#66 Why Spread the Butter? Part 1: Paul Butterfield and Sonny Boy Williamson #1

Every genre of music history has its important historical figures. These are artists who, regardless commercial success, make significant contributions to the genre. The history of the  great American folk music we call blues is no different. Here too, we find figures whose endowment stands apart from the work of their contemporaries deserves positive acknowledgment from both fans and critics.

There is a subgenre of blues that we will discuss here which focuses on post-war urban electric harmonica playing bluesmen. This subgenre is usually played men who stand in front of band singing blues and accompanying themselves with a ten hole harmonica. This figure has been common since the 1930s and is still very active in blues well into the 21st century. 

In part 1, we will begin with the original harmonica playing bluesman figure with John Lee Curtis a.k.a. Sonny Boy Williamson #1 (I will refer to him as Curtis), then explore Marion ‘Little Walter” Jacobs, (Jacobs) in part 2, and finally Paul Butterfield (Butterfield). Throughout their careers, these three  artists make very significant contributions which are often overlooked by fans and critics of the subgenre.    

So, what is the criteria used to determine how these three artists hold the title of important historical figures in post war urban harmonica blues? Firstly, they do something with their music that no contemporary or predecessor does. Secondly, they intentionally use physical techniques in conjunction with technological innovations to create a unique sound, Thirdly, they create body of work (songs) which become part of the standard blues canon, and their music changes the direction of the genre for at least one generation.

The first example is Tennessee bluesman John Lee Curtis who adopts the stage name of Sonny Boy Williamson early in his career. He is part of The Great Migration of black Americans from mostly rural parts of the southern states to large industrial cities like New York, Detroit and Chicago. The estimate is that 1.6 million people make this journey in search of a better life, - one of the largest recorded migrations in history. One of the few comforts these migrants can afford to bring is their music, and so hundreds of musicians looking to capitalize on this need are also part of the migration too. In fact, if you look at the biographies of many great blues artists from the early to mid part of the twentieth century they most often originate in the southern states.  

Curtis arrives in Chicago in 1934, and secures a job playing his ten hole (diatonic) harmonica as a studio musician with a budget record label specializing in Race Music called Bluebird. It is here that he develops his talents playing on hundreds of recording sessions with colleagues like Big Bill Broonzy, Roosevelt Sykes, and Washboard Sam. It should be noted here that Curtis’ main instrument, the ten hole harmonica is considered a side instrument at this point, a mere toy by many, definitely not a lead instrument. He will change this reality during his brief career.

One of the main problems singers and guitarists have up until the mid-1920s is being heard over the louder instruments in the band. The P.A. (Public Address) systems have been around since the before the turn of the century, but it isn't until the second wave of recording in the mid twenties that singers and acoustic instruments are being successfully amplified with greater accuracy. Then, in 1936 Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian starts using a pickup on his acoustic guitar with the intention of using it as a solo instrument. So, as new technological  innovations become popular, ambitious artists like Curtis hear opportunity.    

He places his little harmonica on the face of a microphone, cups his hands around them, and now the tiny two by four inch harmonica can compete with the volume of any instrument in the band. This must be a eureka moment for Curtis! However, it presents some new challenges that only an innovator and creative artist can hear as a positive opportunity.

One of the things Curtis successfully creates is a new collection of lead phrases for the blues harmonica, and in the process changes the vocabulary of the instrument for the next several decades. As a matter of fact, if a you are playing blues harmonica in the 21^st century, you are probably using some phrases John Lee Curtis created in the 30s and 40s. Quite the contribution!

Before we go further, let’s briefly look at some harmonica playing techniques that will help us better understand some of the significant contributions that Curtis, then Jacobs and finally Butterfield do for the harmonica. Firstly, most ten hole blues harmonica players produce a note on their instrument by using a technique called tongue blocking. This technique works by placing the mouth over four holes of the harmonica, and then using the tongue to block two or three of the holes. After that is done, the player can either draw or blow air through the harmonica to produce a single note. The advantage of using this technique is that the quality of note, (the tone), that the player produces is quite full. It is unlikely that this is a Curtis innovation, but he does use on most of his recordings. (James Cotton is also a good example of this technique in action)

Another technical innovation that allows Curtis to make important contributions is a system called positions. This means that the player uses the harmonica in a different key than the song. For example, while the band is playing in the key of G the harmonica player will play a C harmonica in what is referred to by blues harmonica players as second position. If you play in second position, your root note is the second hole draw, which is G. This will provide the harmonica player and opportunity to play a complete minor pentatonic scale (the blues scale). The other interesting feature of using the second position is that most of the needed notes are draw notes, and the player can create an almost vocal sound by bending notes into pitch. Curtis often uses this second position because it affords him an opportunity to create melodic opportunities which has not been as widely explored before he starts recording.

If  some readers of this piece do not play the harmonica, but find you were not lost by during the last couple of paragraphs. Thank you!  

So, why is this brief technical information relevant to understanding some of the important contributions Curtis makes to post war urban electric harmonica blues?  Well, as we discuss above, with upgraded amplification equipment, Curtis now has access to a new instrument some call the electric harmonica. Secondly, he is using the more flexible second position, and thirdly, this technique offers him the opportunity to create new phrases for the instrument. 

One of the many great advantages offered to ten hole harmonica players is that a very creative player can really make the instrument a very individual voice in a blues.  As an example, next time you listen to a Curtis song, notice the sharp staccato attack of his phrasing, and how he bends some notes. This could be a reflection of the fact that he suffers with a speech condition called childhood-onset fluency disorder - which means he stutters and/or slurs words when speaking - but not while singing. He apparently incorporates his condition into his phrases on the harmonica, and in the process creates new vocabulary for the instrument - most of which are still in use today.   

Here is another reason why John Lee Curtis a.k.a. Sonny Boy Williamson #1 is such an important
contributor to the post war urban electric harmonica blues. He writes in whole or in part a catalogue of songs which become industry standards for several decades after he dies. One example is his first success, Good Morning Little School Girl (1937).  Even if you can’t remember ever listening to his version, you can be sure that some other rendition by another artist has entered your ear. There are great versions by blues artists such as Lightin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and many others. The 60s blues/rock boom brought numerous new versions of the tune by well known artists such as The Grateful Dead, Johnny Winter, and of course, Paul Butterfield ('64). Good Morning Little School Girl is only one example of the songs Curtis contributions to the blues canon.  

Another example is Curtis' version of Robert Johnson’s Stop Breakin’ Down. It too have become a blues standard. His final success is just before he dies in  1947.  Shake the Boogie, it climbs up to number 4 on the Billboard’s Race Records charts.  

Unfortunately, the first important urban blues singer who fronts band while singing and playing an amplified harmonica dies too young! The victim of a violent street robbery, Curtis dies at only 34 years of age.  He is at the peak of his popularity in 1948, and will remain one of the most underappreciated blues artists of the twentieth century. If we were to remove John Lee Curtis from post war electric harmonica blues, we may never has been able to enjoy artists like Little Walter or Paul Butterfield. 

Finally, every truly important artist must inspire at least one younger generation of artists to emulate his style, and as you can see from this list, his influence it very active well after his passing. Accomplished bluesmen such as Big Walter Horton, Jr. Wells, Muddy Waters and Billy Boy Arnold are only a few of the artists who acknowledge Curtis' influence on their music.

 However, while most of these artists are memorable contributors to the genre, there is only who will build on Curtis' techniques and become one of the most important post war electric harmonica players of the twentieth century, Marion Jacobs a.k.a. Little Walter.  

Here is a short note about another influence Curtis has on post war urban electric harmonica blues. His music and public profile is so prominent throughout the south and northern industrial cities during his career that he becomes a victim of what we who live in the modern cyber world call Identity Theft.  After his death there are many who want to capitalize on his success and some assume his stage name Sonny Boy Williamson. The most famous example is Mississippi bluesman Alek ‘Rice’ Miller. He changes his stage name to Sonny Boy Williamson, and until his death in 1965, has a successful national and international career recording and touring under the stolen name. This is the reason why when blues enthusiasts mention Sonny Boy Williamson, there is often a pause and then the question: Do you mean Sonny Boy #1 or #2. 

Stay tuned for the next blog on Why Spread the Butter coming soon. Thanks for reading!