A black American blues musician, born in Somerville, Tennessee. He is believed to have been born John William Henderson, but later used the name James A. Williamson and was sometimes referred to as Homesick James Williamson.
He developed a self-taught style of slide guitar through playing at local dances in his teens. His early life is uncertain. He claimed to have played with Yank Rachell, Sleepy John Estes, Blind Boy Fuller and Big Joe Williams, among others, and to have been acquainted with Robert Johnson. He also claimed to be the older cousin of Elmore James, to have bought Elmore his first guitar and to have taught him how to play slide. However, some of these claims are unconfirmed.
By the early 1930s, he was based in Chicago, and formed a band called the Dusters that included Snooky Pryor and 'Babyface' Leroy Foster. He may have first recorded for RCA Victor in 1937, but this is also unconfirmed, and by 1938 may have begun playing electric guitar.
His first certain recordings were in 1952 for Chance Records, recording the tracks Lonesome Ole Train and Homesick, which gave him his stage name. During the late 1940s and 1950s, he worked with both Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) and with Elmore James. He was a longtime member of James' band from 1955 to 1963, contributing to such classics as Dust My Broom, The Sky is Crying and Roll and Tumble.
As a solo performer, he recorded for the Colt and USA labels in 1962, including a version of Robert Johnson's Crossroads. He also recorded a 1964 album for Prestige Records, Blues On the South Side, and some tracks for Vanguard. One of his own songs, Gotta Move, was covered as Got To Move both by Elmore James and by Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1970s, he began playing at blues festivals, including some in Europe, often with Snooky Pryor. He continued to record for labels including Delmark, Prestige, Big Bear, Appaloosa and Icehouse Records.
He remained an active performer into his 90s, performing both locally and at international festivals, but stopped recording in 2004. He died in December 2006 in Springfield, Missouri.