Monday, 6 October 2025

Little Sonny (Willis) born 6 October 1932

Little Sonny (born Aaron Willis; October 6, 1932, in Greensboro, Alabama) is an American electric blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. 

Willis was born in 1932 and raised solely by his mother. He relocated to Detroit in 1953. Little Sonny stated that his nickname was originated by his mother: "[She] called me 'Sonny boy' from the time I can remember." He had no real interest in music, he said, "But then I saw Sonny Boy Williamson II." Willis was "spellbound at the way he played. After the show I went home and practiced for hours. Every day after that I would practice until I got the sound I wanted." His daytime job was working in a used car lot. 

After sitting in with Washboard Willie at the Good Times Bar one evening, Sonny was offered ten dollars a night, three nights a week by the club owner. Within six months, Sonny formed his own group. During the years that followed, he worked five shows a night in many Detroit bars and clubs, packing the rooms every weekend. He spent two years at the Bank Bar, four and a half at the Congo Lounge, five years in the Apex Bar, and two years at the Calumet Show Bar. He still took Polaroid pictures of the customers between sets and often he earned more money from the photography than from entertaining. It was a rough grind, but he managed to make a living and eventually to buy a car and a home for his wife and four children. 

He often performed with John Lee Hooker, Eddie Kirkland and Baby Boy Warren. Another club stalwart, Eddie "Guitar" Burns, accompanied him on Little Sonny's debut single, "I Gotta Find My Baby" (1958), released by Duke Records. It was co-written by Little Sonny's wife, Maggie. His follow-up release, "Love Shock", was for Excello Records. He received $25 for that track. He then established his own label, Speedway Records, and sold enough copies of his next single, "The Mix Up", to pay his production costs. 

                                   

Little Sonny acquired a two-track tape machine and took matters into his own hands during the early '60s, helming his tiny Speedway label.In 1966 he leased "The Creeper" and "Latin Soul" to Revilot Records. A later track, "Sonny's Bag", became his first Top 20 hit in Detroit. By late 1969, Little Sonny recorded his debut album, the predominantly instrumental New King of Blues Harmonica, which he cut in less than six hours. It was released by Enterprise, a subsidiary of Stax Records. Despite their reputation for soul music productions, Little Sonny released three albums for the label in the early 1970s. He also briefly appeared in the Stax stadium concert film, Wattstax. 

Black & Blue (1971) and Hard Goin' Up (1973) followed, with Little Sonny using an Old Standby 34B harmonica. His 1973 release, Hard Goin' Up, reached the Top 50 in the Billboard R&B chart. A lean period ensued, until the British label Sequel Records issued Sonny Side Up in 1995. His accompanists included the keyboard player Rudy Robinson, a regular session musician in Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s, and the guitarist Aaron Willis, Jr., Little Sonny's son, who had both played on Hard Goin' Up over 20 years earlier. 

Little Sonny performed at Black Hills State University on June 24, 2000. His last public concert was at  the Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival, in Detroit on October 4, 2008, at, with Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Otis Clay and Bobby Rush. 

His photograph collection, housed in the basement of his Detroit home, includes shots of John Lee Hooker, Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Eddie Kirkland, Joe Hunter, Eddie Willis, Bobby Bland, Washboard Willie, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. He has released eight albums, including three for a subsidiary of Stax Records. 

Now long retired, he recently gave an interview in 2023 to the French abs online magazine. @ https://www.absmag.fr/little-sonny

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic and Concord.com)

1 comment:

boppinbob said...

For “ LITTLE SONNY WILLIS – Complete Studio Recordings (2019 Blue Eye)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/Wp7fm1QU

01. I gotta find my baby
02. Hear my woman calling
03. Love shock
04. I'll love you baby until the day I die
05. The mix up
06. Inside my heart
07. The creeper
08. Latin Soul
09. We got a groove
10. Sonny's bag
11. Don't ask me no questions
12. Stretchin' out
13. Let's have a good time
14. Orange pineapple
15. Down don't bother me
16. The blues for you
17. Wade in the water
18. They want money
19. Baby what you want me to do
20. Eli's pork chop
21. Hey little girl
22. Hot potato
23. Don't ask me no questions
24. Tomorrow's blues today
25. Back down yonder
26. Sad funk
27. The creeper returns
28. Hung up
29. Sonny's fever
30. You got a good thing
31. A woman named trouble
32. Honest I do
33. Paying through the nose
34. Memphis B-K
35. Where women got meat on their bones
36. I found love
37. Things I used to do
38. Blues with a feeling
39. Going down slow I & II
40. It's hard going up
41. My woman is good to me
42. You're spreading yourself a little too thin
43. The day you left me
44. You can be replaced
45. Do it right now
46. You made me strong
47. Sure is good
48. I want you
*BONUS TRACKS not on Gerard’s playlist.
*49. Hastings Street after hours
*50. Love you pretty baby

Tracks 1 & 2 - 1958.
Tracks 3 & 4 and 49 & 50- 1959
Tracks 5 & 6 – 1966
Tracks 7 & 8 -1967
Tracks 9 to 16 – 1968
Tracks 17 to 27 – 1970
Tracks 28 to 38 – 1971
Tracks 39 to 48 - 1972

A big thank you goes to Gérard Herzhaft @ the Blue Eye blog for the loan of this compilation.
Here’s another album found @ Don’t Ask Me I Don’t Know. Thanks to Xyros for the loan.

For “ Little Sonny - Archives - Live '65 & Rare Tracks (2010 P-Vine Club)” go here:

https://pixeldrain.com/u/f4VDYFDv

01 - Little Sonny - Latin Soul.mp3
02 - Little Sonny - Blue Monday Sweet Sixteen.mp3
03 - Little Sonny - Mellow in Easy.mp3
04 - Little Sonny - The Blues for You.mp3
05 - Little Sonny - Sonny's Bag.mp3
06 - Little Sonny - The Creeper Returns.mp3
07 - Little Sonny - Down Don't Bother Me.mp3
08 - Little Sonny - We Got a Groove.mp3
09 - Little Sonny - The Thing.mp3
10 - Little Sonny - Sweet Sixteen.mp3
11 - Little Sonny - You Were Wrong.mp3
12 - Little Sonny - Rock Me Baby.mp3
13 - Little Sonny - The Melody.mp3
14 - Little Sonny - The Things I Used to Do.mp3
15 - Little Sonny - Original Creeper.mp3
16 - Little Sonny - Calypso Harmonica.mp3

Tracks 1-11 Live
Tracks 12to 16 - 68/69 studio recordings