Week 27: Key To The Highway



Big Bill Broonzy

The Man

Big Bill Broonzy is an absolute legend of the blues. A country guitarist from the start, Bill adopted his style to a more urban sound and pioneered what would later become the Chicago blues sound, before returning to his roots during the folk and blues revival of the late 50s. In all, he copyrighted over 300 original and traditional compositions and was a massive influence over the development of the blues.

He was born as Lee Conly (or Conley) Bradley on the 26th of February in either 1896 or more likely 1903. His parents were freed slaves, Frank Bradley (aka Broonzy) and Mittie Blecher, and Bill was one of their 17 children. His birthplace was either Jefferson County, Arkansas, or Scott, Mississippi. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Pine Bluff Arkansas.

Bill started out as a violinist and fiddle player and his first instrument was a fiddle he made himself out of an old cigar box when he was 10. He received lessons from an Uncle, Jerry Blecher, and learnt how to play spirituals and folk songs. He formed a duo with a friend named Louis Carter who had a home-made guitar, and they would play at church socials and “two stage” dances where there were separate stages and dance floors for black and white audiences. As a teen, he adopted the name ‘Bill’, worked as a share cropper and was an itinerant preacher around the local area and across the border in Mississippi. He was married around age 17 to Annie and had a son Ellis soon after. A local legend has it that he was going to quit music and become a full time preacher, but was promised $50 and a new violin for playing a 4 day gig. Before he could decline, his wife accepted for him and spent the money, leaving Bill no choice. He served in the army in Europe between 1917 and 1919, before returning to Pine Bluff.

In the early 20’s, he was performing as a fiddler in clubs around Little Rock, Arkansas, and seeking more opportunity, he moved his wife and son to Chicago in 1924. He performed around the famed Maxwell Street market and fell in with guitarist Papa Charlie Jackson, a veteran of minstrel shows who had made a few records, and together they would play parties and clubs. Jackson taught Bill how to play the guitar, which allowed Bill to accompany himself. He was beginning to make a name for himself, and was use to back other artists as either a fiddler or guitarist. Jackson introduced Bill to J. Mayo Williams, a black executive at Paramount records who were the leading ‘race record’ producer of the day.

Williams arranged Bill’s first recording session in 1927, where he played guitar and his friend Josh Thomas sang originals penned by Bill. The records were not especially successful, but they lead into future recording sessions. The two called themselves “Big Bill and Thomps” and Bill’s guitar was criticised for being ‘immature and derivative’. In 1930 Paramount released “Station Blues” as Bill’s first solo record, though it fared no better. Bill supported his family by working at a grocery store. The duo continued to record together until 1930, and the records continued to be poorly received and Paramount let him go.

Lester Melrose, a talent scout for a number of recording companies Champion, saw some talent in Bill and recorded and released a few 78s under the name “Big Bill Johnson”. They attracted a little more interest, but were not successful. In 1932 Bill started recording with the American Recording Corporation, travelling to New York, and these released started to gain some success and Bill started to cultivate a reputation as a lyrical guitarist – he even toured as Memphis Minnie’s guitarist.

In 1934, Melrose organised recording sessions for Bill with the new and small Bluebird label, which was focussing on a more urban RnB sound. The records were made quickly and cheaply, and Bill worked, often uncredited, as a composer and backing accompanist on many of the early releases. Bill’s guitar became a key part of that early RnB sound, and on the back of it Bluebird quickly became successful. Bill formed a band from 1934-37 called “Big Bill Broonzy’s Memphis Five” consisting of guitar, piano, bass, drums and trumpet or saxophone that spearheaded the ‘new’ Chicago sound. He became quite well known among the black audience of the Chicago scene.

In August 1938 the leading bluesman of the day, the great Robert Johnson, was killed and left organiser John Hammond a big space to fill in his upcoming “From Swing to Spirituals” concerts planned for Carnegie Hall in December. These concerts were controversial – it was the first time an integrated black and white cast were going to be performing on the same stage in the most prestigious venue in America. The audience were all the who’s who of the American white political and social scenes. Bill performed a song of social commentary, his lyrics stated that in a dream he had he was sitting in the Oval Office in the President’s chair, but when he awoke he had nothing, not even a chair. The audience response was overwhelming. Big Bill was suddenly the talk of the social set.

Throughout the 40s Bill continued to compose and record songs and was one of the most successful artists of the decade. He dabbled briefly in the new technology of the electric guitar, performed in musicals and had return concerts at Carnegie hall. The first half of the decade saw him continue with the development with the Chicago sound, bridging the older country blues with urban instrumentation and sophistication and reached a large, youthful audience. In the second half of the decade, he returned to his acoustic roots and toured as part of a folk ensemble that were very successful and lead into the folk revival of the 1950s.

The 50’s saw Bill embark on a European tour, almost unheard of for a black artist, which fuelled the creativity of a generation of British guitarists that would become the British invasion of the 1960s – The Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds among them. Back in the US he continued to record, compose and tour. Ill health took a toll around 1955, and his output diminished. He published a biography in 1956, and performed in a second European tour.

Big Bill Broonzy, one of the greatest legends in al music, passed away from throat cancer on August 14, 1958 in Chicago. He was one of the very first inductees into the Blues Fall of Fame and will always be remembered as one of the greatest influences in the development of the blues.



The Song

Key to the Highway is one of the most popular blues standards. It was first record on February 23 1940 by Charles Seger. His version was a 12 bar. Later that year, harmonica and singer Jazz Gillum recorded it with Big Bill on guitar. Big Bill said that Seger’s recording featured lyrics that were fairly common in the South. Big Bill re-arranged it to an 8 bar blues, which became the song we know today. Big Bill recorded it a few times, his first version was recorded in 1941 with Gillan on harmonica and Washboard Sam on the washboard.

That’s the version I’ve tabbed out here. It’s my favourite because of how restrained Bill’s playing is. He just focuses on the rhythm, creating beautifully phrased measures and lets the harmonica do the lead over the top. It’s a master class of how to play amazing blues rhythms out of the lime light.

It’s an 8 bar in standard tuning, but in the key of G so put a capo on the 3rd fret. He uses a C# shape in some bars with the usual B7. The feature of his playing is it is so restrained, so quiet and so effective. He uses major scale tones such as the 9th instead of the more common blues scale, and that adds the whimsical, happy feeling to the song. Nothing too difficult, but this will test out your touch and timing. Play it slow, and just go with the feel.



The Lyrics

Intro Interlude E B7 A7 I got the key to the highway, and I'm billed out and bound to go E C#7 B7 E B7 I'm gonna leave here runnin', cause walkin' is most too slow I'm goin' down on the border, now where I'm better known Cause woman you don't do nothin', but drive a good man 'way from home Now when the moon creeps over the mountain, I'll be on my way Now I'm gonna walk this old highway, until the break of day Interlude x 2 Come here, sweet mama, now and help me with this heavy load I am due in West Texas, and I've got to get on the road I'm goin' to West Texas, I'm goin' down behind the sun I'm gonna ask the good Lord what evil have I done Interlude

The Intro



$4.4 | $3.4.$2.4 $1.5 5.$4.4 $1.7 5.$4.4 $1.7 $4.4 2 | $3.2.$2.2 $1.0 $2.2 $5.0.$1.3 2 0 $5.0.$1.3 2 0 $5.0.$2.2 $5.0 | $6.0.$2.0.$3.0h1 $1.0 $6.0.$3.1 $1.3 $6.0.$1./4.$3./4 4.$1.4 $6.0.$1.3/2.$3.3/2 $1.0 | $6.0.$2.0.$3.0h1 $6./4 $5.2 2 $3.2.$2.0 $5.2 2.$3.2.$2.0 0.$3.2 | In some ways, the intro is the hardest part of the song! Nice quick riffing with the thumb hitting on the beat and on some ‘and’ beats.

The Interlude

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The Progression

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Biography More about Big Bill Broonzy

The main solo instrument in this piece is the harmonica, and Bill plays this lovely passage behind it. He doesn’t play a lot of notes, but it is very effective and illustrates how great guitar playing is about touch and tone rather than speed.With the first two bars, Bill walks through the major pentatonic scale and varies the timing on subsequent repetitions. Here is the first verse, which has some notes hitting just off the beat. This creates a floating feeling, but in other repetitions he delays notes to hit on beat 1 of a bar.He also goes from a B7 to a C7 in bar 6 which is the opposite direction to the verses.The backing behind the singing is based on chord shapes – an A7 shape for the B and A sections, E shapes for E and a B7 shape for the C#7 and B7 bars.Touch is everything here. He plays very soft notes, almost grace notes, which are hard to hear but fill out the rhythm perfectly. Here’s verse 1, all other verses follow this basic idea, just improvise around it. The turnaround riff in the final E bar is a constant throughout the song.