BIG GEORGE BROCK
"I've played with a lot of fine musicians through the years," said Brock.
"Muddy was about my favorite because he was so nice to me, encouraging to me."
"Earlier in his career, Brock played on the same bill as legends like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, and Jimmy Reed"
- Bluesharp.org
"From recent all-star recording sessions for actor Steven Seagal to filmings for Mississippi Pubic Broadcasting, from blues festival dates in Italy to national airplay on XM Satellite Radio, Brock proves as real-deal as they come"
- Ponderosa Stomp
Big George Brock
Big George
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in memory of Big George Brock
(May 16, 1932 – April 10, 2020)
You know, the real deal. The genuine article. Big-voiced blues veterans who came up the hard way in a time before rock music — when picking cotton was the only work and dinner meant black-eyed peas. Well, the days when blues was pop music and bluesmen were heroes have sadly passed, but there are still a few of those real-deal men (and women) out there. Big George Brock is just such a man. Sharecropper, boxer, club owner and, through it all, an honest-to-Muddy bluesman. From the cotton fields to the bright lights, big city, Brock has done it all. He’s faced personal and professional ups and downs but never given up. Even today, with all the aches and pains of old age, the blues still lift him up.
TODAY, BIG GEORGE BROCK LIVES AS A FEATURED DISPLAY OF THE NATIONAL BLUES MUSEUM!
Born in Grenada, Mississippi on May 16, 1932, Big George spent his teenage years near Clarksdale, Mississippi, before settling in St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1950s. While living in the Clarkdale area, he did back-breaking fieldwork, boxed on weekends, and played the blues. He remembers hanging out at house parties in the Delta where folks like Memphis Minnie would show up. Even today, he still has relatives in the Clarksdale area, including his blues-playing nephew James “Super Chikan” Johnson and brother-in-law Big Jack Johnson.
In St. Louis, Big George owned a series of blues clubs in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, including Club Caravan (formerly the Early Bird Lounge) – where his wife at the time was killed by stray bullets from a drunk’s pistol – and New Club Caravan. Later, Big George & the Houserockers was the house band at Climmie’s Western Inn for 12 years. During his career, Big George has played shows with blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed and many others. Garrick Feldman of the Arkansas Leader has said Big George is “about as good a harmonica player as any of the blues greats, and he knew and played with most of them.” At various times, he’s had fellow Mississippians Willie Foster, Big Bad Smitty, Terry “Big T” Williams, Jimbo Mathus and Bill Abel back him at shows, but most often, you’ll find him with one of the best “unknown guitar players” in the biz: Mr. Riley Coatie.
Clarksdale’s Roger Stolle Remembers Big George Brock
Roger Stolle – “In 2005, I was fortunate enough to work with Big George on his comeback album Club Caravan, and soon we were traveling overseas to promote it. Italy, Switzerland, France, the U.K. and beyond.
On a French trip to play the awesome Cognac Blues Festival, we toured a cognac facility and played a show at a castle. Everything was calm, cool and collected till 10 minutes before the final festival gig of the week. The organizers had Big George and the band in a slow-moving golf cart while I walked alongside on the way to the stage. Big George casually leaned over to me and said, “I meant to tell you. I ‘blew out’ my last A harp last night.” What the?! The key of A was HIS KEY! Before I could even start stress over it, completely out of the blue, a young French fan came running out of the festival crowd, catching up with our motorcade, completely unaware of the current conversation. His English was broken, but he said he’d be honored if Big George would accept one of his homemade harmonicas as a gift. A big hand snatched up the harp, and yes… It was in the key of A. And all was right with the world. That’s how Big George lived: loved and lucky”…..continued here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BLUES SCENE
Born on May 16th, 1932 in Grenada, Mississippi, Brock was a man of many parts. He went from cotton picker to boxer (once winning a bout against Sonny Liston), then blues artist and club owner, carving out his own legend after moving to St. Louis from Mississippi in the early 1950s. His first opened Club Caravan in 1952, where he was not only the owner, but bouncer and entertainer as well.
George Brock was the patriarch of the St. Louis blues scene. He attended the opening of the National Blues Museum (where one of his suits is on display), played regularly around town including at his own 87th birthday at the Ambassador last year, and was a mentor for other St. Louis artists including blues guitar ace Marquise Knox and 2019 International Blues Challenge champ Ms. Hy-C”……continued here.
Bluesharp.org
“Called a “73-year-old vocal and harmonica genius” by Big City Blues magazine, Mississippi-born Big George Brock knows his music. And when he sings his blues, he ain’t lying. When he sings “they call me a lover,” know that he has 42 kids. When he talks about “that lonesome cotton field,” understand that he grew up a Delta sharecropper. And when he boasts about beating a rival and “[taking his] little girl home,” remember that in his younger days, Brock once wrestled a bear for money and flattened pre-world champion Sonny Liston in a boxing match. Even when Brock covers blues classics by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and others, note that he learned these songs firsthand — not just from a record. Between his youth in the Mississippi Delta and his years as a blues club owner in St. Louis, Brock has shared the stage with everyone from Muddy and Wolf to Jimmy Reed and Albert King. Today, over 60 years after he first picked up a harmonica, Brock is in the midst of a much deserved comeback. His newest “Club Caravan” CD (that Juke Blues magazine described as “Contender for album of the year. Fat Possum meets Chess? Irresistible.”) is up for a Blues Music Award the same week Brock storms the stage at the Ponderosa Stomp. From recent all-star recording sessions for actor Steven Seagal to filmings for Mississippi Pubic Broadcasting, from blues festival dates in Italy to national airplay on XM Satellite Radio, Brock proves he’s back and as real-deal as they come. According to Blues & Rhythm magazine, Brock “transports us back fifty years to a Mississippi juke joint.” And Mojo magazine sums it up this way, “Not exactly the way things were. But damn close.” May 2006 introduced a new “Hard Times” DVD on the Cat Head Presents label and a new CD on the APO/Acoustic Sounds label.”
“Unlike many of the younger generation of harp players, 73 year-old Big George Brock, after a half-century as a musician, has lived the blues. In his youth he worked in the cotton fields around Clarksdale, Mississippi, and boxed on the weekends to earn extra money. Moving north to St. Louis in the 1950s, he played in bands and ran a series of blues clubs in the 1960s and 1970s, including one in which his wife at the time was killed by gunfire. He now returns frequently to the Delta, where he still has family (including Clarksdale bluesmen Big Jack Johnson and James “Super Chikan” Johnson) to visit and play the festivals and local juke joints.
Earlier in his career, Brock played on the same bill as legends like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, and Jimmy Reed, but national fame eluded him and his recorded output was limited. With a new full-length CD recorded in 2005 by Cat Head, the Clarksdale-based music store/recording label/art gallery/blues promotion center, he is finally, and deservedly being heard by a much wider audience. The Houserockers, his backing band on the CD, is the able Coatie family band, led by patriarch Riley Coatie on guitar, with his children Riley Jr. on drums, Tecora on bass, and Latasha on keyboard.
Unless you’re lucky enough to catch George live at one of his frequent shows down South, where his wife is usually selling his CDs, you’ll have to buy Club Caravan online, at Cat Head or CD Baby.
To underscore George’s unassuming but effective harp style, he is no gear junkie with customized harps and amps and tricked-out mikes and effects pedals. He plays stock Hohner Golden Melody harps, and in live shows, he plays through the PA using the same wireless vocal mike that he sings through”.
ST. LOUIS BLUESMAN NOMINATED FOR PRESTIGIOUS MUSIC AWARD IN MEMPHIS
Big George – Club Caravan Clarksdale, MS — December 16, 2005 — This week, the Blues Foundation in Memphis nominated 73-year-old, St. Louis bluesman Big George Brock for a prestigious Blues Music Award. Formerly known as the Handy Awards, the Blues Music Awards are the blues equivalent of the Grammy.
“My Lord, I don’t believe it! That’s just wonderful,” exclaimed Big George Brock upon learning of the nomination. “I’ve worked a long time to get that. I’m real glad to have it.“
Nominated in the Comeback Album of the Year category, Brock’s “Club Caravan” CD has to both St. Louis and Clarksdale. He held a CD release party at St. Louis’ BBs Jazz Blues & Soups in September and recorded the CD in Clarksdale earlier in the year.
“We were really surprised but thrilled,“ said Roger Stolle, the CD’s producer and owner of Clarksdale’s Cat Head Presents label that put it out. “Big George has been playing blues a long, long time and truly deserves the recognition this nomination gives him. We’re all very proud of the record. [East St. Louis] guitarist Riley Coatie and his family band should be real proud, too. They sound amazing on it.“
Recorded at Clarksdale’s Delta Recording Service this past May, the CD has also made many year-end top blues lists and been positively reviewed by numerous magazines — including Blues Revue, Big City Blues, Living Blues, Blues & Rhythm, Blues Matters, Blues in Britain, Real Blues, Juke Blues, Il Blues and Mojo.
“It’s amazed me. I thought the people had just forgot about me, but here it is. Suddenly I’m getting articles written and phone calls from overseas wanting me to play,” said Brock. According to Stolle, details will be announced shortly regarding a blues festival appearance for Brock this summer in Italy.
Photos
RFT Best Blues Artist 2007
Videos
Mentor of
MATT ‘THE RATTLESNAKE’ LESCH
Matt – “I’m just sitting here reminiscing about all the shows and memories we shared throughout the years. I’m truly thankful for you and all you’ve done not only for me but for the blues in general. You are deeply missed my friend. Part of me is still waiting on the phone to ring so you can give me new show dates and just talk. Your absence is felt but your legacy will live on forever. We miss you, Big George Brock.“