Sonny Terry

Born Saunders Terrell in 1911 in North Carolina, Sonny Terry was an influential blues harmonica player. Terry lost his eyesight by the age of 16, and was forced to give up his family business of farming and turn to music for a living. He then honed his distinctive harp style while playing with Blind Boy Fuller and, later, Brownie McGhee. Terry and McGhee became a popular duo during the folk revival movement of the ‘50s and ‘60s, and most of Terry's recordings, including BLUES WITH BIG BILL BROONZY, SONNY TERRY AND BROWNIE MCGHEE (’59), and SONNY & BROWNIE (’73), are from this period. Terry was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1986, and he died the same year.