MUSICIAN

Sonny Boy Williamson I

1914 - 1948

Photo of Sonny Boy Williamson I

Icon of person Sonny Boy Williamson I

John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson (March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of recordings by many pre–World War II blues artists. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sonny Boy Williamson I has received more than 386,073 page views. His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 18 in 2019). Sonny Boy Williamson I is the 516th most popular musician (up from 1,543rd in 2019), the 2,686th most popular biography from United States (up from 7,705th in 2019) and the 145th most popular American Musician.

Memorability Metrics

  • 390k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.81

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 19

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.51

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 1.25

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Sonny Boy Williamson I ranks 516 out of 3,175Before him are Colin Burgess, Bert Kaempfert, Nelson Freire, Claude Bolling, Suzanne Vega, and Igor Oistrakh. After him are Carlos Puebla, Bernie Taupin, Jason Newsted, James Taylor, Maurice White, and Arthur Grumiaux.

Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1914, Sonny Boy Williamson I ranks 108Before him are Alberto Lattuada, Go Seigen, Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, Patrick O'Brian, Juan Carlos Onganía, and George Reeves. After him are Kirill Kondrashin, Vladimir Chelomey, Ilmari Juutilainen, Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr., Erich Topp, and Woody Strode. Among people deceased in 1948, Sonny Boy Williamson I ranks 76Before him are Arshile Gorky, Paul Wegener, Solomon Mikhoels, Fakhri Pasha, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, and Kâzım Karabekir. After him are Achille Varzi, Sabahattin Ali, Henning Jakob Henrik Lund, Rosika Schwimmer, Manuel Roxas, and Edith Roosevelt.

Others Born in 1914

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Others Deceased in 1948

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Sonny Boy Williamson I ranks 2,686 out of 20,380Before him are William J. Burns (1956), Flannery O'Connor (1925), Suzanne Vega (1959), Laura Linney (1964), Philip Sheridan (1831), and Ronald Evans (1933). After him are Jay Rockefeller (1937), Larry David (1947), Waylon Jennings (1937), James Mark Baldwin (1861), Anna May Wong (1905), and Lizzie Borden (1860).

Among MUSICIANS In United States

Among musicians born in United States, Sonny Boy Williamson I ranks 145Before him are Peter Cetera (1944), Willy DeVille (1950), Pat Metheny (1954), Billy Ray Cyrus (1961), Chad Smith (1961), and Suzanne Vega (1959). After him are Jason Newsted (1963), James Taylor (1948), Maurice White (1941), Grace Slick (1939), Wes Montgomery (1923), and Joey DeMaio (1954).