This Week In The Blues: November 30 - December 6, 2025

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of November 30 – December 6, 2025

Some of the highlights include Piedmont-style blues singer and guitarist Brownie McGhee, Texas blues guitarist Larry Davis, and Blues harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Keep in mind that there's so much more that happened this week in the blues. If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to visit our website or follow our Facebook page:
https://bigtrainblues.com
https://www.facebook.com/BigTrainBlues

Photo credits (if known) and past episodes are posted on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@BigTrainBlues

Here are links to a few of the artists or songs we've referenced in this week's episode:

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - "Red River Blues" and "Crow Jane" - https://youtu.be/aLKvn6WRwQM?si=MIBw94NcFsLDb5qK

Sonny Boy Williamson II - "Keep It To Your Self" - https://youtu.be/LuAat82uCCM?si=bpujYuy16x46gdhv

Join me every weekday from 12:15pm-12:45pm CT to watch a live stream on Facebook of the longest running blues radio show program. https://www.facebook.com/DeltaCulturalCenter

We’ll have a new episode next week – we’ll see you then!

ARE YOU A FAN OF BLUES HISTORY? US TOO!

If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to visit our website or follow our Facebook page:

https://bigtrainblues.com

https://www.facebook.com/BigTrainBlues

Transcript

Bluesman Robert Lee McCollum, better known as Robert Nighthawk, was born on November 30, 1909. He was the father of blues drummer Sam Carr and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983. Nighthawk blended Delta and Chicago blues with ease, using smooth slide guitar ideas from Tampa Red and adding the rougher Mississippi style he learned from his cousin, Houston Stackhouse. He later left Chicago and returned to his hometown of Helena, Arkansas, where he briefly took over the King Biscuit Radio Show after Sonny Boy Williamson died. Nighthawk kept playing in local juke joints around the area until he passed away in 1967.

Piedmont-style blues singer and guitarist Brownie McGhee was born on November 30, 1915. He’s best remembered for his longtime partnership with harmonica player Sonny Terry. McGhee grew up in Tennessee and contracted polio at age 4, which left his right leg weakened. His father, George McGhee, played guitar and sang, and Brownie’s uncle even built him his first guitar out of a tin marshmallow box and a piece of wood. By the age of 22, McGhee was on the road as a traveling musician, working with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and becoming friends with guitarist Blind Boy Fuller.

On December 1, 1956, Muddy Waters recorded his classic version of “Got My Mojo Working.” As the title suggests, the song talks about a “mojo” or “mojo hand,” which is a small flannel bag filled with items believed to have magical power, such as roots, herbs, bones, Bible verses, or even graveyard dirt. It’s basically a portable good-luck charm or spell that someone carries for protection or influence. Waters’s recording landed at number 359 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It later earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999 and was named one of the “Songs of the Century.”

Cool John Ferguson was born on December 2, 1953. He’s a blues guitarist and singer who has released five albums of his own and played on about 20 more. He also worked as the Director of Creative Development for the Music Maker Relief Foundation, where he helped many older and lesser-known blues, folk, and country musicians record their albums and keep their music alive.

On December 3, 1927, Blind Willie Johnson recorded his haunting masterpiece “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” in Dallas, Texas. The song helped make him one of the most recognized musicians of his era. Instead of singing clear lyrics, Johnson used hums, moans, and emotional cries that expressed deep feeling without words. Whether he intended it or was simply using a common “unison moaning” style, the result became a timeless piece of music that connects with people everywhere. The recording was considered so important that it was chosen for the golden record sent into space on the Voyager probe.

Texas blues guitarist Larry Davis was born on December 4, 1936. He is best known for co-writing “Texas Flood,” which later became a big hit for Stevie Ray Vaughan. But anyone who only knows Vaughan’s version should hear Davis’s original 1958 recording. Davis grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and joined the Duke label thanks to a recommendation from Bobby Bland. He spent time in St. Louis, learning guitar from Albert King while playing bass in King’s band. Davis released a few solo singles before a serious motorcycle accident in 1972 left the left side of his body temporarily paralyzed.

Blues singer and guitarist “Little” Jimmy King was born on December 4, 1964. His real name was Emmanuel Lynn Gales, and he chose his stage name to honor his two heroes, Jimi Hendrix and Albert King. He is best known for songs like “Win, Lose or Draw” and “Upside Down and Backwards.” He led the group Little Jimmy King & the Memphis Soul Survivors and also worked with Albert King and his brothers, Eric and Eugene Gales.

John Lyon, better known as Southside Johnny of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, was born on December 4, 1948, in Neptune, New Jersey. He’s often called the “Grandfather of the New Jersey Sound.” His mix of R&B, soul, and rock helped shape the Jersey Shore music scene that also gave rise to Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt. He grew up in a family filled with blues and jazz, and music was such a part of his life that his mother actually went into labor while his father was playing bass at a club.

Blues harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson II was born on December 5, likely in 1912. His exact birthday is unclear, but there’s no doubt about his talent. Williamson lived an unforgettable blues life. Early in his career he played with Robert Johnson, and near the end he performed with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. In between, he traveled constantly, drank a lot of whiskey, hosted a popular radio show for 15 years, toured Europe, and wrote and recorded some of the greatest blues songs ever made. He died in 1965.

Chicago blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter Willie James Lyons was born on December 5, 1938. His playing was clearly influenced by B.B. King, Freddie King, T-Bone Walker, and Lowell Fulson. Born in Alabama, he moved to Chicago by the mid-1950s and became a respected part of the city’s West Side blues scene. During the 1960s and ’70s he worked with many major blues artists, including Luther Allison, Jimmy Dawkins, and Bobby Rush, earning a reputation as both a strong soloist and a dependable bandmate.

Texas blues singer Robert Ealey was born on December 6, 1925. He released a couple of albums for Black Top Records in the 1990s, including One Love One Kiss and Turn Out the Lights. Born in Texarkana, he began singing in church at age 15 with a local quartet. Later, he joined the Fort Worth group the Boogie Chillen Boys and became a featured vocalist at the Blue Bird Club. After singing there for 20 years, he bought the club and ran it for another decade.