army, after which he moved to Chicago and began playing guitar. His recording career, begun with Paramount in 1927, spanned three full decades, taking him from the heart of the Chicago blues scene to the folk revival of the 1950s. He died of throat cancer in 1958.
Subject Headings (Library of Congress)
Violence; Jealousy; Race relations; African Americans -- Race identity;Blues (Music); Blues musicians
Relational Format
audio recording
Extent
11:55
Original Collection
Alan Lomax Recordings
Rights
Media files in this collection are owned by the Association for Cultural Equity and made available solely for personal use. Copy or capture of media files is prohibited. Due to copyright concerns, the recordings in this collection can only be accessed by arrangement with the Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Comments
Paris 5/52. Lomax Classification: interview; blues. Lomax Collection Title: Big Bill Broonzy 1952. Recording Note: Bill Broonzy talks to Alan about Blacks in the South feeling jealous towards the more privileged, and doing the bidding of whites instead of looking out for one another. He tells a story about a white man who wants a black man's wife, and offers another bl. [Editor]; Big Bill Broonzy speaks with Alan Lomax about Negroes being jealous of other Negroes who have gotten better breaks in life. He also talks about his relationship with the man he used to work for. The man was a millionaire and proud of himself. Broonzy is again addressing the idea that Negroes in America are not as proud of their heritage as he feels they should be. He also talks about a white boss he used to work for, for whom he feels great affection and with whose children he is still in contact. [Editor] Session Note: These recordings of Big Bill Broonzy were made by Alan Lomax in Broonzy's Paris hotel room while Alan was working at the Musee de l'Homme on Columbia Records' World library of folk and primitive music LP series (editor's note).