The Invention and Reinvention of Big Bill Broonzy
Kevin D. Greene
Abstract
Between the turn of the twentieth century to his death in 1958, William “Big Bill Broonzy” was one of the most successful and recorded bluesmen of the period. Widley regarded as the most important of all pre-WWII blues artists, Broonzy’s long and remarkable career offer a glimpse into the development of African American celebrity within modern American history. Big Bill, in conjunction with and sometimes in opposition against a host of promoters, producers, academicians, and audiences, invented and reinvented his identity across his career in a remarkably fluid way. Each audience and generatio ... More
Keywords: Big Bill Broonzy, New Negro Renaissance, Blues Music, Folklore, Modernity, Black Consciousness, Chicago, Racism, Recording Industry
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2018 | Print ISBN-13: 9781469646497 |
| Published to North Carolina Scholarship Online: September 2019 | DOI:10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646497.001.0001 |
