Big Joe Williams
Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an influential American Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, renowned for his unique nine-string guitar. Born near Crawford, Mississippi, Williams began his musical journey busking and performing across the U.S. in the early 1920s, and worked with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He recorded with the Birmingham Jug Band in 1930 and, by 1934, had moved to St. Louis, where he was signed by Lester Melrose to Bluebird Records. Williams recorded notable blues hits such as "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Crawlin' King Snake" and collaborated with blues legends like Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Nighthawk.
Williams was a mentor to Muddy Waters and Honeyboy Edwards, and his influence extended to a young Bob Dylan, with whom he recorded duets in 1962. Despite the shift in African American music to electric blues post-World War II, Williams remained active, recording for labels like Trumpet and Vee-Jay. In the late 1950s, he gained popularity as a "folk blues" artist, performing at coffeehouses, festivals, and touring internationally.
Williams's music was characterized by its rugged, rhythmic blues style, and his song "Baby Please Don’t Go" was covered by numerous artists, including Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. He passed away in Macon, Mississippi, in 1982 and was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1992. Williams's legacy is commemorated with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Crawford.
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