Big Bill Broonzy, byname of William Lee Conley Broonzy, (born June 26, 1893, Scott, Mississippi, U.S.—died August 14, 1958, Chicago, Illinois), American blues singer and guitarist who represented a tradition of itinerant folk blues.
Broonzy maintained that he was born in 1893 in Scott, Mississippi, but some sources suggest that he was born in 1903 near Lake Dick, Arkansas. In any case, Broonzy grew up in Arkansas. He served in the army (1918–19) and moved to Chicago in 1920, where six years later he made his recording debut as guitar accompanist to African American blues singers. Later he became a singer himself, and by 1940 he was recognized as one of the best-selling blues recording artists. His New York City concert debut was made at Carnegie Hall in 1938. In 1951 he visited Europe and soon became popular across that continent. At the height of his popularity, in 1957, his vocal effectiveness was reduced by a lung operation, and he died the following year of cancer. His best-known songs included “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” “Key to the Highway,” “W.P.A. Blues,” “All by Myself,” and, perhaps most notably, “Black, Brown and White.”
Many students of the blues have found his work almost as fascinating for its sociological as for its strictly musical content. His mother, who was born a slave, died in 1957 at the age of 102, having survived to see Broonzy become a world-famous figure. His autobiography, Big Bill Blues, appeared in 1955. Broonzy was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.
