Sonny Terry
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Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occasionally imitations of trains and fox hunts.


Career

Terry was born in
Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
, Georgia. His father, a farmer, taught him to play basic
blues harp The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and ...
as a youth. He sustained injuries to his eyes and went blind by the time he was 16, which prevented him from doing farm work, and was forced to play music in order to earn a living. Terry played "
Campdown Races "Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races" (popularly known simply as "Camptown Races") is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). () It was published in February 1850 by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, and Benteen published ...
" to the plow horses which improved the efficiency of farming in the area. He began playing blues in Shelby, North Carolina. After his father died, he began playing with Piedmont blues–style guitarist
Blind Boy Fuller Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen, July 10, 1904February 13, 1941) was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, rural African Americans, along with Blind Blake, Josh Whi ...
. When Fuller died in 1941, Terry established a long-standing musical relationship with
Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was ...
, and they recorded numerous songs together. The duo became well known among white audiences during the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, including for collaborations with Styve Homnick,
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
and
Moses Asch Moses Asch (December 2, 1905 – October 19, 1986) was an American recording engineer and record executive. He founded Asch Records, which then changed its name to Folkways Records when the label transitioned from 78 RPM recordings to LP records. ...
, producing classic recordings for
Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...
(now Smithsonian/Folkways). In 1938, Terry was invited to play at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
for the first ''
From Spirituals to Swing ''From Spirituals to Swing'' was the title of two concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939. The concerts included performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, ...
''
concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
, and later that year he recorded for the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
. He recorded his first commercial sides in 1940. Among his most famous works are "Old Jabo", a song about a man bitten by a snake, and "Lost John", which demonstrates Terry's precisely honed breath control. Despite their fame as "pure" folk artists, in the 1940s Terry and McGhee fronted a
jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...
combo with honking saxophone and rolling piano, which was variously billed as "Brownie McGhee and his Jook House Rockers" or "Sonny Terry and his Buckshot Five". Terry was in the 1947 original cast of the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical comedy ''
Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...
''. With McGhee, he appeared in the 1979
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...
comedy ''
The Jerk ''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The fil ...
''. Terry also appeared in the 1985 film ''
The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.
'', directed by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
. Terry collaborated with
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...
on "Walkin' Away Blues", and also performed a cover of
Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
's "
Crossroad Blues "Cross Road Blues" (also known as "Crossroads") is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Johnson performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. The song ...
" for the 1986 film ''
Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
''. Terry and McGhee were both recipients of a 1982
National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...
awarded by the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. That year's fellowships were the first bestowed by the NEA. Terry died of
natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
in Mineola, New York, in March 1986, three days before ''Crossroads'' was released in theaters. He was inducted into the
Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...
in the same year.


Discography

* ''
Songs for Victory The Union Boys (also "Josh White and the Union Boys" ) was an American folk music group, formed impromptu in 1944, to record several songs on an album called ''Songs for Victory: Music for Political Action''. Its "all-star leftist" members were ...
: Music for Political Action'', with the Union Boys (1944) * ''Sonny Terry's Washboard Band'' (Folkways, 1955) * ''Folk Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee'' (Roulette, 1958) * '' Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee'' (Fantasy 3254, 1958) * ''Blues with Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee'' (Folkways, 1959) * ''
Down South Summit Meetin' ''Down South Summit Meetin (also released as ''First Meetin' '' and ''Lightnin' Hopkins & The Blues Summit'') is an album by the blues musicians Brownie McGhee, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Joe Williams and Sonny Terry, recorded in 1960 and released on ...
'' (World Pacific, 1960), with Brownie McGhee,
Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...
and
Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the s ...
* '' Down Home Blues'' (Bluesville, 1960), with Brownie McGhee * ''
Blues In My Soul Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
'' (Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry album) (Bluesville 1033, September 1960) * ''
Brownie's Blues ''Brownie's Blues'' is an album by blues musician Brownie McGhee recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville Records, Bluesville label in 1962.Sonny's Story'' (Bluesville, 1960) * ''
Last Night Blues ''Last Night Blues'' is an album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, with Sonny Terry, recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label the following year.961 Year 961 (Roman numerals, CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoro ...
, with Lightnin' Hopkins * '' Sonny Is King'' (Bluesville, 1960/62
963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...
, with Lightnin' Hopkins and Big Joe Williams * ''
Blues Hoot ''Blues Hoot'' (also released as ''Coffee House Blues'') is a live album by blues musicians Lightnin' Hopkins, Brownie McGhee, and Sonny Terry recorded at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles in 1961 and originally released on the Davon label before be ...
'' (Horizon, 1961
963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...
with * ''
Sonny Terry and His Mouth Harp Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...
'' (Stinson, 1963
963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...
* ''Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry at The Bunkhouse'' ( Smash, 1965) * ''Sing & Play'' (Society, 1966) * ''Sonny Terry's New Sound: The Jawharp in Blues and Folk Music'', with Brownie McGhee & J. C. Burris (Folkways, 1968) * ''
A Long Way from Home A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' (BluesWay, 1969) * ''
I Couldn't Believe My Eyes ''I Couldn't Believe My Eyes'' is an album by blues musicians Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry with Earl Hooker recorded in 1969 but not released by the BluesWay label until 1973.973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
* ''
Sonny & Brownie ''Sonny & Brownie'' is an album by the blues musicians Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. It was recorded at the Paramount Recording Studios (in Hollywood, California, United States) in 1973, and re-released in 1988 with digital remastering by Rud ...
'' (A&M Records, 1973) * ''Robbin' the Grave'' (Blue Labor, 1974) * ''Whoopin'', with
Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...
and
Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
(Alligator, 1984) * ''Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Sing'' (
Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...
, 1990) * ''Whoopin' the Blues: The Capitol Recordings, 1947–1950'' (Capitol, 1995)


See also

*
American folk music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...
*
Blind musicians Blind musicians are singers or instrumentalists, or in some cases singer-accompanists, who are legally blind. Resources Historically, many blind musicians, including some of the most famous, have performed without the benefit of formal instruct ...
*
Harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
* Jaw harp *
List of blues musicians Blues musicians are musical artists who are primarily recognized as writing, performing, and recording blues music. They come from different eras and include styles such as ragtime-vaudeville, Delta and country blues, and urban styles from Chicag ...
* List of harmonicists *
List of people on stamps of the United States This article lists people who have been featured on United States postage stamps, listed by their name, the year they were first featured on a stamp, and a short description of their notability. Since the United States Post Office issued its first ...
* Union Boys


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Sonny 1911 births 1986 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers A&M Records artists Alligator Records artists American blues harmonica players American blues singers Blind musicians Blues revival musicians Capitol Records artists Chess Records artists Country blues musicians East Coast blues musicians Elektra Records artists Folkways Records artists Groove Records artists Harmonica blues musicians Josie Records artists Musicians from Greensboro, North Carolina National Heritage Fellowship winners Piedmont blues musicians RCA Victor artists Savoy Records artists