Just before Christmas 1938, ’Honeyboy’ Edwards and Walter Horton fetched up in Jackson and met Rice Miller. The three played streets and taverns. That man could entertain a crowd, too, Edwards remembered. He was a show all by himself.’ Thirteen years later, Miller, now known as Sonny Boy Williamson, returned to Jackson to cut his first session for the Diamond Record Company. Why did he hijack another’s name’ It’s a mystery – Miller’s style was radically different from his namesake’s. Birth dates vary between 1894 and 1909 but it’s likely he was born in 1897 in Glendora, MS. He took to music before he was ten years old, playing ’church music’ and calling himself ’Reverend Blue’. As a young adult he left home after a fight with his father. By this time, it’s assumed he was playing blues harmonica. What singled him out was his musical skill, his wanderlust and his adoption of nicknames. He was ’Harmonica blowin’ Slim’, ’Little Boy Blue’ and ’Footsie’ depending on the audience. The Sonny Boy Williamson persona was formed towards the end of 1941, at station KFFA in Helena, AR. Miller and guitarist Robert Lockwood fronted on a show promoting King Biscuit Flour to a black audience. Their lunchtime slot became a favorite. With one show under his belt, getting other shows was easy. His reputation went before him. In December 1950 Lillian McMurry told Sonny Boy’s wife, that a recording contract with Trumpet Records was his if he wanted it. He signed a week later. His first release, ’Eyesight To The Blind’, had a good response and Sonny Boy became Trumpet’s most valuable asset. Nine further sessions took place, the last in November 1954. In all twelve records were released. A minor galaxy of blues talent was present at these dates, including Willie Love, Elmore James, Joe Willie Wilkins, Lester Williams and B.B. King. Over time, Sonny Boy’s music evolved from piano-led, swing-based rhythms to the harsher drum-driven backbeats that were emerging from Chicago.