Big Bill Broonzy And Roosevelt Sykes (1955) Rating: Starring: Roosevelt Sykes, Big Bill Broonzy Director: Yannick Bruynoghe, John DeLire Category: Music Studio: Shanachie Subtitles: Length: 60 mins     Masters Of The Country Blues Roosevelt Sykes: Roosevelt Sykes was one of the greatest blues pianists of all time. In a recording career that extended over five decades, Sykes displays a mastery of performing styles from barrelhouse to stride piano, from St. Louis boogie woogie to New Orleans blues. Along the way he composed songs that have become standards, including "Night Time is The Right Time," "Honeydripper Blues" and many others. In Roosevelt Sykes "The Honeydripper," Sykes charm and versatility is readily evident in this typical Sykes set filmed in 1961. He moves from a rendition of Fats Domino's "Poor Me" to "Sykes' Boogie" and in closing, finishes with a jazz stride piano treatment of "Sunny Side of the Street." In addition to his signature songs of "Honeydripper" and " Night Time is the Right Time," he offers a rousing version of "Sweet Home Chicago, " a song he helped popularize, and "Speculatin Daddy." Big Bill Broonzy: Big Bill Broonzy is a towering and influential figure in traditional blues as a guitarist, singer and architect of early Chicago blues. Broonzy came to Chicago in the 1920s and began recording rags and hard-edged guitar blues. As blues became more urbanized, Broonzy moved with the times, retaining his spectacular guitar style and warm vocals. By the late 1930s, he was probably the most famous bluesman in this country and through the next decade he continued to be a fixture on the Chicago club scene. In 1951, he was introduced to European audiences as a "folk blues" artist, performing solo with acoustic guitar in what was taken as the style of first-generation blues singers. Filmed in 1956, Big Bill Blues is an atmospheric art film in which Big Bill Broonzy meets post-war European cinema. At a local smoke filled bistro, he plays a set which includes "Why Did You Leave Heaven," "Saturday Night Blues," his classic 1930s hit "Just A Dream, " and "Guitar Shuffle," an instrumental reminiscent of his early Famous Hokum Boys guitar pieces. Following this film is the "front porch" footage of Big Bill discovered a few years ago and now finally identified. In 1957, Broonzy was working at a summer camp in Michigan. His friend Pete Seeger had been filming folk artists and Broonzy asked to be filmed, anticipating prophetically that his singing days might soon be over. The day after this film was shot, Broonzy went under the knife for the throat cancer that would end his life the following year.