Cover photo © 2025 Bob Kieser

“I keep a foot in the past, with an eye to the future. That kind of sums up my approach.”

Billy Branch is a pillar of the global Blues community. A genre defining and defying singer, songwriter, band leader, and, lest we forget, virtuoso harmonica player, Branch is an educator, innovator and prophet of the Blues. Born in Chicago, raised in LA, and, like being struck by lighting, exploding back home on the Chicago Blues scene in the 70’s, Branch has been the trend setter and high water mark for what modern Blues can be. His foot in the past was learned at the feet of giants like Willie Dixon, James Cotton and Junior Wells and his eye to the future is propelled by his diverse taste in music and his cultivating of young musicians in his institution of a band, the Sons of Blues. Mr. Branch has touched the lives of thousands of young people as one of the first, and certainly the longest running, Blues in Schools educators. All the while, Billy has been prolific, recording and gigging consistently throughout his almost 50 year career.

Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues’ new record The Blues is My Biography is possibly the most comprehensive statement of Billy’s eclectic and innovative style. Billy enthuses, “The Blues is My Biography, consists of 11 songs and I wrote and/or co-wrote 9 of the 11.” He proudly proclaims, “it’s fresh, it contains more social commentary. It probably, more than any other previous release, demonstrates my artistry as a musician and a songwriter.”

To realize his vision for Biography, a true triptych through Billy’s creative process and muses, he needed a production collaborator who could keep up with him. Someone who could help him bring to life his technicolor interpretation of the Blues.

“Here’s the thing, I hired Larry Baptiste as my producer which turned out to be a match made in heaven, actually. He’s worked with a lot of marquee artists, you know, big names. Stevie Wonder, Santana, so many other people. He’s in Oakland, CA. We did 4 songs in Oakland with his group then 7 songs with the Sons of Blues here in Chicago. See he comes from that R&B 70’s and 80’s kind of Funk horn driven era. He was a horn player originally and a great vocalist as well as a great horn arranger and vocal arranger. He brought that skill set, I guess you could say, more polished approach. He brought that element which really worked well on this project.”

“I’ve always embraced all types of music,” Billy enthuses about his diverse genre bending sound. “My wife Rosa and I,” he explains, “both have very similar musical tastes, coming up as teenagers in the 60’s. You’d hear everything from the Pop stations and the R&B stations. You know I’d hear James Brown, Motown, but I’d also hear the Beatles, the Stones and Peter, Paul and Mary. You know Dion and Petula Clark and Dionne Warwick. You know everything! I come to realize that some of those influences are present in my music.”

A world renowned Bluesman who sites Peter, Paul and Mary and Petula Clark as influences has something different going on. The Blues is My Biography lets this diverse freak flag fly.

“Although The Blues is My Biography has some Blues songs, and every song is bluesy, it’s not what you classify as a so-called typical Blues recording. I even have a Reggae on it ‘The Ballad of the Million Men.’ It references the Million Man march. And we have another song called ‘How You Livin’?’ which is another social commentary. It’s in a Hip Hop style.”

No wonder then that Billy reports: “People come up to me after shows and say ‘I don’t really like the Blues, but I like what you guys do.’ (laughing) I’ve been hearing this all my life. I say, ‘you like the Blues, you just don’t know it!” Billy elaborates, “my father, rest his soul, when he was alive, he was really a Jazz fan. He was never really a Blues fan. But he loved what I did. He loved my band, he actually loved it. He’d say, ‘man you guys got a little bit of everything in it.’ So, to the uninitiated, they may not even know they are listening to the Blues (chuckling). We keep it fresh enough and exciting, because good music is good music”

Billy Branch has been the ring leader of one of the most enduring institutions in the music: the Sons of Blues. Originally created as a collaboration between Branch and Lurrie Bell, Carey Bell’s son, and Freddie Dixon, Willie Dixon’s son, the SOB has been a proving ground for generations of musicians to learn from Billy Branch and help him realize his Blues vision.

“I’m blessed to have some of the top musicians in town in my band,” Billy gratefully pronounces. “When we are not working, and there have been periods when we haven’t worked as much, they are first call in the City. So these guys are working pretty steady even when I’m not working with ‘em, you know. That is key to getting the sound that I want.”

“Ariyo (Sumito Ariyoshi), my piano player, he’s been with me now about 25 years. I call him the best in the business of his generation. Even though he’s originally from Kyoto, Japan, he immersed himself in Chicago Blues for so many decades. My guitarist Giles Corey was with me when he was 21, I think, and he’s 50-something now. He was with me, then he left and then he came back. My bass player Ari Seder played with Ronnie Baker Brooks for a number of years, he is first call. Then my drummer, Dionte Skinner, is the youngest. But he has taken the time to learn the styles of the old masters.”

“I’ve got a top flight band that can deliver to me what I need musically” Billy beams. He apprises the musical dynamic: “Playing behind harmonica, especially for guitar, is an art form in itself. If you don’t have a guitarist who knows how to back up harp, then you’re not gonna get what you need. In my case I have all the key elements. Everybody is very solid in their respective roles.”

Billy Branch is possibly the most distinct and fluid harp player of his generation, or any generation for that matter. There is a reason why very early on he was tapped to join Willie Dixon’s band and while still a young buck he was given room with legends James Cotton, Carey Bell, and Junior Wells on 1990’s Harp Attack. Part of Billy’s genius is that he plays through the whole song, even behind other soloists. This is called “comping.” that is playing rhythmic passages and chords that support soloists.

“Thank you for noticing that,” Billy appreciates when asked about comping. “In my case I felt it was just as important to learn how to play behind, in other words be immersed and part of the fabric of the whole composition, as it was to solo. I’ve seen harp players, and I’ve actually spoken to them about it, who will just solo. But then when they are on stage and not soloin’ they’re not playin’. (laughs) What are you doin’? This is the main thing, you know.”

“It’s like taking an adventure to be able to find the right set of notes or the right melodic figure or horn line. It enhances the entire song. I do pride myself on that. It’s almost like a puzzle and it’s why to this day I still enjoy sitting in (with other bands). Because every time you sit in you are subject to new musical variables. So sometimes I might sit in with somebody I never played with before. Or I’m walkin’ through the airport and there’s a guy playing and I say ‘hey man I’ve got a harp.’ I end up jammin’ with that guy. I always relish the challenge of being able to play behind another artist or fit within the framework of the ensemble.”

Imagine walking through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and seeing Billy Branch laying it down impromptu in front of your departure gate!

Another stylistic aspect of Billy’s harp playing is using amplification. This is playing into a microphone that is run into an amplifier and creating a more effected sound. This is a common technique, especially in the 80’s and 90’s. But, Billy’s tone and attack are all his own. Billy teaches us the history:

“Little Walter was the innovator, you know. I’ve come to the realization that Little Walter is the most emulated and imitated harmonica player of any genre. When you think about harmonica in pop culture of course the first name is Stevie Wonder. The uninitiated are really not aware that there are really hundreds of great harmonica players out here, even outside the Blues realm. But Little Walter was the guy that pioneered that technique of taking a cheap microphone and running it through an amplifier and getting that distorted effect. The harmonica is unrecognizable as a harmonica. If you listen to ‘Juke’ it sounds like some kind of horn.”

When asked about his amplified sound, Billy says unpretentiously, “I mean everybody plays amplified, with a band you have to, to be heard, you know.” Billy’s amplified tone is not created simply out of necessity though. His amplified tone is rich and unique. But Billy is a multifaceted player and the pure acoustic sound of his harmonica is also something he thinks deeply about with technique and skill.

“With acoustic, which I’ve done notably on the record with Kenny Neal Double Take (2004), I enjoy it. There is more subtlety and you have more nuance. And if you are playing with just a guitarist it’s somewhat of a different approach because it’s a bare bones ensemble.”

Billy Branch shares his talents as an educator. As a part of the Blues in School’s program Billy has brought Blues education to countless children all over the world. “They all have to learn harmonica,” Billy chuckles. But his students also learn all the other primary instruments and the history and future of the Blues.

“I’m still actively teaching Blues in Schools. We have a program on the West Side of Chicago, we had a residency last year and it’s about to start again soon. That’s been an as fulfilling, if not more so, part of my career. I’ve been teaching since 1978, we formed the Sons of Blues in ‘77. On rare occasions some former students, who are now (said with emphasis) grandparents, will come out and see me perform. Or I’ll get a text or FaceBook message: ‘Hey Mr. Branch, just reaching out. I still have my harmonica.’ It’s a wonderful feeling.”

“I could tell stories from over the decades with these youngsters that will bring tears to your eyes. Because in some cases the experience actually changed their life trajectory. We had some kids who had behavioral problems that completely turned around after that program. For example I had a residency in Wisconsin. It was about a month-long residency. At the end, one of the faculty coordinators said ‘you know you have the 2 badest kids in the school in your class?’ I said which ones? She pointed them out and I said well those are the only 2 who had perfect attendance. They became my model students. We had a little recap, end of program party and students could do testimonials if they wanted. These 2 kids related how much that program meant to them. It really affected their lives in a positive manner.”

“As you well know, the Blues as compared to other musical genres is relegated to the bottom of the ladder. Less apt to be heard on commercial radio. Less apt to be seen on television. It garners, in the grand scheme of things, the lowest revenue when compared to other genres. But, it’s the foundation of all of our music. This is one of the key points I drive home with these students. They learn how the Blues not only affected American culture, but also cultures around the globe.”

Billy Branch is an elder statesman of the Blues. Finding success and acceptance early in his career he has continued to innovate and educate about the Blues throughout his life. Truly within his biography is the history of modern Blues.

“It’s been a very interesting and memorable experience. Back in the day, in the early days, there were so many characters. (laughing) They were all characters. Big Moose Walker, Sunnyland Slim, Junior Wells. They all had these distinct unforgettable personalities, you know. Now sadly they’re all but gone. But it was really somethin’ to be around the Blues scene when there were 20-30 places on the South and West Sides you could go to. So called hole in wall joints, you’d hear the best music in your life.”

Billy Branch is now one of those characters. The generation of musicians he learned from are gone and the clubs are not as prolific. But through Billy Branch’s life’s work the Blues will continue and be passed on for generations.

Check out Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues at: www.billybranch.com