#777 > Billy Branch and The Sons of Blues - The Blues is My Biography~ (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Rosa's Lounge Records
Release Date : November 7, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; October 25, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

All it took was one listen to this new Billy Branch and The Sons of Blues album The Blues is My Biography to know it would land in the top of my favorites of 2025. Produced by Larry Batiste, this mostly autobiographical album from Branch is the first record on the new Rosa’s Lounge Records label. With over fifteen albums recorded with The Sons of the Blues, Branch’s accolades over the past 50 years make for a mesmerizing list which includes three Grammy nominations, three Blues Music Awards, an Emmy, and the induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. For this recording, The Sons of the Blues consists of Dionte “McMusik” Skinner on drums, Sumito Ariyoshi aka Ariyo on keys, Ari Seder on bass, and Giles Corey on guitar.

Branch kicks the record off with a blast of high-level energy as Bobby Rush joins in on vocals and harmonica on “Hole in Your Soul”. I love how they spread out the history of the blues into this one jumpin’ song. With Shemekia Copeland on guest vocals and Ronnie Baker Brooks stepping in on guitar, Branch leans into the multiple facets of struggling times with “Begging For Change”. The paring of their soulful voices rides a fabulous groove which pulls me in tight for a searing serving of harmonica and guitar. I love the way Branch delivers the Lou Rawls 1967 Grammy-winning song “Dead End Street”. I can’t help but pay full attention as his gravelly-spoken monolog is joined with a piano-centric introduction. I dig that sixties hot, buttered soul. As I’m glued in to the song, a wave of nostalgia washes over me with the mention of picking up pop bottles for money. Branch suavely delivers his title-track “Blues is My Biography” in a crooner serenade style. His silken voice sounds fantastic with his band accompanied with a horn section arranged by Batiste. “Harmonica Man”, a song which Branch states “It's as autobiographical as you can get", follows next. The hypnotic rhythm invokes a Seventies vibe which brings to mind favorites of the Classic Rock era like Steely Dan. Lastly, in a magnificent flurry of funk, the instrumental Return of the Roaches” closes the album out, hitting on all cylinders. It’s a beast of a performance.

Billy Branch and The Sons of Blues have an instant-classic on their hands with The Blues is My Biography. It is a flawless album destined to be a favorite to many.

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 I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Branch at the Blues Music Awards this past May in Memphis

 

For more info on Billy Branch, visit the website at https://www.billybranch.com/

For more info on Rosa’s Lounge Records, visit the website at https://rosaslounge-records.com/home