Billy Bizor (September 3, 1913 – April 5, 1969) was an American

Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...

harmonicist, singer and songwriter. He was musically associated with his cousin

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

, on some of whose 1960s albums Bizor played harmonica and sang backing vocals. Bizor's only solo recordings took place in 1968 and 1969, but these were not released until 1989.

Life and career

Bizor was born near Middleton,

Leon County, Texas Leon County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15,719. Its county seat is Centerville. History The legislature of the Republic of Texas authorized Leon County in 1846 from part of Robertso ...

, United States, ten months before the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Details of his early life are scant, but he performed locally from the 1930s in a semi-professional manner without any tangible success. He languished in total obscurity, and barely changed his playing methodology over the years. His fortunes changed somewhat courtesy of the

blues revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl (UK), Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, ...

in the 1960s, along with starting recording as a backing musician to his cousin, Lightnin' Hopkins. Bizor played harmonica, and sometimes sang backing vocals, on several of Hopkins' albums including; '' Walkin' This Road by Myself'' (1962), '' Lightnin' and Co.'' (1962), '' Smokes Like Lightning'' (1963), '' Talkin' Some Sense'' (1968), and '' Free Form Patterns'' (1968). While his contributions there went largely unheralded, the work did lead to Bizor, between 1968 and 1969, recording his only solo sessions. These took place in Houston under the guidance of record producer Roy C. Ames. In those sessions Bizor was accompanied by Lightnin' Hopkins (guitar, vocals),

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax R ...

(rhythm guitar), Clarence Holliman (guitar),

Elmore Nixon Elmore Nixon (November 17, 1933 – June 1975) was an American jump blues pianist and singer. His piano playing accompanied several artists on their recordings, including Peppermint Harris, Clifton Chenier and Lightnin' Hopkins, as well as releas ...

(piano), plus Linda Waring and Ben Turner (drums). His work went unreleased at the time. Eventually issued as ''Blowing My Blues Away'', the end result went unreleased for 20 years, but the recordings also revealed Bizor, according to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, "to be an intense, emotionally charged singer". He never saw the recordings come to light. Bizor died on April 5, 1969, of the effects of

edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...

at the

Ben Taub Hospital Ben Taub Hospital is a public hospital located in Houston, Texas within the Texas Medical Center. Having opened in May 1963, the hospital is owned and operated by the Harris Health System and is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students fr ...

in Houston, Texas. He was buried at Gosto Prairie Cemetery in Centerville, Leon County, Texas. He appeared posthumously together with Hopkins in the documentary by filmmaker

Les Blank Les Blank (November 27, 1935 – April 7, 2013) was an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians. Life and career Leslie Harrod Blank Jr. was born November 27, 1935, in Tampa, Florida. He atten ...

, ''The Blues According To Lightnin' Hopkins'' (1970). Bizor's track "Screwdriver" was covered by South Filthy on their album, ''Crackin' Up'' (2005). In 2015, Cicadelic Records released the collection, ''Wake Up The Dead'', a double CD including all of Bizor and Hopkins joint recordings made during 1968 and 1969.

Albums

Solo

*''Blowing My Blues Away'' (

Collectables Records Collectables Records is an American reissue record label, founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene also formed the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. History It maintains a catalogue of over 3,400 active titles on compact disc, with thousands ...

, 1989)

With
Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

*''Cousins'' (Blues Factory Records, 2000) *''Wake Up The Dead'' (Cicadelic Records, 2015)

Compilation

*''Screwdriver'' (Carinco Neue Medien AG, 2012)

References

External links

Lightnin' Hopkins and Billy Bizor; "Where She Used To Lay" (1967) - videoBilly Bizor, "Screwdriver" (1969) @ YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bizor, Billy 1913 births 1969 deaths American blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians Texas blues musicians American blues singers Singers from Texas 20th-century American singers Songwriters from Texas 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters People from Leon County, Texas 20th-century American songwriters