These 20 cuts from the 1940s and '50s aren't
Broonzy's complete works from the period, by any means, but offer a strong overview of the man who worked longer in blues than most of his contemporaries. He never lost his quality, even well into his career, either -- just listen to "Five Feet Seven" and you'll understand how good he remained. And his blues foreshadowed the advent of rock -- "Just Rocking" and a couple of other pieces make it apparent that
Broonzy was one of the fathers of the new genre. Although he's thought of as a guitarist and singer, other instruments did appear on
Broonzy recordings, especially these later ones, such as "Where the Blues Began," which is piano-heavy, but works perfectly well. By this time
Broonzy was almost an elder statesman for the first generation of Delta blues players, and an international ambassador. From this collection, it's easy to understand how central he was to the music. ~ Chris Nickson