RIP Sonny Terry

One of the most surprising segments of a unique blues DVD I saw recently (Provided - of course - by the ubiquitous "Shade" Melton) shows harmonica virtuoso Sonny Terry and guitarist Brownie McGhee playing "Stranger Blues" to a crowd of eager listeners who are actually dancing - at one point - to Terry's solo harp playing, punctuated by Terry's whoops and hollers in place of percussion. What surprised me the most was that this single , rather diminutive instrument was creating as much sound as a dance band, but the clip is not so much a testament to the blues harp as it is to the talent of Sonny Terry who died during the month of March.


Saunders Terrell was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1911. Although I've always heard he was born blind, apparently (According to The BluesHarp Page: Legends) "Sonny" lost sight in one eye when he was 5 and the other when he was 18. Consequently, Terry's options for making a living were limited, so he began playing harmonica on streetcorners. This lead to a partnership with Blind Boy Fuller, ending with Fuller's death in 1941. At that point, Sonny Terry began a long-lasting partnership with Brownie McGhee.


Unlike numerous other blues musicians, the duo became an integral part of the folk movement of the late 1950s - early 1960s. Some of the songs specifically attributed to Terry include "Old Jabo", which recounts the story of a man who dies from a snake bite, the harmonica carrying the rthymn as well as the melody, producing an authentic "country blues" sound. One of my favorites is "Walk On", a tribute to the importance of never giving up, which features both McGhee and Terry harmonizing. The only solo Terry effort I've run across is an obscure instrumental called "Harmonica Hop", which is understandable, since it doesn't emphasize Terry's unique style - he just plays along. "Brownie's New Blues" , a cut on a CD collection of blues artists, features the duo in a new collaboration, abandoning their folk tradition to dabble in urban blues. The musicianship is excellent, but it rings hollow compared to the "pure folk" sound of "Old Jabo."


Sonny Terry's distinctive harmonica sound has been used for the soundtracks of several films, as well as commercials. Terry died in March of 1986, the same year he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Unlike many other blues giants who struggled for recognition, Sonny Terry rose from a hardscrabble childhood and a serious handicap to achieve fame , fortune and praise.