Three-Time GRAMMY® Nominee Billy Branch Puts His Life on the Line in THE BLUES IS MY BIOGRAPHY
“The album takes the genre into new territory with a sophistication that deserves crediting him with creating a 21st-century Chicago blues sound.”
—Don Wilcock, American Blues Scene
When Billy Branch calls his album The Blues Is My Biography, he isn't exaggerating. The legendary Chicago blues harmonica player has spent his life making, preserving and sharing the music, and this time, he's putting his own story front and center. Backed by his longtime band, the Sons of Blues, Branch takes listeners through a collection of songs that reflect the people, experiences and lessons that have shaped him along the way. The title track, “Blues Is My Biography,” gets right to the heart of the project, while “Harmonica Man” feels like a fitting addition from someone who has made the instrument such an important part of his identity. And with songs like “Hole in Your Soul,” featuring fellow blues great Bobby Rush, and “Begging for Change,” featuring Shemekia Copeland and Ronnie Baker Brooks, Branch brings some equally impressive company along for the ride.
There's plenty of personality in the rest of The Blues Is My Biography, too. Titles like “Call Your Bluff,” “Toxic Love” and “Roaches” suggest that Branch hasn't lost his sense of humor or his willingness to tell it like it is, while “Real Good Friends,” “Dead End Street” and “How You Livin'” point toward the everyday experiences that have always given the blues its staying power. “The Ballad of the Million Man March” adds a historical and socially conscious dimension to the collection, reminding us that the blues has never been just about personal heartbreak. Produced by Larry Batiste, the album brings together the different sides of Branch's musical life, from the deeply personal to the socially observant. After a career spent telling other people's stories through the blues, The Blues Is My Biography gives Branch the opportunity to tell his own. And there's something especially satisfying about hearing an artist with this much history still finding new things to say.
An Emmy Award-winning, three-time GRAMMY®-nominated artist and Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Billy Branch is one of the most respected ambassadors of Chicago blues. Mentored by legends including James Cotton, Junior Wells, Willie Dixon and Big Walter Horton, Branch went on to establish his own legacy as a harmonica player, bandleader and tireless advocate for the music. Alongside recording 15 albums with the Sons of Blues, he has contributed his unmistakable harmonica playing to recordings by artists including Koko Taylor, Johnny Winter, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo', Eric Bibb and Son Seals. But even with all those accomplishments behind him, Branch considers The Blues Is My Biography the most important work of his career. It's easy to understand why. This isn't simply another blues album from a veteran musician. It's the story of a life lived in the blues, told by someone who has helped keep the music alive for generations.
For more information on Billy Branch, visit BillyBranch.com.
REVIEWS
"After learning from the masters, he developed his own, instantly
recognizable, signature sound – powerful, melodic, funky, jazzy, and
contemporary."
—Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records CEO
"Hailed as 'Harmonica Man' Billy Branch opens a new chapter with his
release, The Blues Is My Biography."
—Jim Hynes, Rock and Blues Muse Magazine
