William "Hambone Willie" Newbern (c. 1901 – 1947 or April 15, 1965)[1] was an American country blues musician who was active from the 1920s to the 1940s.
[3][4][5] A guitarist, singer, and mandolin player,[6][7] Newburn was reported to have played with Yank Rachell and Sleepy John Estes (who provided many biographical details about Newbern) in the 1920s and 1930s.
[8] Newburn recorded one of the earliest known versions of the blues standard "Rollin' and Tumblin'", which was waxed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929.
"[8] Through Newbern was reputedly hot-tempered, reports that he was beaten to death in a prison brawl around 1947[8] are disputed by researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, who assert that he died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1965.
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