  big bill broonzy (june 26, 1893 â august 14 or 15, 1958) was a prolific american blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. his career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly african-american audiences. through the 1930s and 1940s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with working class african-american audiences. in the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging american folk music revival and an international star. his long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century. broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including both adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. as a blues composer, he was unique in that his compositions reflected the many vantage points of his rural-to-urban experiences.barlow, william. "looking up at down": the emergence of blues culture. temple university press (1989), pp. 301â03. isbn 0-87722-583-4. ==life and career== ===early years=== born lee conley bradley, "big bill" was one of frank broonzy (bradley) and mittie belcher's 17 children. his birth site and date are disputed. while he claimed birth in scott, mississippi, an entire body of emerging research compiled by blues historian robert reisman suggests that broonzy was actually born in jefferson county, arkansas. 
1893_births 1958_deaths African-American_musicians American_blues_guitarists American_blues_musicians American_buskers American_folk_singers American_male_singers American_singer-songwriters Bluebird_Records_artists Blues_Hall_of_Fame_inductees Cancer_deaths_in_Illinois Chess_Records_artists Country_blues_musicians Country_blues_singers Deaths_from_esophageal_cancer Folk_musicians_from_Chicago,_Illinois GNP_Records_artists Gennett_Records_artists Musicians_from_Arkansas Musicians_from_Mississippi Old_Town_School_of_Folk_musicians Paramount_Records_artists People_from_Bolivar_County,_Mississippi People_from_Pine_Bluff,_Arkansas Songwriters_from_Arkansas Songwriters_from_Mississippi Vocalion_Records_artists