I went to see him every time he appeared anywhere near our area.
Part of his importance was that he brought so many American musicians to tour with his band back in the days when seeing American musicians in the UK was a rarity - mainly because American and UK trade unions would not allow this unless reciprocal arrangements were made. Thanks to Chris Barber, I was able to see Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Thorpe, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and several others for the first time.