Robbie Robertson Talks About Sonny Boy Williamson (Language Warning)

[@Manaconda-Mike]

As someone who lives in Fayetteville rn and whose family is from Helena this is an insane story to hear. I’m 26 and just recently came back from Mississippi in January where I visited Sonny’s gravesite - the experience of just seeing where this legends soul eternally rests floored me and I’ll never forget it. I’m just now finding out that Arkansas was a huge blues hub for men like Sonny, Howlin, RL, Junior and many more. Rest easy to the best harmonica player I’ve ever heard.

[@TW_Chizm]

Levon told it just this way exactly in his book. He said he was so ashamed that Robbie and the other guys had to see how life really was in the South and the racism.

[@Rory99M]

That is a wonderfully told story of an absolute disgraceful situation. I feel heartbroken and ashamed to be in a world where someone as talented as that was treated the way he was treated.

[@michaelflanagan5450]

This hits on a subject I've often wondered about,say in England and around the world are we Americans among the rest of the world racists? Or have we preconceived the idea that we are better than thow.

[@mikearchibald744]

@@michaelflanagan5450 There are a lot of different kinds of racists in the world, the difference is that even today a lot of americans refuse to see the past. And where the political and legal establishment is the most racist THAT is a real problem. And it was particularly ugly in the south. But I'm in canada and that same thing exists in particular with first nations. However, there are no lack of racists in Canada, but people like Muhammed Ali talked about how well he was treated by police, but then he was famous. But a LOT of black musicians did far better in europe and england than in america.

[@michaelflanagan5450]

@@mikearchibald744 Buddy Guy Muddy Waters Tina Turner BB King. and the list goes on. BAROCK OBAMA I never seen color.

[@webstercat]

Have you heard about Hitler?

[@davidbrown6353]

A little history abou 9:32 t the south and those days. Democrat governors, Democrat mayors Democrat lead KKK Democrat lynchings the whole nine yards. We can go back all the way to the civil war with this. But let's just go back to FDR the modern Democrats hero. Refuse to sign off on Republican legislation to ban lynchings. 1936 Olympics in Berlin Germany. Afterwards all invited to the White House.All but Jessie Owens. The Democrats own it all. From Jefferson Davis to Robert Byrd to Joe Biden and yes Barry Santora!

[@Manu2Banjo]

What a sad and revolting story indeed ! Afro-Americans gave us so much through their music. Most of the music I love and play was made by Black musicians or the "kids" they influenced. We all should feel so grateful about that. However it's so moving to see Robbie's emotion when he think of what they could have done altogether.

[@612Taper]

This video needs to be in the Library of Congress. Tragic first hand account of that period.

[@acousticshadow4032]

I am an old white buck. As a child I lived in the South a few times. I love many things about the South, but "Jim Crow" is not one of them. In the autumn of 1968, I enrolled into a school in Hampton VA that was half white & half black. Reverend Martin Luther King had been assassinated that April, but we all got along. White kids & Black kids played Baseball & Basketball together without any trouble at all. In fact, this is when Motown was at its zenith, and the black girls would do their best impressions of The Supremes, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Mary Wells, etc, etc - in the cafeteria. It was great stuff!!! I fell in love with the Blues, and once shook hands with Muddy Waters. I haven't washed that right hand since. We lived all over the globe during my childhood, compliments of the USAF, and I have never understood where any one race, creed, color, ethnicity or religion gets off on thinking they are above another such group of people. We really dropped the ball in the game of humanity.

[@jimchumley2982]

This made me cry. I am 62 and have been playing the harp since about 12. Started listening to Sonnyboy since the age of 12. One of my favorite harp players. As a true follower of Yeshua I know those men will faced a judgement day.

[@MrMhardie]

Great story with many wonderful details. Told by a great musician and storyteller. What is with the negative comments? Seems as though some of you are on the wrong page. This is for those who understand and appreciate. Thanks, Robbie Robertson, for giving some rare insight into the life and history behind the music.

[@pldyer69muzic]

Haters Need Something 2 Hate.

[@jimchumley2982]

Hardie; Rare page? They are listed in Revelation in the lake of fire.😢

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

RIP Robbie. 1943 - 2023.

[@ronvonryan]

I did a TV show in the Sixties with 'Sonny Boy' in England where I live. We were all in the room waiting to be called to tape our part of the show, he had a small suitcase with his harps and two bottles of JD. He opened a bottle and passed it round, and also got out a harp and we were jamming with him our guitarist playing acoustic guitar. I went the the bathroom and in the sink full of water there was a huge pair of new black shoes soaking in the water!! I got back to the room and said what I had found, Sonny said 'they are mine, I just bought them and back home when we get shoes we get them mail order and sometimes they don't fit, so we put them on and soak them in a bowl of water or in the river, and when they dry they fit'. I thought he was spinning me a yarn, (yanking my chain), but when we were called to play our bit after Sonny had finished his bit and all down the hallway leading to the studio there were wet footprints!!!!!!!!!!

[@ronvonryan]

@Ulysses432 Yes please, I am a Buddy Guy fan, I would like that. By the way I also toured the UK as the Compere with a Country music show in 1967 with an 'un-known' Willie Nelson, that was fun.

[@terriejohnston8801]

BadAss Sonny @ he don't even know it LOL ..IF u can catch my drift. The REAL Deal...No Frills kinda Man. Point being in my opinion HUMBLE. (A Tteasure for us)

[@andypetrovich2155]

I fit my ice skates the same way.

[@lamper2]

@Ulysses432 i'm still waiting a year later to hear your story

[@jeremyv4636]

That is priceless, man-I live for stories like that & it’s why I really like reading memoirs/books on musicians. Some of the greatest stories and the characters are unreal

[@JEBBADYAH]

RIP Robbie 💔 your spirit will never die ❤🎶🎸🥀🕊️🕯️🙏

[@martybaggenmusic]

This wonderful guy can tell a story in an interview, in a documentary, in a poem, and in a song. I love listening to and hearing this man.

[@KOLDBLU3ST33L]

Great story! R. I. P. Sonny Boy

[@onebentleyboy]

I saw SBW play in an English Pub, in the early sixties, it must have been just before this. I still have and treasure the album that I bought then.

[@4orrcountry]

As we all know, music brings people together like nothing else. Helena, Arkansas...about 90 minutes south of Memphis...hosts the King Biscuit Blues Festival every late Sept/early Oct. Helena's a town bound in poverty, but with lots of nice people who truly count on the revenues raised at this annual event. That's why I buy beer, tobacco, BBQ and other great food from the people IN TOWN. If you prefer, you can frequent the many "official" event vendors, etc., who do very well during this 3-day event - but I love talking to the folks who live in town. You have to walk a bit further, but it'll make a big difference to you and them. And da blues can't be beat!

[@SLorenziify]

An amazing and sad story about Sonny Boy Williamson and that era.

[@pretorious700]

Best story I have heard in a while. I grew up in the rural south in the 50's and 60's. That's how it was. Hard for people now to believe it.

[@terriejohnston8801]

STILL GOING ON....w SOME ppl. in white collar positions...3 piece suits @ every other hypocrite . I'm FAR from perfect, but my heart IS OPEN to love my " neighbor "

[@bigreed43]

Levon tells this story the exact same way in his book. Great post.

[@robertoponce8077]

"This Wheels On Fire", Levon's tales... right?

[@harmonicabill]

Good bless sonny boy and people that love him

[@errol-ih4jy]

Robbie is a great storyteller, hes very descriptive, what a life they lead, Levon was the same.

[@justinafields4450]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS...LOVE ❤Sonny Boy Williamson💔 (Nine below zero..)🙏👍🙏1965! He don't look old enough🤔

[@ddh2o759]

RR has a good memory and tells a good story about a great time

[@gailcrowley4230]

Love you Robbie Robertson …..incredible story and love that you didn’t want to cause trouble….just being incredible musicians admiring another incredible musician !!!!!!

[@brendothedude4660]

This made me cry

[@jeffthepoet7]

Racism sucks. I have one of Sonny Boy Williamson's record. Got to see the Band play sans Robbie. Would like to see Robbie play. Thanks for the post and the story, Robbie.

[@procopiojrpalacios9702]

Love your songwriting, guitar playing, and your storytelling, Robbie. May your spirit be soaring with the winds of your Native ancestors. RIP, brother.

[@Gilbrox1]

Really glad I came across this video it was brilliant I wish there were more stories about Sonny Boy he could probably have written a bestselling book would loved to know more about his life. Great Post.

[@JoeIzzo]

Robbie Robertson tells an incredible and tragic tale.

[@sratus]

...for his own ends

[@robertbruce8492]

@@sratus And, what “ends” would that be, exactly?

[@socrates1818]

@@sratus yes what ends?

[@musselchee9560]

​@@sratusyeah, wot ends?

[@christ6493]

those English kids wanna play the blues so bad - and they do! famous SBW quote

[@RuthBahr]

No it’s not. Sonny Boy Williamson died in 1948. You mean Ford Alex Rice Miller who started calling himself Sonny Boy Williamson and is commonly referred to as Sonny Boy II

[@Piwork69]

Best story of the night for me!

[@woodytheduke]

nobody tells a story like Robbie !!

[@MichaelOrthodoxChristian]

Wonderful story. Touching, a band of brothers with a love for music. The last scene will not be the final say.

[@jamest.byrnes8142]

sixtiesmusiconly asks when they would have met Sonny Boy in Helena, well he had returned hurriedly from England in 1964 and he passed away on May 25, 1965. Robertson said that they spoke to his management only weeks after this encounter so one would assume that it was in April or May of '65. Although I never met him I was lucky enough to see him play live in East St. Louis in the winter of '64. Wicked!

[@johnareece4178]

james T. Byrnes walk. away with Johnny Taylor

[@marywagner3644]

East Saint Louis , Illinois was a hoppin town at one time

[@mitchgawlik1175]

First, I'm wondering why this has, so far, 26 dislikes. What the hell were these people expecting? Or did they just dislike the turn that Robbie's story took? As far as the actions of the police go, if I live to be a hundred years old I'll never understand why people are the way they are. I can't even imagine the thoughts that might have been going on in Sonny Boy's mind.

[@markrobinson8275]

some guys just dont care for Robbie. They buy into "he screwed me" narrative of Levon in his latter years. I personally dont.

[@pawelpap9]

@@markrobinson8275 I read Robbie’s memoirs and listened to all interviews on KZbin I could fine. I never read/heard bad word about Levon. The closest (not really) is the story in his book when they visited Levon’s family. It is actually funny as these folks were not exactly on the forefront of civil rights movement, to put it mildly. I don’t remember at the moment whether Levon had a chance to fill them on Robbie’s background. I think he had enough sense to skip this detail.

[@mauriziopalmari460]

I guess racist people don't like to hear the truth that racism flourished in the south. It still does.

[@steveg219]

wow, what a story on so many levels

[@CLL9262]

For the record, RR is talking about Sonny Boy Williams II (1912-1965) and not the frist (original) Sonny Boy Williams who lived from 1914 to 1948.

[@guyvelvet1980]

Brings a tear to my eye

[@tonyhawkes2040]

A. lot of shit goes down in America...RIP the great Sonny Boy Williamson

[@socrates1818]

Sonny Boy had a unique vibrato with his harp and voice- all the cats idolized him. Mick Jaggers got some similar stories about Sonny Boy.

[@kevingoodson9042]

Mr. Williamson was doing the blues in that cafe that day.

[@66steevo1]

Moving. I played with some of these people, but leaving Sonny Boy at that restaurant broke my heart. Is there no justice?

[@fivehead6675]

Don’t want to spoil the story so I’ll just say this was eye opening. Robbie is a great story teller.

[@hannejeppesen1809]

Love Robbie and his story telling.

[@blancolirio]

BWHAA "We're all Canadians..." Great sad American story, thanks for sharing...

[@toddsaedify]

saw the Band in SF, 1970 , did Music from Big Pink note by note classic

[@clifflong1203]

Fascinating story! Sonny was always my favorite harmonica player! RIP Sonny🙏💪❤️

[@jeffreese4194]

Unfortunately some areas have never changed on this topic

[@marywagner3644]

My first concert The Band and Ike and Tina Turner

[@brucerae6508]

Love sonny boy williamson my favourite blues artist

[@jlbsr1959]

great story thaat needed to be told thanks for a great post

[@lupepreciado7886]

Damn straight you would have made beautiful music together.

[@terriejohnston8801]

Sonny Boy...Robbie...@ Levon. Can you imagine sitting around sippin' some Lightnin' w THESE GUYS! WHAT A DREAM that Surely would of been!! RIP Sonny-Boy @ Levon

[@jeremyv4636]

I could only imagine.....just listening to the stories and I’m sure there were some great ones. I live for this kind of stuff

[@mauriziopalmari460]

And Robbie

[@antoniopizzolatotroia8754]

That's so wonderfull and So Sad in the end :-/

[@marywagner3644]

Mr Williamson was from Jackson Tn. He has a statue on one of the circle streets I didn't know it was there I just came up on it God Bless.

[@scottw6375]

That is a different Sonny Boy Williamson

[@jamesbond4633]

THat would have been awesome to listen to them jam. Too bad they didn't carry around a reel to reel to record it like the basement tapes!!!!

[@stephenhenion8304]

You Can't sing the Blues... till you live the Blues!!! Look at it this way. You DID CREATE MUSIC...YOU DID MAKE IT HAPPEN! YOU GOT YOUR GIG WITH SONNY BOY!! Great story!!

[@Freakster1970]

No wonder Danko was shaking his head in The Last Waltz ! He left out the best part of the story.

[@benderdiver]

I was moved by Robbie,what a wonderful person,

[@JonRayRunawayVealMusic]

Me too

[@mpaz48mo]

Wow, what a story.

[@owenwilberforce6138]

When you talk about racist attitudes of the past it’s easy to just assume it was just “separate but equal”. What can not be felt is the darkness of attitudes for real until you hear a story like this one. The ugliness of racism is hard to fathom, the lack of humanity is staggering. Thankfully the music acted as a binding and uniting and perhaps healing force.

[@mikearchibald744]

That is a real problem, its almost never in media and so its one thing to hear statistics and laws, but until you hear actual stories of how people act then it doesn't hit home.

[@davegrabowski6123]

My Dad was transferred to the Bayou of Lousiana. It was scary. That was late 70s and it was still stories he said people would disappear. Especially the Vietnamese people didn't understand how generations lived off of a river and the new Vietnamese migrants didnt know.

[@matthewhiggins2699]

Extraordinary story, very moving.

[@toddsaedify]

JC Burris played my graduation from UCSC, had had a stroke, accupuncture fixed it, then died before the return trip, cousin on Sonny Terry

[@mauriziopalmari460]

Most people know or were told about racism and have probably seen shows, reports or movies about racism, but hearing it from someone like Mr. Robertson who experienced it first hand, and the ugliness of it really hits a different chord. It's so sad and tragic. I feel really sad and sorry for Sonny boy to have to go through that. I also feel bad for the band.They must've felt that by their actions, they might've gotten Sonny boy in a whole lot of trouble. It's so sad.

[@WARAT69]

The blues become second nature after so many let downs in life.....

[@johnrunion5357]

levon helm sure taught robbie well.

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

Robbie is such an engaging story teller, I could listen to him reminiscing for hours. He also disproves that old saying "if you can remember the '60s, you weren't there". Too funny Sonny Boy Williamson's comment on the English 'blues boom' musicians who actually were passionate about the authenticity of the music... it reminds me of the Bonzo's 'Can Blue men sing the Whites' lyrics!

[@msaintpc]

Sonny didn't say anything because he feared for his life.

[@JimCarty]

Sadly

[@OdinX316]

What a great story and what a shame dreams unrealized!

[@markguertin210]

Good series with Robbie. And I know its sad but true what he was talking about

[@ivansaric33]

Very special, thank you

[@bmuhamad]

This is soooo amazing. 😂❤🎉😊

[@merkur8777]

Just to add on a bit, many cops back in the day harassed white people to no end. I had long hair,, beard, and rode a Harley so I was a target also. Eight tickets in one pop, jailed for no reason and not even told why I was being jailed, and in one case a cop pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket, stuck it to my nose, and threatened to give me a haircut. Thankfully it only left a small nick on the end of my nose. I've even been told to get out of town a few times.

[@pawelpap9]

Personally I never understood why people are afraid of and aggressive towards those who chose to be different. I assume you were not shoplifting, though🤗

[@pascalfo6014]

Wow what a story tank you

[@nealpomea2836]

Marcus Van Story used to tell that nobody in The Band could pronounce it luh VON, not LEE von! LOL

[@steviec67]

Love love this story except for the bad parts 😢. Broke my heart to hear that they treated him and all like him so terrible 😞😞

[@dreamwell2020]

We can all be thankful now that Robbie found the opportunities and time to share these experiences. When he first got off the bus in Helena, he was blown away by the innate musicality of the place, but authoritarian race-based hatred directed at the perpetrators of that cultural accomplishment was also part of the local color.

[@bh8365]

What a moving story. Hope that so called law enforcement officer got the Karma he deserved.

[@BeggarsForSomeSoul]

He did!

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

What's so moving ?

[@decencywarrior9598]

Injustice abounded those dark days. RIP Sonny Boy.

[@toddsaedify]

whoops, JC BUrris was the nephew of Sonny Terry, the 365 Hohner was used by Sonny BOy on Fattening Frogs for Snakes, maybe or some of his songs, JC BUrris played bones at same time, find on youtube

[@jonbeckleymorrisblues]

It's no surprise if you lived in the South, or even the lower mid Atlantic states at that time. That's the way it was. Sonny Boy knew what to do. In 1982 I lived with the Bluesplayer R.L. Burnside for a few months, and then played with him for 12 years. I worked with him, his kids that summer doing labour jobs--playing with R.L., and things did seem better than before. Though that doesn't make the past right. And, hopefully will never return to that time in our countries history...

[@uncleboogie69]

the positive in this story................Sonny liked you cats....take what you want from that!! :) and i too agree with Scott reed!!!

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

Big influence on modern music - Sonny Boy

[@pemj7360]

How times have changed. I've always loved the blues. And guys like sonny boy . John Lee. We're the back bone to a lot of great musicians today. And I Don't mean the manufactured crap RIP Sonny boy

[@riffraff3658]

I think I remember reading this story in Levon’s book but I’m not sure if he mentioned Sonny Boy being with them. I know he said the cops ran them out of a black restaurant though

[@robertoponce8077]

Of course Levon mention that Sonny Boy was there without staring at the cops, since in England he was a celebrity but some americans treated him badly.

[@J.R.65]

My uncle is the xerif in this town, and he don't like black people, "dark side story , from the white boys" and Sony Boy don't give a shit, this happens in 64, is passed away in May, 65 in Helena. Thanks Robbie for share your story

[@liamgallagherrr]

Very sad indeed

[@Jack-fs2im]

Heard similar tale with people waiting outside Otis Reddings studio to open on Atlantic records

[@MrHeadbanger366]

Just imagine what could've been.

[@1airsoftboy]

sad but powerful story, ignorant SOB's in the south then.....hard to believe but that mindset is still there in places

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

Robbie would make excellent sales pitcher ...good storyteller

[@greatesttoysevermade3693]

If you notice, the BEST white musicians always got most of their inspiration from the blues, back before most people knew just how great these blues guys were. Very sad ending to the story, but a great story nonetheless. RIP Robbie Robertson.

[@kevinharkens3529]

good at the end...Sad.

[@mikearchibald744]

I cant remember where I read this story, but it was about a young black couple courting, and the man is walking his date home and some 'good ol boy' says something rude to his girlfriend, using the term used here, and the guy is about to say something back when the guy flashes his gun. This guy knows he'll get shot as quick as that so he reverts to the 'yes sir' 'no sir' attitude and they get away. The girl talks about how she spent the rest of their life pretty much telling him he had no choice, but how that affected his pride was just profound. As a white guy its like what Louis CK said, you can't even INSULT me, there are no terms that can really degrade. Call me a jerk, and idiot, or anyting else and I'd laugh it off. But this was a whole political history that is just in peoples guts, and its goddam hard to get past that, but happily I think in lots of ways we are, and in some ways we aren't.

[@DOCLASHOE]

Robbie must've known that it wasn't the original "Sonny Boy " (John Lee Curtis), it was Rice Miller (Imposter) but he was a great harp payer too.

[@gibbogle]

He wasn't an imposter! There was Sonny Boy 1, and Sonny Boy 2.

[@humanbeing5300]

Arkansas in 2023 is still one of the most racist states in the nation. Unfortunate since Rock and Roll is a true expression of what black and white can create when working together for a common purpose in harmony. One of the most wonderful expressions in world history

[@MrRatherino]

"Once Upon a Long Time Ago Folks were born to know Crossroads Siren Song held Serious Sway People took time comon to answer its summon In that Long Gone time of Crossroads Great Heyday" The Conductor's Prelude/ Last Train to Crossroads/IAS Rest in Peace dear man..

[@pawelpap9]

I doubt Robbie meant it this way but the story really saddened me. It is also a universal story as I can easily name times and places where it could have happened in the exact same way, in Europe, Asia and so on. Slight variations would be to replace pigment by religion, religion by “class”, class by wealth. There is a dark side to human nature. Finally, it doesn’t exactly paint Robbie and his friends in great light. What would have happened to them if they stood up to bullies? How would I behave?

[@Staylogical]

The one thing about Robbie that I've never understood and he's never really talked about is why he was basically on his own at 16 years old,and free to go to Arkansas with Ronnie Hawkins.He was close to his mother,but it seems no one was looking after him.Things could have turned out differently.

[@cliffordadams8353]

I hope America listens to this sad sad story

[@pawelpap9]

In case you didn’t notice this took place around 1965, two generations ago. Grandchildren of these cops run the show now. I can safely assume they are the most woke people around atoning for sins of their ancestors. The point is it is immature to hold contemporary Americans in contempt for events that happened before they were born. Were all your ancestors Dante and conscientious objectors? Not to mention you clearly missed half a century of doggedly effort in the us to rectify social problems. I wish other countries made similar effort to solve their problems.