George Brock

George Brock was born on May 16, 1932 in Granada, Mississippi, and died on April 10, 2020. A renowned harmonica player and singer, he moved to Missouri in the 1950s, where he played in a series of nightclubs. He started picking cotton, was a boxer and managed up to three stores. He performed with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Albert King, and starred in the 2006 film "Hard Times," a documentary about his life. In the 2000s, he recorded some albums under his name.

When he was eight years old he was picking cotton. His father taught him and his brothers to play the harmonica. When he was a teenager he moved to Mattson, Mississippi. There he met Muddy Waters, and they performed together on weekends. In the late 1940s he moved to Walls, Mississippi. While working on the construction of Highway 61, he met Howlin' Wolf. He became his roadie and performed with him. He then moved to St. Louis in 1950, where he was an amateur boxer for a time. In 1952, boxer Sonny Liston was training in a gym with Brock. Liston challenged Brock to a match and Brock won the match in the second round.

But instead of boxing he decided to focus on his musical career because it was more lucrative. He created his own band, Big George & the Houserockers, where blues guitarist Albert King played before forming his own. In 1952 he opened his own nightclub, Club Caravan, near North Garrison and Franklin avenues. Brock combined security at the venue and performing with a band in which Albert King, Big Baddy Smitty or Riley Coatie sometimes performed on lead guitar. The club also had Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Ike & Tina Turner and Jimmy Reed, among others, on stage.

In the early 1960s, Muddy Waters arranged a meeting for him with Chess Records executives. He did not see it clearly and distrusted the seal. He decided to continue playing on the club circuit, which became three under his command. Brock closed Club Caravan after his wife was killed during a shooting in 1970. He opened another Club Caravan at Delmar Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, but it closed in the late 1980s.

In 2005 he signed with Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art. He released the album “Club Caravan” to favorable reviews. The following year he released the album “Round Two”, which, like the first, received nominations for the Blues Music Award. That year, 2006, a documentary about his life titled “Hard Times” appeared and in 2007 his album “Heavyweight Blues” appeared.

In the early 1960s, Muddy Waters arranged a meeting for him with Chess Records executives. He did not see it clearly and distrusted the seal. He decided to continue playing on the club circuit, which became three under his command. Brock closed Club Caravan after his wife was killed during a shooting in 1970. He opened another Club Caravan at Delmar Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, but it closed in the late 1980s.

In 2005 he signed with Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art. He released the album “Club Caravan” to favorable reviews. The following year he released the album “Round Two”, which, like the first, received nominations for the Blues Music Award. That year, 2006, a documentary about his life titled “Hard Times” appeared and in 2007 his album “Heavyweight Blues” was published.