John Lee Curtis Williamson was born on this date, March 30, 1914, in Jackson, Tenn. He’s better known as the first Sonny Boy Williamson or Sonny Boy No. 1. A second Sonny Boy Williamson, Aleck Ford “Rice” Miller, also began using the name in Helena, Ark., in the 1940s. Both were prominent blues singers and harmonica players, which led to confusion over who was the original. Sadly, Sonny Boy No. 1’s violent death in Chicago on June 1, 1948, made the question a moot point. Miller was able to use the name, unchallenged, until his death in Helena on May 25, 1965.
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