1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, we're rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. Hello, Hello, everyone, 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History class, where we bring 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: you a new tidbit from history every day. The day 4 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: was June Lee Conley Bradley, later known as Big Bill Bruns, 5 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: was born in Scott, Mississippi. Well, at least that's what 6 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: Bruns himself claimed. Historian Robert Reisman suggests he was born 7 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: on the same day, but in Arkansas in nineteen oh three, 8 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: and bruns sister Laney says he may have been born 9 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: in Some sources suggests that he claimed he was older 10 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: than he actually was to be eligible for military service 11 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: or to get union benefits. Regardless, Brunsey became a world 12 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: renowned blue singer, songwriter, and musician in whose work inspired 13 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: many musicians who came after him. Brunsi's parents were born 14 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: into slavery when he was born. His father was a sharecropper, 15 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 1: and he was one of seventeen children born to his parents. 16 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: He grew up in Arkansas, and early on he expressed 17 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: an interest in music. His uncle, Jerry Belcher, taught him 18 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: how to play a fiddle that was made from a 19 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: cigar box Brunsey called his uncle, the greatest man in 20 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: the world in music at that time. Though Brunsi remembered 21 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: uncle Jerry fondly and his writings, there is no evidence 22 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: of Jerry Belcher in official records, so it's not clear 23 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: whether he actually existed anyway. Brunesi sang and played the 24 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: violin in local churches while he worked as a farm hand. 25 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: He also began playing music for tips at country parties 26 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: and picnics, but by nineteen twelve he had stopped fiddling 27 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: and became a traveling preacher around Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He 28 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: did that for several years. The first Fife he married 29 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: was a woman named kurch Rude. He later left Gertrude 30 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: and eventually married other women and had a child with 31 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: a Dutch woman he met in the Netherlands. Around nineteen seventeen, 32 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: Brunsey was drafted into the army and sent to Europe 33 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: to fight in World War One. After doing that for 34 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: a couple of years, he returned to the United States. 35 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: In the nineteen twenties, he moved to Chicago and began 36 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: working with the Pullman Company to make money, but he 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: was still playing music. It was in Chicago where he 38 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: began playing the guitar. Papa Charlie Jackson, a popular blues musician, 39 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: helped teach him to play the guitar. In a nineteen 40 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: fifty eight interview, he claimed he started playing guitar in 41 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: nineteen one, but quote didn't get good at it until 42 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: nineteen three. Brunsi's first songs with Paramount Records, House Rent, 43 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: Stump and Big Bill Blues were released in nineteen seven. 44 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: The record did not perform well, but he did make 45 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: some money from recording rent part these and odd jobs. 46 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: He did more records with Paramount over the next few years, 47 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: though they continued to sell poorly, but by nineteen thirty 48 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: two he had made several records with the American Recording Corporation, 49 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,639 Speaker 1: which sold a lot better and made him some cash. 50 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: In the mid nineteen thirties, Brunzi linked up with pianists 51 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: Black Bob Hudson and began recording on the label Blue Bird, 52 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: which r c A formed to compete with the American 53 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: Recording Corporation. The two of them, along with other musicians, 54 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: formed Big Bill Brunz's Memphis five. He also worked with 55 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: pianist Joshua Alzheimer, who later replaced Black Bob BRUNSI grew 56 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: in popularity as a blue sinker, and he had captured 57 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: the attention of black audiences, and what's recorded as his 58 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: first appearance before a white audience, he performed at record 59 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: producer John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall 60 00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: in New York, and his recognition and acclaim grew. One 61 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: of his best known songs is Black, Brown, and White, 62 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: a protest song against racism and the condition of black 63 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: veterans who returned to the United States after World War Two. 64 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: By the late nineteen forties, the modern blues he was 65 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: playing was falling out of favor with black folks, who 66 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: were turning to upbeat dance music in slow ballads, as 67 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: well as the electric guitar heavy blues of musicians like 68 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: Muddy Waters, whom Brunsey had actually mentored and introduced to 69 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: the Chicago blue scene. He took advantage of white people's 70 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: growing interest in blues and folk music, adding new traditional 71 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: songs to his repertoire. In nineteen fifty, when visiting Iowa, 72 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: Brunsey decided he wanted to stay there and took a 73 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: job as a custodian. But it wasn't long before he 74 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: returned to music and the road. Brunesi towards Europe in 75 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty one, and his performances there stimulated interest in 76 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: the blues and folk music in the U s. Brunsey 77 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: performed with Pete Seeger, Brownie McGhee and Sunny Terry. By 78 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three, he was able to make a living 79 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: on music alone, and in nineteen fifty five he published 80 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: his autobiography, called Big Bill Blues. He also toured Africa, 81 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: South America, Australia and Southeast Asia. In nineteen fifty seven, 82 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,919 Speaker 1: he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was unable to sing, 83 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: but he continued playing the guitar. In nineteen fifty eight, 84 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: Brunsey died of cancer on the way to the hospital. 85 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 86 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty. Many musicians have cited him as an influence, 87 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,919 Speaker 1: including Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend. I'm Eve jeffco and 88 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 89 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. And if you still haven't checked out 90 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: a new show that I host called Unpopular, you can 91 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: get it anywhere that you get this day in history class. 92 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: And if you're so inclined. You can follow us at 93 00:05:55,200 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: t d i h C Podcasts on Instagram, face Book, 94 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: and Twitter. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. 95 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to The Stand History Class, 96 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: a podcast that proves history is made every day. The 97 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: day was June nineteen nineteen. The Winnipeg General Strike officially 98 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: ended when the strike leaders called it off. In Winnipeg, 99 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: the capital of Manitoba and Canada, early twentieth century workers 100 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: faced poor living and working conditions and other social inequalities. 101 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: In the late eighteen hundreds, immigrants made their way to 102 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: Winnipeg to work in agriculture and other growing industries. At 103 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: the same time, business owners were growing wealthier and building 104 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: huge homes in the city. But World War One began 105 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: in nineteen fourteen and wages were low, while inflation was high, 106 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,679 Speaker 1: Unemployment was on the rise, sanitation was poor, and living 107 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: conditions were crowded. Many people were not making enough money 108 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: to be able to afford adequate food and medical care. 109 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: Working class immigrants in Winnipeg were deeply affected by these conditions. 110 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: In March of nineteen nineteen, Canadian labor leaders met in 111 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: Calgary and called for the establishment of the One Big Union, 112 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: which later formed as a labor union that worked to 113 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: empower workers through mass organization. Along industrial lines, workers in 114 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: the building and metal trades were negotiating new contracts with 115 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: their employers for better wages and working conditions. They were 116 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: trying to negotiate these contracts through trades councils that represented 117 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: workers across their industry, but negotiations between employers and trades 118 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: councils broke down and a strike committee was formed after 119 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: member unions in the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council voted 120 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: to hold a general pike. On May fift the Winnipeg 121 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: General Strike began when around thirty thousand people left their 122 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: jobs to strike for their right to collective bargaining and 123 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: better wages. Telephone operators, retail workers, factory workers, postal workers, 124 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: and firefighters were among the people who went on strike. 125 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: The police force remained on duty, though they officially supported 126 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: the strike. Most of the police force was dismissed for 127 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: supporting the strike and replaced with so called Special Police 128 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: who walked the streets with clubs. The city's business elite 129 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: quickly formed the Citizens Committee of one thousand in opposition 130 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: to the strike. The Citizens Committee maintained that the strike 131 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: was actually a revolutionary conspiracy led by Bolsheviks in quote 132 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: alien scum. Some mainstream newspapers printed stories that cast the 133 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: strikers in a negative light and blamed the strike on 134 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: European workers. On June five, Winnipeg Mayor Charles Gray banned 135 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: per aids in public gatherings. Still, news of the strike 136 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: spread to cities across Canada, and people in places like Calgary, Edmonton, 137 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: Prince Albert, and Victoria announced their own strikes. Employees told 138 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: striking workers that they had to get back to work 139 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: or they faced being dismissed. On top of that, the 140 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: government passed legislation that allowed the immediate deportation of British 141 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:28,359 Speaker 1: born immigrants deemed seditious. In mid June, the Royal Northwest 142 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: Mounted Police arrested several strike leaders. The strike reached a 143 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: peak on Saturday, June one, when thousands of workers gathered 144 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 1: downtown to protest the arrests. The Northwest Mounted Police was 145 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: called to disperse the crowd, and in the ensuing chaos, 146 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,959 Speaker 1: two people were killed and at least thirty were injured. 147 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: The Special Police and military patrols also showed up to 148 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: break up the protest. Some of the labor leaders were released, 149 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: but editors of the strike bulletin J. S. Woodsworth and 150 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: Fred Dixon were arrested. It Fearing more violence, the strike 151 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: committee called for the general strike to end on the 152 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 1: morning of June seven. Strike leaders were convicted of seditious 153 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: conspiracy and were given sentences of six months to two 154 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,959 Speaker 1: years in jail. The Royal Commission that investigated the strike 155 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: determined that it was not a criminal conspiracy by foreigners. Still, 156 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: many strikers lost their jobs, and those who didn't found 157 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: that conditions stayed the same. The striking workers did not 158 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: immediately win the wage and condition improvements, union recognition rights, 159 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: or collective bargaining they aimed for, but unionism and labor 160 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 1: actions continued to spread in Canada, and the creation of 161 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation political party got some strikers elected 162 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: to city Hall and the Manitoba Legislature. I'm EF Chef 163 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 1: COO and hopefully you know a little more about history 164 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. And if you want to 165 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: hit us up on social media, you can do so 166 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: where at T D I h C Podcast us on Facebook, Twitter, 167 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram. You can also send us an email at 168 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,559 Speaker 1: this day and I heart media dot com. Thanks again 169 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: for listening to the show and we'll see you tomorrow. 170 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I 171 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 172 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.