Brownie mcghee and sonny terry

American Piedmont blues musician

Musical artist

Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986),^[1] known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician,^[2] 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, Georgia.^[3] His father, a farmer, taught him to play basic blues harp 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,^[1] and was forced to play music in order to earn a living.^[4] Terry played "Camptown Races" 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.^[4] When Fuller died in 1