Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Show
Four Influential Blues Legends
…..radio show
Robert Johnson, Bo Diddley Muddy Waters
and Sonny Boy Williamson

Blues is at the very heart of rock’n’roll. In this Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Show, we’re taking a look at four influential blues legends.

First broadcast
…3 August 2020
on Access North West

LISTEN AGAIN – PODCAST
Four Influential Blues Legends

ARE THEY ON TOUR NOW?
Artists/bands mentioned in
From Rock’n’Roll to Rock

INFLUENTIAL BLUES LEGENDS QUIZ
Based on the radio show
Check out your knowledge
…of four blues legends

Four Influential Blues Legends
radio show
Robert Johnson, Bo Diddley
Muddy Waters and
Sonny Boy Williamson (I) and (II)

Blues started out back in the mists of time. By the early twentieth century it developed a stronghold in the southern states of America, particularly New Orleans and Chicago. Rhythm and blues developed as a more upbeat off-shoot of blues. It extended the music beyond just a medium for guitar and harmonica. This Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Show looks at four influential blues legends, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Sonny Boy Williamson – both (I) and (II).

FOUR INFLUENTIAL BLUES LEGENDS

ROBERT JOHNSON

Robert Johnson only ever recorded 29 songs across two recording sessions, in 1936 and 1937. Despite this, he is one of the most influential of all the early bluesmen.
He is also the subject of one of the greatest myths in rock’n’roll history. Namely, that he sold his soul to the devil for fame and virtuosity. He supposedly did the deed at the crossroads of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He died in 1938 and became a founding member of the 27 Club.

BO DIDDLEY

Bo Diddley created one of the most famous rhythms in rock’n’roll:
shave-n-a-haircut, two-bits.
With long-term associates, the Dutchess on guitar and Jerome on Maracas, he recorded a string of classic songs.
As well as being a successful recording artist, he also designed guitars. His trademark rectangular box-guitar is very much a part of his music legacy.

MUDDY WATERS

Born in 1915 and brought up on the Stoval Plantation in Mississippi, Muddy Waters moved to Chicago in the early 1940s. He was one of the earliest bluesmen to embrace the electric guitar.
His second release on the Chess record label in 1950 was Rollin’ Stone. This was subsequently used by Brian Jones as the band name, when he recruited Mick Jagger and Keith Richard into his new lineup.

SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON – (I) & (II)

One of the strangest stories in the blues world, concerns our next legend. The original Sonny Boy Wilson, John Lee Williamson died and his name was taken by another bluesman. Rice Miller adopted the name and became known as “Sonny Boy Williamson (II)”.
Both were outstanding harmonica players. The main difference being, Sonny Boy (I) played acoustic harmonica, whereas, his successor preferred the new electric sound.
In 1963 Sonny Boy Williamson recorded a live album with the Eric Clapton version of the Yardbirds.

PLAYLIST

1 Robert Johnson – I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom
2 Tho Rolling Stones – Love in Vain
3 Buddy Holly – Not Fade Away
4 Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
5 Sonny Boy Williamson (II) – Nine Below Zero
6 The Who – Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)
7 Jimi Hendrix – Mannish Boy
8 Muddy Waters – Hoochie Coochie Man

ROCK’N’ROLL UNRAVELLED SHOW

How rock’n’roll came about, it’s transition into rock music in the mid-1960s and the array of rock genres which followed in the late 1960s and ‘70s.

Blues, R&B, rock’n’roll, rock, prog, folk rock, country rock, psychedelia, glam, early metal, punk, new wave +++… will all find their way into the shows. Plus artists and bands, some well known and others who are more on the cult side. Stories behind classic singles and albums, record labels, venues, gigs… Not forgetting the people behind the scenes: producers, managers, promoters, writers, Svengalis – the people who made it all happen.

If it’s relevant to the music of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, I’ll be talking about it.
All this and great music, although, some you’ll recognise and some you might well be hearing for the first time.

COMPETITION
Win a copy of
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled

For this month’s question and
TO ENTER the competition…

The names go into a hat and the lucky winner selected at random.
I’ll post the book to the lucky winner
anywhere in the world…

Rock’n’Roll Unravelled – THE BOOK

Derek Shelmerdine, author of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled.

In its unique three-part format
Timeline + What Happened Today? + Pocket Histories
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk.

Not just the story of the music but also the social events which shaped it. The Vietnam War, Civil Rights struggle and so many other factors because they had such an influence on the music of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.

Record Collector magazine review
“Shelmerdine has made a painstaking effort to document pretty much every event that would prove significant in shaping popular music … a comprehensive guide… invaluable.”

TO BUY Rock’n’Roll Unravelled

RADIO APPEARANCES

Four Influential Blues Legends was first broadcast
on Access North West 3 August 2020

For all Derek Shelmerdine‘s Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Shows.
…..and appearances on all radio stations.