Jazz Gillum

William McKinley Gillum (11 September 1904 - 29 March 1966), known as Jazz Gillum, was an American blues harmonica player. He was born in Indianola, Mississippi. After running away from home at the age of 7, Bill Gillum spent the next few years in Charleston, Mississippi, working and playing for tips on local street corners. He moved to Chicago in 1923, meeting up with guitarist Big Bill Broonzy. The duo started working club dates around the city and, by 1934, Gillum started recording for ARC and Bluebird Records. Read more on Last.fm

Jazz Gillum was featured in the movie Bastard Out of Carolina.

Tweet