Re: [Harp-L] Re: Re; Doorless LW car

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

If it's a serious journal, then the quoted statement is completely
irresponsible - "may or may not have been wanted for murder"? That has
no place in serious scholarly work; it's just sensationalism for its
own sake. I wonder how John Lee's Williamson's relatives would feel
about such a statement?

If in fact the statement refers to John Lee. Literally that's what the
sentence says, but West Helena was Rice Miller's stomping grounds.
Still, either he was or wasn't wanted for murder. If it was a rumor,
and there is something to be understood socially or about Sonny Boy
personally from this, then it deserves to be labeled as such, or
explained in some way that gives it significance beyond lurid reading.
Are there police records? Was there a question of the true name of the
suspect (Rice Miller having woven such a web of confusion about his
name)? Did it lead to flight from the area to some other place, like
Chicago?

I'm not sure of the scholarly value of the piano player story, but at
least it's an apparently known story that may have literary value.
Again, social significance, portait of the artist, etc., and the author
or editor is doing the responsible thing in trying to attribute it. But
s/he should not let the murder allegation pass unexamined.

Winslow

--- Glenn Weiser <celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Peter-
> 
> Good to hear from you, and yes, I do own that book. It's great.
> 
> Everyone-
> The same writer has queried me again on a diiferent incident-
> 
> "I hate to bother you again, but do you know where I could find some
> back-up for the rumor that Sonny Boy Williamson II allegedly stabbed
> someone in a street fight?  The actual sentence reads as follows:
> 
>     Sonny Boy Williamson?who stole his name from the real Sonny Boy,
> who may or may not have been wanted for murder in West Helena,
> Arkansas?pulls a switchblade out of his pocket in the middle of a
> recording session and tells the piano player, 'This time,
> motherfucker, we?re going to play it my way.' "
> 
> He neglected to tell me where he read this, but does anyone have
> anything on it? Again, he is writing for an upcoming music issue of
> the Oxford American magazine, which I hadn't heard of, but is
> evidently a rather serious journal dedicted to the South.
> 
> -Glenn Weiser
> 
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Peter and Connie Ruth 
>   To: celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx ; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
>   Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 1:37 PM
>   Subject: Re; Doorless LW car
> 
> 
>   The story about Little Walter taking the doors off his Lincoln can
> be found in the book:
>   The Voice of the Blues, Classic Interviews from Living Blues
> Magazine Edited by Jim O?Neal and Amy Van Singel published in 2002 by
> Routledge.
> 
> 
>   I highly recommend this book.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>   Peter Madcat Ruth
> 
>   madcat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
>   www.madcatmusic.net
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> 



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