Sonny Boy Williamson is so famous a name in blues history that it actually appears twice in the annals of the genre. Yet there is only one man who actually recorded with The Yardbirds, home of guitar heroes Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck (who replaced EC upon his departure to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers). If the singing and harp playing by Sonny Boy (a/k/a/ Rice Miller) doesn’t sound like the definition of blues in this colorized clip of this 1964 performance in Great Britain–taking concurrently with the Beatles’ explosion and other such groups popularity– then just note Williamson’s accompanists: one is long-time Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, and another is veritable foundation of Chess Records, bassist Willie Dixon.
