B.C. Williamson - The Official Website

 

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B.C. WILLIAMSON: THE GREATEST BLUES SINGER WHO NEVER LIVED

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"Born under a bad sign in 1927 as the 7th child of the 7th son, on a crossroads one Friday 13th, on a bed of dead cats and smashed mirrors (under a ladder), Johnny Ezekiel Robert Barnabus Cain Williamson is one of Blues’ biggest contributors. His albums are rightly seen as classics, exploring every possible variation of the blues - “Giraffe” (1953) utilized the 12 bar form, “Loaded Weapon” (1955) pioneered the 18 bar blues, “Fatal Discharge” (1960) created the famous 6 bar style, and “Come Back” (his 1975 comeback album) had two songs using the 4 bar form.  If there was a number B.C. knew, he recorded an album in it (and B.C. recorded many albums.)" So reads the statement made by the USA edition of "Who's Who" in the entry regarding B.C. Williamson.

WHO IS B.C. WILLIAMSON?

Born in the Mississippi Delta, the young Barnabus Cain (or "Blues Child") learnt to play the guitar from his favourite blues records (he learnt from masters like Bukka White, Robert Johnson and Son House), first playing a one-stringed "diddley bow", before graduating to a three-string cigar box guitar, and then moving to a cheap acoustic. He moved to Tennessee after meeting his first collaborator Tick-Tock Turner, a young drummer from the area. They formed the B.C. Williamson Blues Band and began a residency at Blues Bar 12 in Beale Street, Memphis. The band rose to popularity, with B.C.'s prominent songwriting praised especially. But disaster struck when B.C. was falsely convicted of stealing a Fender Telecaster, new on the market at the time. His one-year spell in jail prepared him for the life of a bluesman. He got out of jail and reformed the band, who eventually received a record deal, and recorded the popular "Giraffe". After many years of varying success and some best-selling records, B.C. now stands as one of the blues' greatest masters. With a new tour, book, album and film in the works,  B.C. is more prominent as an artist than ever. Welcome to his website, made under the supervision of  the man himself.

A STATEMENT FROM B.C. WILLIAMSON

Edited excerpt from blog entry "New Directions" 06/11/10

"Almost a year ago, we completed the beginnings of our grand remastering project in Memphis. I was busy with writing and touring duties much of the time, and as such, my friend Natty Roseman occupied himself with the remastering of tracks for a greatest hits collection, the first one in print for years, if we forget 1985's This Is Not An Album, which was withdrawn for legal reasons. Now, I mean no respect to Roseman, who sadly passed away last year after a long illness, but to say the very least, I had issues with the quality of the mixes he made at the time.

The tracks comprising the collection were very poorly remastered, with the addition of unnecessary reverb to old tracks, radical changes to the equalization, and a very lightweight, pallid stereo image that does no justice to the original vinyl tracks. Listening back to songs like Shotgun Blues and I’m Back, I was reminded not of the eras these tracks inhabited, but of the sounds of a modern recording studio.

In short, I was thoroughly disappointed in the way that the remastering process panned out. I intend, in the future, to mix my own versions of the songs in question, restoring them to their previous formats. I have been discussing with the label the possibility of a series of re-released singles. As opposed to working on a restored greatest hits collection, which does not interest me greatly, the concept of releasing new, remastered singles (with the original A and B sides) for download every few weeks or so is an interesting one that I will explore within time."

FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE NEW REMASTERS, SEE LATEST RELEASES.

UPCOMING EVENTS

In recent news, B.C. Williamson announces the completion of his autobiography, 
"The Blues and the Abstract Truth," an epic tome that he has reportedly devoted more than thirty years of his life to. Atypically for a musician renowned for his withdrawn character, Willliamson's career-spanning collection of memoirs is written with naked honesty, detailing tales from a career defined by triumph, suffering and excitement. With lengthy sections ranging from his labyrinthine thoughts on the Sixties counterculture to the progression of Western contemporary art over the twentieth century, the work stands not only as a reflection on a life lived to its fullest, but a thrilling series of ruminations on a world of music, politics and revolution that Williamson witnessed from the front line.  From this stage, the novel will most likely undergo the editing process for a considerable amount of time, with B.C. emphasising the "first-draft nature of the book at the moment." Click here to read an exclusive excerpted chapter, recounting B.C.'s roadside experiences on tour.

All music/lyrics © Rackermann Records 2009 unless otherwise specified. 
Express permission must be sought to reproduce them in any form.