George Brock (May 16, 1932 – April 10, 2020), billed as Big George Brock, was an American blues musician. A native of Mississippi, he moved to Missouri in the 1950s and operated a series of nightclubs. He played alongside

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

, and

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

. Brock starred in the 2006 film ''Hard Times'', a documentary about his life.

Life and career

Brock was born in

Grenada, Mississippi Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 13,092 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County. History ...

on May 16, 1932. By the time he was eight, he was working as a

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

picking cotton. Brock was surrounded by blues music, and recalled, "the blues grew like grass out of the ground." His father taught him and his brothers how to play harmonica as a child. As a teenager he moved to Mattson, Mississippi. There he met

, and they performed together on weekends. In the late 1940s he moved to

Walls, Mississippi Walls is a town located in northern DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River, part of the larger region known as " The Delta", and known for its rich, dark soil. As it is in the upper northwest corner of Mississipp ...

. While working as a pipeliner on Highway 61, Brock met

. He became his roadie and performed with him. Brock also met

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being "Wh ...

in Walls and jammed with her at house parties. Brock moved to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 1950 where he was an amateur

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

for a while. In 1952, boxer

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...

was training at a gym alongside Brock. Liston challenged Brock to

sparring Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively ' free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to minimize injuries. By extension, argumentative debate ...

match. Brock won the fight in the second round, recalling that "he'd just come out of the pen. He thought he was pretty tough." He focused on his music career because it was more lucrative, forming his own band Big George & the Houserockers. Blues guitarist

played in Brock's band before forming his own. In 1952, Brock opened his own nightclub, Club Caravan, near North Garrison and Franklin avenues. Brock worked as a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or m ...

and performed there with his band which at times featured King, Big Baddy Smitty, or Riley Coatie on lead guitar. The club hosted acts such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters,

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

, and

. In the early 1960s, Muddy Waters arranged for him to meet with the executives of

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

. Brock turned down the record deal because although he was offered a tour bus and proceeds from the shows, he wouldn't have received any royalties from his recordings. He continued playing the club circuit, at one point he owned as many as three nightclubs at once. Brock closed the Club Caravan after his wife was killed during a shooting incident in 1970. He opened another Club Caravan at Delmar Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, but that closed in the late 1980s. In 2005, Brock signed to the label Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art. He put out the album ''Club Caravan'' which received favorable reviews and a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

nomination for best comeback album. In 2006 he released the album ''Round Two'', which received three Blues Music Award nominations. In 2006, Brock was featured in a documentary about his life titled ''Hard Times''. In the film he visits the plantations where he worked as a child in Mississippi. In 2017, Brock was honored with a special concert at the

National Blues Museum The National Blues Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit museum in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, dedicated to exploring the musical history and impact of the blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South ...

in St. Louis. Brock toured overseas in England, Italy, Switzerland and France. He continued to perform and regularly headlined various blues festivals, including the Bluesweek Festival and the Big Muddy Blues Festival.

Personal life

Brock was married three times and claimed to have forty-two children. He died after a long illness at home in St. Louis on April 10, 2020, at the age of 87.

Discography

Albums

* 1987: ''Should Have Been There'' (self-released) * 1999: ''I Got To Keep My Bedroom Door Locked'' (self-released) * 1999: ''Front Door Man'' (Tee-Ti) * 2005: ''Club Caravan'' (Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc.) – Big George Brock & The Houserockers * 2006: ''Round Two'' (Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc.) * 2006: ''Hard Times'' (Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc.) * 2007: ''Live At Seventy Five'' (Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc.) * 2007: ''Heavyweight Blues'' (APO Records)

References

External links

Big George Brock
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Big George Brock
on Mississippi Blues Project
Big George Brock discography
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, Big George 1932 births 2020 deaths American blues harmonica players American rhythm and blues singers American blues singers Music of St. Louis St. Louis blues musicians Blues musicians from Mississippi People from Grenada, Mississippi People from Coahoma County, Mississippi People from Walls, Mississippi