As part of my work on covering the new tour Mr. Williamson is about to embark on, while filming the upcoming feature documentary Standin' Tall An' Straight: The B.C. Williamson Story, I have been allowed unprecedented access to his secret rehearsal space in Central Memphis. As many will know, B.C. has not taken to the stage since his famed appearance in mid-1976. The concert of May that year marked his first performance for five years, and was eagerly anticipated by over two-thousand adoring fans. However, after taking to the stage, he left before the first song and disappeared. Since that day he has not given interviews and has only recorded infrequently, to varied acclaim.
But, with two new albums in the past year (including an ambitious return to his fatherland of Nigeria, called Back To Africa), a book in the works, and a critical revival starting, B.C. recently agreed to sit down with me and be interviewed for the documentary. He also allowed me into one of his rehearsals, a fascinating insight into the manner in which the man works. He only played through songs once or twice, with his current touring band, made up of his old comrade Tick-Tock Turner on drums, James Parker on double bass, Harold "Ivory" Keys on piano, and occasional collaborators The Reasons on backing vocals. As Williamson is famous for moving through backing bands from album to album, the new musicians are clearly on edge, and this only assists the intensity of their music.
Today's sessions were interrupted with the tragic news of the death of his manager, Nat Roseman, the man who found B.C. in a small bar in Beale Street back in 1952, and went on to shape his career. He had been remastering B.C.'s catalogue when he passed away. Williamson commented on the man during filming: "He was a good man...he made me a famous musician while I made him a rich man, and we always loved each other" Songs rehearsed spanned from across his entire career, from obscure tracks from his first album, Giraffe, to well-known staples from the successful mid-Sixties touring years, to under-appreciated mid-80s art-rock efforts. Williamson, despite his age of 82, and liberal use of alcohol and cigarettes over the years, is in fine form. His guitar still wails away like always, the old voice is still strong, the mind still keenly focused.
For all those excited to see B.C. come this summer, you have reason to be. If the session today shows anything, it is that B.C. is soon to be back.
- as published in Rolling Stone (reprinted with permission)