Sonny Boy Williamson I class recording (featuring Joe Filisko)

Join master player, teacher Joe Filisko and Ronnie Shellist for a great class. John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson no.1, is widely regarded as the Grandfather of the Big Sound & Tone Chicago Blues harp style and had a huge influence on Little and Big Walter, James Cotton and Junior Wells.  This class will look into the “layers” of what makes up SBW1’s sound made up of only his licks and phrases, heard here.  More than 90% of his recordings come from the roots of this song.

This will help you more than anything on understanding the importance of Tongue Blocking and the five different layers of sound it allows for.  It will also best help you to understand why SBW1 was so important to the next generation of players. Here’s a playlist created by Joe Filisko of some of Sonny Boy Williamson I’s playing. It also includes a demo from Joe sampling many of SBI’s riffs.