Who Is Broonzy?

William Lee Conley Broonzy, also named as Big Bill Broonzy or Big Bill, was a very important blues artist. His date of birth is unknown, but her sister stated: “ He is my twin brother, (1)”. She stated that she had proofed that, none of the less there are doubts that Broonzy was born on another date. It remains problematic, if Broonzy was born on the 26 of June 1893 or 1898.

Broonzy is not his real name; he was born as Lee Conley. A lot of his songs are about his bad experiences in the US army, when he returned from France to Mississippi/ Arkansas. He also based a lot of his stories of his mysterious birth date(1).
Same as his parents, Broonzy was born in poverty, along with seventeen other children. Bill’s first instrument was the violin,
Broonzy’s influences were the folk music, spirituals, work songs, ragtime music, hokum and country blues. Singers of his time as Jimmie Roggers, Blind Blake, Son House, and Blind Lemon Jefferson also influenced him (2). Big Bill Broonzy influenced Beck and Eric Chaplin. His talent on the guitar influenced them both. They were also very astonished that he could play in so many different styles. They both also adapted his songs and played in a variety of styles, from blues to classic pieces (3).
One thing that makes Big Bill Broonzy such a successful singer is that he played in a lot of different styles. He plays foe example: folk music, country blues, Chicago blues, spirituals and protest songs. He varied his style when he played in front of different audiences. For example in front of a “white audience” he played acoustic guitar more than the electrical one. Generally many singers don’t have that flexibility of changing genres according to the audience. That is one of the major unique qualities that make Big Bill such a successful singer
The vocal is not shouted and it is not whispered. Big Bill uses a normal daily tone, but at the same time he makes his voice more dramatic, like in (sec). Personally I think, that his voice fits to the guitar, because the guitar is very light and clean, and also plays major chords. This song can be danced with, but it can also be listened while relaxing. I guess that this makes this song unique. There is the possibility to dance with the guitar, however a person can feel relaxed with the vocal. Unlike a lot of blues songs, the vocals make the audience feel