Billy Boy Arnold

William "Billy Boy" Arnold (born September 16, 1935) is an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. Arnold is a self-taught harmonica player and has worked with blues musicians such as Bo Diddley, Johnny Shines, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and others.

Biography Billy Boy Arnold performing at the International Jazz Festival in Wellington, New Zealand in 2006. Born in Chicago, Illinois, as one of 16 children,

Arnold signed a solo recording contract with Vee-Jay Records, recording the originals of "I Wish You Would" and "I Ain’t Got You". Both were later covered by the Yardbirds. He recorded a session for BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel on October 5, 1977. He also recorded in 1979 the tracks that later became the Catfish album of 1999, in London with Tony McPhee and the Groundhogs.

In 1993, he released the album Back Where I Belong on Alligator Records, followed by Eldorado Cadillac (1995) and on Stony Plain Records with the Duke Robillard Band Boogie ’n’ Shuffle (2001). In 2012, Arnold released Blue and Lonesome featuring Tony McPhee and the Groundhogs. Another tribute to Arnold was the album The Blues Soul of Billy Boy Arnold (Stony Plain - SPCD 1378, 2014).

In 2014, he was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the "Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year" category.

In November 2021, the University of Chicago Press published Arnold's first-person memoir, "The Blues Dream of Billy Boy Arnold", written in collaboration with Kim Field.

His younger brother is bassist Jerome Arnold, with whom he has recorded.

Discography Studio albums More Blues on the South Side (Prestige, 1966) Kings of Chicago Blues Vol. 3 (Vogue, 1973) Blow the Back Off It (Red Lightnin', 1975) Checkin' It Out (Red Lightnin', 1979) Ten Million Dollars (Blue Phoenix, 1984) Back Where I Belong (Alligator, 1993) Eldorado Cadillac (Alligator, 1995) Boogie 'n' Shuffle (Stony Plain, 2001) Consolidated Mojo (Electro-Fi, 2005) Billy Boy Arnold Sings Sonny Boy (Electro-Fi, 2008) Billy Boy Arnold Sings Big Bill Broonzy (Electro-Fi, 2012) The Blues Soul of Billy Boy Arnold (Stony Plain, 2014)

Live albums Live at the Venue 1990 (Catfish, 2000)

Compilation albums American Blues Legends '75 (with various artists, Big Bear, 1975) Crying and Pleading (Charly, 1980) Goin' to Chicago (Testament, 1995) Catfish (Catfish, 1999) Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonica Blowouts "Still Here and Gone" 1993–2007 (live with various artists, Electro-Fi, 2007) Remembering Little Walter (with various artists, Blind Pig, 2013)