Original Chicago blues great Billy Boy Arnold shares his story and insights BILLY BOY ARNOLD is one of the few remaining first-generation Chicago bluesmen alive today. Although he's 85, Arnold is still incredibly active. Before the pandemic, he was still playing shows, and he recently finished his autobiography The Blues Dream Of Billy Boy Arnold with author and harmonica pro Kim Field. Arnold learned to play harmonica from the godfather of all blues harmonica players: John Lee Williamson, the original Sonny Boy (more about that below). After mastering the basics, he developed an instantly recognisable style: simple, effective, memorable, and always rich in tone. Plenty of aspiring players have since learned Arnold's hooks and licks. Arnold teamed up with Bo Diddley when he was just a teenager, helped seed rock and roll music in the 1960s with his hit "Wish You Would" (famously covered by The Yardbirds and many others) and continued to thrive past middle age with the Alligator Records career highlight and comeback record Back Where I Belong in 1993. He was also a contemporary of the best Chicago blues harmonica players ever: Little Walter, Rice Miller and Big Walter Horton. Arnold never tried to compete with those players. Rather, he was so confident in his laconic style and his ability to craft songs that he took his own path and thrived amidst a virtual Mount Rushmore of great players. While blues harmonica playing in the 21st century has become a vehicle to show off chops and technical prowess, Arnold’s playing offers timeless lessons. First, honour the song and sing it well if you can. Second, if you have a good idea, milk it and let the listener hear it. Finally, remember that when it comes to soloing, less usually works better than more. People will understand you can play quickly. Show them that you’re not just a soloist but a complete musician. Harmonica World was delighted to get a harp lesson from one of the original blues harmonica greats in the form of this interview! Arnold's biography will be available via the University Of Chicago press this autumn.
LESSON WITH A LIVING MASTER Justin M. Norton
When did you first hear a harmonica? What about the sound grabbed you? My parents played blues records when I was a kid, but I didn't pay any attention to them until I heard the original Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Williamson). I liked his singing and his style and his harmonica playing. He had a personal style. He was original. He was the original blues harmonica player and a prolific songwriter. Then I heard Little Walter and thought the harmonica was a beautiful instrument. I didn't intend to become a harmonica player. It just happened that way.
October - November 2021 • Harmonica.co.uk
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