Billy Boy Arnold

Born William Arnold in Chicago, IL, in 1935, singer/harp player Billy Boy Arnold began his career singing on street corners in Chicago with his friend Bo Diddley. He was a devotee of Sonny Boy Williamson and styled himself after him, but began forming his own style after a while, developing his own harp sound. At 17 years old he cut a few records for the Chicago label Cool Records--he recorded as William Arnold, but for some reason the label billed him on the records as "Billy Boy", and although he didn't like the name, he kept it--that brought him some notice, and in 1955 he was signed by Chicago label Vee-Jay Records. He stayed with them for two years, during which he recorded some of his best-known songs, such as "I Wish You Would". His work gave him credibility in the Chicago blues scene, and it wasn't long before he was working with such blues icons as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Earl Hooker. He kept recording throughout the 1960s and was a regular on the Chicago blues club circuit, but he never matched the success he had in the 1950s. In 1975 he toured Europe with Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Bo Diddely and other blues stars on a package tour. He returned to Europe several times over the following years, and in 1984 recorded the album "Ten Million Dollars" for the French label Blue Phoenix. He appeared in the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1992, and in that year recorded "Back Where I belong" for Alligator Records. In 1995 he released the well received album "Eldorado Cadillac", also for Alligator Records.