Willie "Sonny Boy King" has a no-nonsense look on his face as he glares off the cover of "Alabama Bluesman," an album released by the Music Maker Relief Foundation. You'd probably have that look, too, if you'd fathered and raised 33 children.
Personally, I love the photo, because it's a perfect reflection of the music on the album. The 11 songs on "Alabama Bluesman" were recorded by a man who doesn't have the time or the patience for fancy frills.
King, playing guitar and harp, gets right down to business. The emotions he conveys in the songs are never hidden, but they run deep. He sounds a bit gruff as he sings, but you can tell there's warmth, even a sense of humor, under the stern exterior. That's pretty clear when you listen to "She's So Fine," an intense love song on which King bounces through one compliment after another for his woman.
I also love his spirited rendition of "Boney Maroney." King has a blast as he performs it. In fact, I love all the songs on the album. They're the product of a man who's spent a lifetime honing a craft in juke joints and at picnics. They're songs that are unadorned, unfiltered ... the only kind of blues that really matters.
