WILLIE SMITH

Biography

Willie Lee “Big Eyes” Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011) was an American electric blues singer, harmonica player, drummer, and bandleader, best known for his long association with Muddy Waters and his role in shaping the Chicago blues sound.[2] Born in Helena, Arkansas, he was raised primarily by his grandparents before moving to Chicago, where a 1953 visit to the Zanzibar club—hearing Muddy Waters and harmonica player Henry Strong—convinced him to take up the harmonica.[1][2] By 1956, at age eighteen, he was leading his own trio on harp with Bobby Lee Burns on guitar and Clifton James on drums, and he also worked as “Little Willie” Smith in Arthur “Big Boy” Spires’ Rocket Four, cutting sides later reissued by Delmark.[2] In 1955 he recorded harmonica on Bo Diddley’s version of Willie Dixon’s “Diddy Wah Diddy” for the Checker label, a notable early document of his studio work.[1][2]

As electric Chicago blues evolved, Smith recognized there was more work for drummers than harmonica players and switched to drums, a decision that led to his first recordings with Muddy Waters on the 1960 album Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy.[2] He became a regular member of Muddy’s band in 1961, alongside George “Mojo” Buford, Luther Tucker, Pat Hare, and Otis Spann, and although he briefly left in the mid‑1960s to drive a cab, he rejoined in the late 1960s and stayed through 1980.[1][2] During this period, Muddy’s Grammy‑winning albums—including Hard Again, I’m Ready, They Call Me Muddy Waters, Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live, The London Muddy Waters Session, and The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album—all fell within Smith’s tenure; he is estimated to have played on twelve sessions yielding around 84 tracks.[2] In 1980 he co‑founded The Legendary Blues Band with fellow Muddy alumni Pinetop Perkins, Calvin Jones, Jerry Portnoy, and Louis Myers, sharing vocal duties and helping carry Chicago blues into new decades.[1][2]

From the mid‑1990s Smith emerged more fully as a leader, beginning with Bag Full of Blues (1995), which featured Pinetop Perkins, Kim Wilson, and guitarists James Wheeler, Nick Moss, and Gareth Best, followed by albums such as Way Back (2006) and Born in Arkansas (2008).[2] His drumming—combining a deep shuffle feel, crisp backbeat, and unflashy but propulsive drive—made him one of the definitive Chicago blues drummers, while his singing and harmonica playing kept him rooted in classic electric blues traditions.[1][2] In 2011 he earned one of the genre’s highest honors, winning the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Joined at the Hip, recorded with his longtime friend Pinetop Perkins.[1][2] Even in his final year he was active in the studio, encouraging Chicago singer Liz Mandeville to start her Blue Kitty Music label and appearing on two tracks of her album Clarksdale, issued in 2012, underscoring his continuing influence and mentorship in blues up to the end of his life.[2]

Fun Facts

• Smith received the nickname “Big Eyes” because of his noticeably prominent eyes, a moniker that became part of his professional identity in the blues world.[2]
• He originally made his mark as a harmonica player and only switched to drums when he realized there was more work available for drummers in Chicago clubs.[1][2]
• Before rejoining Muddy Waters in the late 1960s, Smith briefly left music to work as a cab driver in Chicago, illustrating the economic challenges blues musicians often faced.[1][2]
• His Grammy‑winning album Joined at the Hip with Pinetop Perkins was released in 2010, and he continued recording right up to the end of his life, appearing on Liz Mandeville’s Clarksdale, which came out the year after his death.[1][2]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Muddy Waters - Primary bandleader and professional mentor whose performances inspired Smith early on and later provided the platform for his mature career in Chicago blues. (Live and studio work with Muddy Waters including Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy, Hard Again, I’m Ready, Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live, The London Muddy Waters Session, The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Smith participated in sessions from which these albums were drawn).) [First heard in 1953; recorded together from 1960; regular band member 1961–mid‑1960s and late 1960s–1980.[1][2]]
• Henry Strong - Harmonica player in Muddy Waters’ band whose playing at the Zanzibar club inspired Smith to learn harmonica. (Live performance with Muddy Waters at the Zanzibar club in Chicago that Smith attended as a teenager.) [Influence dating from Smith’s Chicago visit in 1953.[1][2]]
• Arthur “Big Boy” Spires - Blues guitarist and bandleader under whom Smith performed as “Little Willie” Smith in the Rocket Four, gaining early professional experience and recording exposure. (Recordings with Arthur “Big Boy” Spires’ Rocket Four later reissued on Delmark.) [Mid‑1950s (around 1955–1956)./[2]]

Key Collaborators

• Muddy Waters - Smith’s most important long‑term collaborator as drummer, occasional harmonica player, and vocalist in Waters’ band; together they helped define the electric Chicago blues sound. (Albums such as Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy (1960) and multiple Grammy‑era sessions including Hard Again, I’m Ready, They Call Me Muddy Waters, Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live, The London Muddy Waters Session, The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Smith played on many of the 84 tracks recorded with Waters during 1971–1979).) [1960–1980, with a short break in the mid‑1960s.[1][2]]
• Pinetop Perkins - Frequent collaborator as pianist in Muddy Waters’ band, co‑founder of The Legendary Blues Band, and later co‑leader on acclaimed duo and band projects. (Co‑founder of The Legendary Blues Band (from 1980); featured on Smith’s Bag Full of Blues (1995) and Way Back (2006); co‑leader on Joined at the Hip (2010), which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album; various live and studio performances.) [Early 1970s–2011.[1][2]]
• Bo Diddley - Smith contributed harmonica to one of Diddley’s mid‑1950s Checker label recordings, linking him to early rock‑and‑roll‑inflected Chicago blues. (Harmonica on Bo Diddley’s recording of Willie Dixon’s “Diddy Wah Diddy” (Checker, 1955).) [1955.[1][2]]
• The Legendary Blues Band (Pinetop Perkins, Calvin Jones, Jerry Portnoy, Louis Myers) - Post‑Muddy Waters ensemble co‑founded by Smith, in which all members shared vocal duties and toured/recorded as a flagship Chicago blues group. (Multiple albums and tours under the name The Legendary Blues Band beginning in 1980.) [1980s onward.[1][2]]
• Big Bill Morganfield - Muddy Waters’ son, with whom Smith recorded, symbolically connecting generations of the Waters blues legacy. (Album Rising Son (1999), on which Smith played.[2]) [Late 1990s.[2]]
• Kim Wilson - Harmonica player who appeared on Smith’s debut solo recording, contributing to a modern yet traditional blues sound. (Bag Full of Blues (1995).) [Mid‑1990s.[2]]
• James Cotton - Veteran harmonica player and fellow Muddy Waters alumnus who guested on Smith’s later solo work. (Guest appearance on Smith’s album Way Back (2006).) [2000s.[2]]
• Liz Mandeville - Chicago blues singer‑songwriter whom Smith encouraged to launch her own label and with whom he recorded late in his life. (Two tracks on her album Clarksdale (released 2012) on Blue Kitty Music.) [Recorded in his final year, released 2012.[2]]

Artists Influenced

• Members of The Legendary Blues Band and younger Chicago blues musicians - As co‑founder and elder statesman of The Legendary Blues Band and a key figure on the Chicago scene, Smith’s drumming style, bandleading, and mentorship shaped subsequent generations of traditional electric blues players, including collaborators such as Liz Mandeville and younger guitarists like Nick Moss. (Recordings and tours with The Legendary Blues Band; Smith’s solo albums Bag Full of Blues, Way Back, and Born in Arkansas served as references for modern traditional blues stylists.[2]) [1980s–2010s (influence continuing beyond his death in 2011).]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia