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William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum was born on September 11, 1904, in Indianola, Mississippi. He started playing music at a young age, performing for tips on street corners in Charleston, Mississippi. In 1923, Gillum moved to Chicago and began collaborating with guitarist Big Bill Broonzy. By 1934, he was recording for ARC Records and Bluebird Records, contributing to popular "Bluebird beat" recordings produced by Lester Melrose. In 1940, he recorded "Key to the Highway" with Broonzy, which became a standard arrangement of this classic blues track. Gillum served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945. After the Bluebird label folded in the late 1940s, he made few recordings until his last albums were released in 1961 with Memphis Slim and Arbee Stidham for Folkways Records. Gillum was shot during a street argument on March 29, 1966, and died shortly after at Garfield Park Hospital in Chicago.
