John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson is a Tennessee historical marker in Madison County.

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"Sonny Boy" Williamson (1914 - 1948), the music innovator responsible for the acceptance of the harmonica as an authentic blues tool, is buried in old Blair's Chapel CME Cemetery, 5 miles southwest. The most influential blues harmonica player of his day, he made a powerful contribution to American music and is recognized as a master of the blues genre. In his mouth and hands, the harmonica learned to wail and chirp, laugh and cry, in spanking new rhythms and to daring new beats.

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · Gen. map XVIII. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1924 · Tennessee. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1950 · Jackson South, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson

Historical maps covering this location

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