Sonderausstellung
Sonny Terry (1911–1986) – An Icon of Blues Music
27.10.2018 – 10.01.2019
A blues-harp legend
Sonny Terry is a legend of the blues harp.
Born in North Carolina in 1911, he grew up during the flourishing era of folk blues. Performing solo, but above all together with his congenial duo partner Brownie McGhee on guitar, Terry enjoyed a successful career spanning several decades until his death in 1986.
One of his trademarks was the way he enriched his virtuosic harmonica playing with his “whoopin’”: not only singing, but skilfully interspersing howls and cries of joy. He was also known for the “talking harmonica”, imitating the human voice with the harp.
Remarkably, Sonny Terry and his traditional folk blues remained musically relevant during the final decades of his life, even though subsequent generations of blues-harp players had long since followed new paths, for example by performing in larger rock-band formations.
The harmonica in blues
The early history of the harmonica in blues
In the early period, up to around 1930, there were as yet no established blues bands or duos. There were, however, artists who used the harmonica with great virtuosity as either a melody or accompaniment instrument. Imitations were particularly popular on the blues harp: fox hunts, trains, crying children and animals—even prison escapes were recreated on the instrument. The first blues recording featuring a harmonica was made only in early 1924.
The golden age of rural blues-harp playing in the 1930s was shaped by jug bands and duos consisting of guitar and harmonica. Blues-harp players such as Sonny Terry began their careers during this period. The undisputed musical centre of the American South was Memphis, Tennessee. Blues had not yet taken hold in the North.
One newcomer to the scene, Sonny Boy Williamson, born in 1914, was to revolutionise blues-harp playing and represents the transition to urban blues from the early 1940s onwards. Compared with country blues, the rhythm became harder, and drums and double bass were added.
The Sonny Terry Estate
Acknowledgement
The special exhibition presented during the 2018 Harmonica Masters Workshops benefited greatly from an extensive donation from the artist’s estate, the “Sonny Terry Estate”. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the estate’s administrator and Sonny’s niece, Delores R. Boyd of the United States.
