William Earl Branch was born on October 3, 1951. He is an American musician who plays the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award three times. He once served two terms as the governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter and has retired from that role. He has won an Emmy Award and an Addy Award. He has also received many awards for his work in helping others and in music.
Early life and career
Billy Branch was born at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in North Chicago, Illinois, United States. His family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles when he was five years old. At ten years of age, he bought his first harmonica at a store in Los Angeles. He began playing simple songs and melodies right away. After that, Billy always carried a harmonica with him. In 1969, he moved back to Chicago to attend the University of Illinois. Later, he graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.
In August 1969, Branch attended the first Chicago Blues Festival, which was organized by Willie Dixon. Six years later, after graduating from the University of Illinois, he was touring with the Chicago Blues All-Stars, led by Dixon. Branch took the place of Carey Bell, Dixon’s longtime harmonica player, when Bell left the All-Stars to form his own band.
In the 1970s, Branch started his own group, the Sons of Blues, with Lurrie Bell (Carey Bell’s son) on guitar and Freddie Dixon (Willie Dixon’s son) on bass guitar. They recorded music for Alligator Records and, after some members changed, for Red Beans Records. The new band included Carlos Johnson on guitar and J. W. Williams on vocals and bass guitar. Branch has also recorded music for Verve Records and Evidence Records.
Since then, Branch has played on over 250 different recordings, including 12 that he made under his own name. He has recorded with Willie Dixon, Keb Mo, Johnny Winter, Lou Rawls, Koko Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Honeyboy Edwards, Syl Johnson, Lurrie Bell, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Taj Mahal. He has received three Grammy nominations (he lost one to B.B. King and Eric Clapton). He served two terms in a row on the Grammy Board of Governors and is currently chairman of the Grammy Blues Committee. He has won many Blues Music Awards, an Emmy Award, an Addy Award, two Chicago Music Awards, and several humanitarian and achievement awards. The 2007 Chicago Blues Festival honored the 30th anniversary of Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues. In 2017, the Chicago Blues Fest celebrated the 40th anniversary of Billy Branch and the SOBs.
Branch performs at major festivals around the world, including the Montreux Blues Festival, the North Sea Blues Festival, the Cognac Blues Festivals, the Long Beach Blues Festival, the Chicago Blues Festival, the San Francisco Blues Festival, and the North Sea Jazz Festival.
The current members of the Sons of Blues are Branch (harmonica and vocals), Andrew "Blaze" Thomas (drums and vocals), Sumito Ariyoshi (keyboards and vocals), Marvin Little (bass and vocals), and Giles Corey (guitar and vocals).
His 2019 recording, Roots and Branches: The Songs of Little Walter, was named a "Favorite Blues Album" by AllMusic. He also appears in several music videos by Playing for Change.