A STRING OF BLUES, #2
Our second article in this series acquaints you with more of the blues masters who brought their talents and techniques to this powerful musical medium. If you’re already familiar with their work, you’ll know just how important their contributions to the blues were; if not, we’re hoping you’ll stay with us long enough to find out. We’re featuring profiles of four bluesmen: Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Sonny Terry and Big Walter Horton. Our look at these musical pioneers begins with Son House.
Son house
Born Eddie James House, Jr. on March 21, 1902, Son House pioneered a ground-breaking guitar style, but this great bluesman would not even learn how to play the guitar until he was in his early twenties.
As a teenager, House chopped cotton while developing a passion for the Baptist church. He delivered his first sermon at the age of fifteen and within five years was the pastor of a small country church south of Lyon, Mississippi. His fall from the church was the result of an affair with a woman ten years his senior, whom he followed home to Louisiana. By 1926, House had returned to the Lyon area and began playing guitar under the tutelage of an obscure, local musician named James McCoy. He developed quickly as a guitarist; within a year he had fallen in with Delta musician Rube Lacy and began emulating his slide guitar style.
After killing a man, allegedly in self-defense, he spent time in 1928 and 1929 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, the oldest and only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi. The official story on the killing is that sometime around 1927, he was playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree. Son was wounded in the leg and shot the man dead. He received a 15-year sentence, of which he served only two years. He was released after a judge in Clarksdale re-examined the case. Having been advised by the judge to leave the Clarksdale vicinity, House relocated to Lula, Mississippi and it was there he met bluesman Charley Patton while playing at the Lula railroad depot for tips. In addition to Patton, it was around this time that he also met Willie Brown and Robert Johnson. The three began playing alongside each other during local gigs.
In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to convince Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and pianist Louise Johnson, who would all end up recording sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released; but these were commercial failures, and he would not record again commercially for 35 years. Although he continued to play with Patton and Brown, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations.
Alan Lomax first recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, mandolin player, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and harmonica player, Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. He then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York in 1943, working as a porter for the New York Central Railroad.
In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, he ended up being "rediscovered" in Rochester. House had been retired from the music business for many years, and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm regarding his early recordings. At the time Perls, Waterman and Spiro located him, House had become an alcoholic. He’d lost his movitation and the fiery bottleneck work on his 1930s recordings had slipped away.
The young guitarist Alan Wilson (of the band, Canned Heat) was one of Son House's biggest fans. Producer John Hammond, Sr. asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of the blues styles. The album The Father of Delta Blues - The Complete 1965 Sessions was the result. Son House went on to later play with Alan Wilson live. Their work together can be heard on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions.
He subsequently toured extensively in the US and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, House was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival along with Skip James and Bukka White.
In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the 1974 Days of Blues Festival in Toronto.
Ill health plagued his later years and in 1974 he retired once again, and later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death on October 19, 1988 from cancer of the larynx. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave.
House was the primary influence on Muddy Waters and an important influence on Robert Johnson. His impact has also extended over a wide area of musicians, including Bonnie Raitt, The White Stripes and John Mooney.
House's innovative style featured strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of a bottleneck, coupled with singing that owed more than just a nod to the field hollers of the chain gangs. Describing House's 1967 appearance at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester, England, Bob Groom wrote in Blues World magazine:
“It is difficult to describe the transformation that took place as this smiling, friendly man hunched over his guitar and launched himself, bodily it seemed, into his music. The blues possessed him like a 'lowdown shaking chill' and the spellbound audience saw the very incarnation of the blues as, head thrown back, he hollered and groaned the disturbing lyrics and flailed the guitar, snapping the strings back against the fingerboard to accentuate the agonized rhythm. Son's music is the center of the blues experience and when he performs, it is a corporal thing, audience and singer become as one.”
As a teenager, House chopped cotton while developing a passion for the Baptist church. He delivered his first sermon at the age of fifteen and within five years was the pastor of a small country church south of Lyon, Mississippi. His fall from the church was the result of an affair with a woman ten years his senior, whom he followed home to Louisiana. By 1926, House had returned to the Lyon area and began playing guitar under the tutelage of an obscure, local musician named James McCoy. He developed quickly as a guitarist; within a year he had fallen in with Delta musician Rube Lacy and began emulating his slide guitar style.
After killing a man, allegedly in self-defense, he spent time in 1928 and 1929 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, the oldest and only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi. The official story on the killing is that sometime around 1927, he was playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree. Son was wounded in the leg and shot the man dead. He received a 15-year sentence, of which he served only two years. He was released after a judge in Clarksdale re-examined the case. Having been advised by the judge to leave the Clarksdale vicinity, House relocated to Lula, Mississippi and it was there he met bluesman Charley Patton while playing at the Lula railroad depot for tips. In addition to Patton, it was around this time that he also met Willie Brown and Robert Johnson. The three began playing alongside each other during local gigs.
In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to convince Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and pianist Louise Johnson, who would all end up recording sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released; but these were commercial failures, and he would not record again commercially for 35 years. Although he continued to play with Patton and Brown, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations.
Alan Lomax first recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, mandolin player, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and harmonica player, Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. He then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York in 1943, working as a porter for the New York Central Railroad.
In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, he ended up being "rediscovered" in Rochester. House had been retired from the music business for many years, and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm regarding his early recordings. At the time Perls, Waterman and Spiro located him, House had become an alcoholic. He’d lost his movitation and the fiery bottleneck work on his 1930s recordings had slipped away.
The young guitarist Alan Wilson (of the band, Canned Heat) was one of Son House's biggest fans. Producer John Hammond, Sr. asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of the blues styles. The album The Father of Delta Blues - The Complete 1965 Sessions was the result. Son House went on to later play with Alan Wilson live. Their work together can be heard on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions.
He subsequently toured extensively in the US and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, House was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival along with Skip James and Bukka White.
In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the 1974 Days of Blues Festival in Toronto.
Ill health plagued his later years and in 1974 he retired once again, and later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death on October 19, 1988 from cancer of the larynx. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave.
House was the primary influence on Muddy Waters and an important influence on Robert Johnson. His impact has also extended over a wide area of musicians, including Bonnie Raitt, The White Stripes and John Mooney.
House's innovative style featured strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of a bottleneck, coupled with singing that owed more than just a nod to the field hollers of the chain gangs. Describing House's 1967 appearance at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester, England, Bob Groom wrote in Blues World magazine:
“It is difficult to describe the transformation that took place as this smiling, friendly man hunched over his guitar and launched himself, bodily it seemed, into his music. The blues possessed him like a 'lowdown shaking chill' and the spellbound audience saw the very incarnation of the blues as, head thrown back, he hollered and groaned the disturbing lyrics and flailed the guitar, snapping the strings back against the fingerboard to accentuate the agonized rhythm. Son's music is the center of the blues experience and when he performs, it is a corporal thing, audience and singer become as one.”
Mississippi john hurt
As mentioned above, Mississippi John Hurt was another great bluesman who was greeted with open arms in the 1960s music scene. Born John Smith Hurt on July 3, 1893, he was raised in Avalon, Mississippi. He taught himself how to play the guitar at age nine, using the guitar of his mother's boyfriend whenever he stayed over at their house. His style was not reminiscent of any other style being played at the time; it was the way Hurt "thought the guitar should sound". He spent much of his youth playing old time music, a genre of North American folk music with roots in the folk music of many countries. He played for friends and at dances, while earning a living as a farmhand into the 1920s. His fast, highly syncopated style of playing made his music perfect for dancing. Once in a while, a medicine show would come through the area. Hurt recalled being asked to join it. "One of them wanted me, but I said no because I just never wanted to get away from home."
In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith. When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, he recommended Hurt to Okeh Records producer, Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City. While in Memphis, Hurt recalled seeing "many, many blues singers ... Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, and lots, lots more." Hurt described his first recording session this way:
“... a great big hall with only the three of us in it: me, the man [producer, Rockwell], and the engineer. It was really something. I sat on a chair, and they pushed the microphone right up to my mouth and told me that I couldn't move after they had found the right position. I had to keep my head absolutely still. Oh, I was nervous, and my neck was sore for days after.”
Hurt attempted further negotiations with OKeh to record again, but after the commercial failure of the resulting records, and with Okeh Records going out of business during the Great Depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity. Working as a farmer and laborer, Hurt lived a quiet life, playing occasional parties and fish fries until 1963.
After Hurt's renditions of "Frankie" and "Spike Driver Blues" were included in The Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952, there became increased interest in finding Hurt himself. In 1963, a folk musicologist, Tom Hoskins, was able to locate him near Avalon, Mississippi using the lyrics of "Avalon Blues," a record he made thirty-five years before:
Avalon, my home town, always on my mind/Avalon, my home town.
While in Avalon, Hoskins convinced an apprehensive Hurt to perform several songs for him, to ensure he was genuine. Hoskins was convinced, and seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, encouraged him to move to Washington, D.C. and begin performing on a wider stage. Once in DC, he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This rediscovery helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. He entered the same university and coffeehouse concert circuit as his contemporaries, other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, Hurt recorded several studio albums for Vanguard Records.
His performance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new folk revival audience. Hurt appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and recorded three further albums for Vanguard Records. Much of his repertoire continued to be recorded by the Library of Congress. His fans particularly liked the ragtime songs "Salty Dog" and "Candy Man", and the blues ballads "Spike Driver Blues" (a variant of "John Henry") and "Frankie."
His newfound fame only lasted three years. Mississippi John Hurt died of a heart attack in Grenada, Mississippi on November 2, 1966.
He was influenced by very few people; but does recall an elderly, unrecorded, blues singer from that area, Rufus Hanks, who played twelve-string guitar and harmonica. He also recalls listening to the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. Many of his songs were in very basic keys, his fingers picking notes within the chords. On occasion, Hurt would use an open tuning and a slide, as he did in his arrangement of "The Ballad of Casey Jones." Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by many record labels over the years.
His influence has extended over many generations of guitarists. Hurt's influence spanned several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in his work, which consisted of a mellow mix of country, blues and old time music. Songs recorded by Hurt have been covered by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen and Guthrie Thomas.
While the guitarist clearly plays an integral part in the blues tradition, the significant role of the harmonicist cannot be overlooked. The first recordings of harmonicas were made in the U.S. in the 1920s and were called 'race-records', intended for the black market of the southern states. Two of the artists making those early recordings were the influential blues harp players, Sonny Terry and Big Walter Horton.
In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith. When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, he recommended Hurt to Okeh Records producer, Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City. While in Memphis, Hurt recalled seeing "many, many blues singers ... Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, and lots, lots more." Hurt described his first recording session this way:
“... a great big hall with only the three of us in it: me, the man [producer, Rockwell], and the engineer. It was really something. I sat on a chair, and they pushed the microphone right up to my mouth and told me that I couldn't move after they had found the right position. I had to keep my head absolutely still. Oh, I was nervous, and my neck was sore for days after.”
Hurt attempted further negotiations with OKeh to record again, but after the commercial failure of the resulting records, and with Okeh Records going out of business during the Great Depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity. Working as a farmer and laborer, Hurt lived a quiet life, playing occasional parties and fish fries until 1963.
After Hurt's renditions of "Frankie" and "Spike Driver Blues" were included in The Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952, there became increased interest in finding Hurt himself. In 1963, a folk musicologist, Tom Hoskins, was able to locate him near Avalon, Mississippi using the lyrics of "Avalon Blues," a record he made thirty-five years before:
Avalon, my home town, always on my mind/Avalon, my home town.
While in Avalon, Hoskins convinced an apprehensive Hurt to perform several songs for him, to ensure he was genuine. Hoskins was convinced, and seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, encouraged him to move to Washington, D.C. and begin performing on a wider stage. Once in DC, he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This rediscovery helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. He entered the same university and coffeehouse concert circuit as his contemporaries, other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, Hurt recorded several studio albums for Vanguard Records.
His performance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new folk revival audience. Hurt appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and recorded three further albums for Vanguard Records. Much of his repertoire continued to be recorded by the Library of Congress. His fans particularly liked the ragtime songs "Salty Dog" and "Candy Man", and the blues ballads "Spike Driver Blues" (a variant of "John Henry") and "Frankie."
His newfound fame only lasted three years. Mississippi John Hurt died of a heart attack in Grenada, Mississippi on November 2, 1966.
He was influenced by very few people; but does recall an elderly, unrecorded, blues singer from that area, Rufus Hanks, who played twelve-string guitar and harmonica. He also recalls listening to the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. Many of his songs were in very basic keys, his fingers picking notes within the chords. On occasion, Hurt would use an open tuning and a slide, as he did in his arrangement of "The Ballad of Casey Jones." Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by many record labels over the years.
His influence has extended over many generations of guitarists. Hurt's influence spanned several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in his work, which consisted of a mellow mix of country, blues and old time music. Songs recorded by Hurt have been covered by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen and Guthrie Thomas.
While the guitarist clearly plays an integral part in the blues tradition, the significant role of the harmonicist cannot be overlooked. The first recordings of harmonicas were made in the U.S. in the 1920s and were called 'race-records', intended for the black market of the southern states. Two of the artists making those early recordings were the influential blues harp players, Sonny Terry and Big Walter Horton.
sonny terry
Sonny Terry, born Saunders Terrell on October 24, 1911 in Greensboro, Georgia, was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. The Piedmont style is differentiated from other styles, particularly the Mississippi Delta blues, by its ragtime-based rhythms. Terry, a master of Piedmont blues, was widely known for his energetic harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.
He was taught to play the harmonica by his father, a farmer who was a folk-styled harmonica player and performed locally at dances. But the blues weren't part of his repertoire. He blew reels and jigs. Terry’s other musical education began in the Baptist church, where as a child he sang at tent meetings. Those early experiences would serve him well later in life. Two separate accidents rendered the teen-aged musician almost completely blind, and music became the logical option for him. He began playing in Shelby, North Carolina and later performed on street corners in Durham and Raleigh for tips. Sometime around 1934, Terry was befriended by Blind Boy Fuller, one of the Piedmont area's most popular guitarists and performers. Terry's harp playing became an essential part of Fuller's trio, and the young bluesman traveled with Fuller to New York City in 1937 to record songs for the Vocalion and American Record Company labels. A year later, he appeared as part of John Hammond's first ‘From Spirituals To Swing’ concert in New York City, performing his song "Mountain Blues" for the audience in Carnegie Hall.
In the late-1930s, Fuller introduced Terry to guitarist Brownie McGhee, thereby accidently creating one of the most enduring and popular duos in the history of the blues. Terry and McGhee became well-known among white audiences, as they joined the growing folk movement of the 1950s and 60s. They were also among the first blues artists to perform in Europe during the 1950s, brought overseas by promoter and musician Chris Barber. Their popularity in folk music circles led to collaborations with Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and producer of the Anthology of American Folk Music, Moses Asch.
The duo's Piedmont blues sound was ready-made for the folk festivals and college campuses of the 1960s, and the two toured together steadily traveling to Australia and New Zealand in addition to the United States and Europe.
Terry and McGhee recorded regularly for labels like Folkways, Bluesville, and Fantasy, and even stepped out of their "pure" folk style to frequently perform with a jump blues band with horns.
A well-rounded artist of seemingly limitless talent, Terry also was involved in acting. In 1946, he was part of the original cast of the hit Broadway play Finian's Rainbow, and a decade later he returned to the "Great White Way" to appear in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. During the 1960s, Terry performed with singer Harry Belafonte, and appeared in several television commercials. In 1975, he found the time to write The Harp Styles of Sonny Terry, an instructional guide to the harmonica.
His solo work often gets short changed due to his lengthy and often prolific association with McGhee. On his own, Terry recorded sporadically throughout the 1940s and '50s, later producing full-length albums like Sonny's Story and Sonny Is King during the early-60s, performing with musicians like Sticks McGhee, Brownie's brother; harpist J.C. Burris; and Texas blues legend Lightning Hopkins.
By the mid-1970s, the strain of being on the road developed into personal problems between McGhee and Terry. Unfortunately, they resigned their long partnership, divided by the bitterness of constant touring. Terry was still being discovered by a younger blues generation. Johnny Winter produced Terry’s final studio album, Whoopin' for the Alligator label, featuring Winter on guitar and Willie Dixon on bass. Winter had produced a comeback album for Muddy Waters that helped rejuvenate his career, and he was attempting to achieve the same success with Terry. But by the 1980s, his age was catching up with him. He quit recording and only accepted sporadic live appearances. Terry passed away in 1986, the year he was inducted into the Blues Foundations Hall of Fame.
Terry was one of the most famous and beloved of the blues artists that worked in the acoustic, folk-oriented Piedmont blues style. His musical influence would extend beyond the folk world of the '60s to include contemporary blues artists like Cephas & Wiggins and harpist Norton Buffalo. The exuberant whoop that Terry naturally released between raucous harp blasts was as much a part of his distinctive sound as was his harmonica playing. Only a handful of blues harmonicists wielded as much of a lasting influence on the genre, as well as on those harpists who followed in his wake, as did Sonny Terry.
He was taught to play the harmonica by his father, a farmer who was a folk-styled harmonica player and performed locally at dances. But the blues weren't part of his repertoire. He blew reels and jigs. Terry’s other musical education began in the Baptist church, where as a child he sang at tent meetings. Those early experiences would serve him well later in life. Two separate accidents rendered the teen-aged musician almost completely blind, and music became the logical option for him. He began playing in Shelby, North Carolina and later performed on street corners in Durham and Raleigh for tips. Sometime around 1934, Terry was befriended by Blind Boy Fuller, one of the Piedmont area's most popular guitarists and performers. Terry's harp playing became an essential part of Fuller's trio, and the young bluesman traveled with Fuller to New York City in 1937 to record songs for the Vocalion and American Record Company labels. A year later, he appeared as part of John Hammond's first ‘From Spirituals To Swing’ concert in New York City, performing his song "Mountain Blues" for the audience in Carnegie Hall.
In the late-1930s, Fuller introduced Terry to guitarist Brownie McGhee, thereby accidently creating one of the most enduring and popular duos in the history of the blues. Terry and McGhee became well-known among white audiences, as they joined the growing folk movement of the 1950s and 60s. They were also among the first blues artists to perform in Europe during the 1950s, brought overseas by promoter and musician Chris Barber. Their popularity in folk music circles led to collaborations with Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and producer of the Anthology of American Folk Music, Moses Asch.
The duo's Piedmont blues sound was ready-made for the folk festivals and college campuses of the 1960s, and the two toured together steadily traveling to Australia and New Zealand in addition to the United States and Europe.
Terry and McGhee recorded regularly for labels like Folkways, Bluesville, and Fantasy, and even stepped out of their "pure" folk style to frequently perform with a jump blues band with horns.
A well-rounded artist of seemingly limitless talent, Terry also was involved in acting. In 1946, he was part of the original cast of the hit Broadway play Finian's Rainbow, and a decade later he returned to the "Great White Way" to appear in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. During the 1960s, Terry performed with singer Harry Belafonte, and appeared in several television commercials. In 1975, he found the time to write The Harp Styles of Sonny Terry, an instructional guide to the harmonica.
His solo work often gets short changed due to his lengthy and often prolific association with McGhee. On his own, Terry recorded sporadically throughout the 1940s and '50s, later producing full-length albums like Sonny's Story and Sonny Is King during the early-60s, performing with musicians like Sticks McGhee, Brownie's brother; harpist J.C. Burris; and Texas blues legend Lightning Hopkins.
By the mid-1970s, the strain of being on the road developed into personal problems between McGhee and Terry. Unfortunately, they resigned their long partnership, divided by the bitterness of constant touring. Terry was still being discovered by a younger blues generation. Johnny Winter produced Terry’s final studio album, Whoopin' for the Alligator label, featuring Winter on guitar and Willie Dixon on bass. Winter had produced a comeback album for Muddy Waters that helped rejuvenate his career, and he was attempting to achieve the same success with Terry. But by the 1980s, his age was catching up with him. He quit recording and only accepted sporadic live appearances. Terry passed away in 1986, the year he was inducted into the Blues Foundations Hall of Fame.
Terry was one of the most famous and beloved of the blues artists that worked in the acoustic, folk-oriented Piedmont blues style. His musical influence would extend beyond the folk world of the '60s to include contemporary blues artists like Cephas & Wiggins and harpist Norton Buffalo. The exuberant whoop that Terry naturally released between raucous harp blasts was as much a part of his distinctive sound as was his harmonica playing. Only a handful of blues harmonicists wielded as much of a lasting influence on the genre, as well as on those harpists who followed in his wake, as did Sonny Terry.
big walter horton
Another pioneering harmonica player and one of the prime architects of what we today consider the classic Chicago blues sound, Big Walter "Shakey" Horton's achievements are often overshadowed by the more flamboyant work of contemporaries like Little Walter and James Cotton. A shy, unassuming musician, Horton was more comfortable performing behind other bluesmen than in forming his own bands. Because of his sparse catalog of recordings, Horton's contributions to the blues are unfairly ignored, yet his signature three-note turnaround can be found in dozens of records released throughout the 1950s.
Walter Horton was born in Horn Lake, Mississippi on April 6, 1917, but moved to Memphis with his mother at a young age. He began teaching himself the harmonica at the age of five, and would often play in Handy Park, near the city's infamous Beale Street, for tips. While in his teens, Horton played with the Memphis Jug Band, possibly appearing on a couple of the band's recordings, and learned more about his instrument from fellow band member Will Shade, and Memphis harmonica legend Hammie Nixon.
As with many of his peers, he spent much of his career existing on a meager income and living with constant discrimination in a segregated United States of America. During the late-1920s and early-30s, Horton hustled work wherever he could, playing street corners for tips and hitting up parties, fish fries, and juke-joints for whatever pay was available. He was known to have performed alongside such talents as Robert Johnson, Homesick James, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and even toured as part of Ma Rainey's band during the 1930s.
Horton played with various blues performers across the Mississippi delta region. It is generally accepted that his first recordings were made in Memphis backing guitarist Little Buddy Doyle on Doyle's recordings for the Okeh and Vocalion labels in 1939. These recordings were in the acoustic duo format popularized by Sleepy John Estes with his harmonicist, Hammie Nixon, among others. On these recordings, Horton's style is not yet fully realized, but there are clear hints of what is to come. He eventually stopped playing the harp for a living due to poor health, and worked mainly outside of the music industry in the 1940s. By the early 1950s, he was playing music again, and was among the first to record for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, who would later record Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. The early Big Walter recordings from Sun include performances from a young Phineas Newborn, Jr. on piano, who later gained fame as a jazz pianist. An instrumental track recorded around this time, "Easy," was based on Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind".
In 1939, Horton began toying around with amplifying his harmonica but, after his recordings with Doyle, he would literally disappear from the blues scene during most of the 1940s, working different odd jobs to pay the bills.
Horton reappeared in 1948, blowing his harp behind the young blues guitarist B.B. King. He would later perform behind Eddie Taylor, and in 1951 Horton would record a number of sides for producer Sam Phillips. The songs were subsequently licensed to Modern/RPM Records and released under the name of "Mumbles," a nickname given him by Phillips that Horton didn't much like. In 1953, Horton packed up and moved to Chicago, where he soon was recruited by Muddy Waters for his band when Junior Wells was drafted into the army.
Horton would stay with the Waters band and recorded a number of sides with the blues legend before being fired for one infraction or another. By this time, however, Horton's searing harp technique had fully-matured, and he became an in-demand Chess Records session player. Through the end of the 1950s, Horton would appear on classic records by Jimmy Rogers ("Walking By Myself"), Otis Rush ("I Can't Quit You Baby"), Johnny Shines ("Evening Sun"), and even with Waters again.
Horton would record a number of solo sides throughout the 1950s, working with producer/musician Willie Dixon on songs released by the Chess, Cobra, and Jewel labels. Horton even traveled back to Memphis to record for Phillips' Sun Records, waxing his signature song "Easy" with guitarist Jimmy DeBerry in 1953. Horton wouldn't record a full-length debut album until 1964.
Also known as "Shakey," because of his head motion while playing the harmonica, Horton was active on the Chicago blues scene during the 1960s as blues music gained popularity with white audiences. From the early 60s on, he recorded and appeared frequently as a sideman with Eddie Taylor, Johnny Shines, Johnny Young, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon and many others.
Horton toured with a number of performers in the 60s, including Big Mama Thornton, Jimmy Rogers, Koko Taylor, and Robert Nighthawk. His musical contributions to the notable Vanguard Records compilation album, Chicago/The Blues/Today!, Vol. 3, released in 1966, earned the blues harpist a larger audience among white rock fans embracing the blues. He continued to tour extensively, usually as a sideman in the band of a better-known artist, and he appeared frequently at blues and folk festivals in the United States and Europe, often as part of Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars band. His own recordings often suffered from inconsistency caused by Horton's heavy drinking, and the majority of his best playing was usually achieved as a session player adding his flourishes to the work of stronger personalities.
In October 1968, while touring the United Kingdom, he recorded the album Southern Comfort with the former Savoy Brown and future Mighty Baby guitarist, Martin Stone. Into the 1970s, Horton performed at blues and folk music festivals in the U.S. and Europe, again with Willie. He appeared as a guest on recordings by blues and rock stars such as Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Winter. Horton also toured the U.S. in the 70s with Homesick James Williamson, Guido Sinclair, Eddie Taylor, Richard Molina, Bradley Pierce Smith and Paul Nebenzahl, and appeared on National Public Radio broadcasts.
Two of the best compilation albums of his own work are Mouth-Harp Maestro and Fine Cuts. He became a mainstay on the festival circuit, and often played at the open-air market on Chicago's Maxwell Street.
In the late-1960s, Horton began taking a number of young players under his wing, and his achievements as a teacher can be heard in the music of harp wizards like Peter "Mudcat" Ruth, Carey Bell, Charlie Musselwhite, and Billy Branch, all of whom forged careers of variable success. Horton recorded the acclaimed Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell with his student in 1973, and would appear again behind Muddy Waters on the blues legend's 1977 "comeback" album, I'm Ready, produced by Johnny Winter. In one of his final performances, he can be seen playing behind John Lee Hooker in the street scene of the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.
Horton’s playing, sometimes powerful and dramatic, other times delicate and sensitive, left an influence not only on harmonica masters like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, but on generations of harmonicists to come. His shy, gentle nature, often hidden beneath a gruff or glum exterior, endeared him to many. The uplifting beauty of Horton’s music contrasted with the sorrows and tragedies of his personal life. He died of heart failure on December 8, 1981, although his death certificate also cited acute alcoholism. Big Walter Horton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982.
Walter Horton was born in Horn Lake, Mississippi on April 6, 1917, but moved to Memphis with his mother at a young age. He began teaching himself the harmonica at the age of five, and would often play in Handy Park, near the city's infamous Beale Street, for tips. While in his teens, Horton played with the Memphis Jug Band, possibly appearing on a couple of the band's recordings, and learned more about his instrument from fellow band member Will Shade, and Memphis harmonica legend Hammie Nixon.
As with many of his peers, he spent much of his career existing on a meager income and living with constant discrimination in a segregated United States of America. During the late-1920s and early-30s, Horton hustled work wherever he could, playing street corners for tips and hitting up parties, fish fries, and juke-joints for whatever pay was available. He was known to have performed alongside such talents as Robert Johnson, Homesick James, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and even toured as part of Ma Rainey's band during the 1930s.
Horton played with various blues performers across the Mississippi delta region. It is generally accepted that his first recordings were made in Memphis backing guitarist Little Buddy Doyle on Doyle's recordings for the Okeh and Vocalion labels in 1939. These recordings were in the acoustic duo format popularized by Sleepy John Estes with his harmonicist, Hammie Nixon, among others. On these recordings, Horton's style is not yet fully realized, but there are clear hints of what is to come. He eventually stopped playing the harp for a living due to poor health, and worked mainly outside of the music industry in the 1940s. By the early 1950s, he was playing music again, and was among the first to record for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, who would later record Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. The early Big Walter recordings from Sun include performances from a young Phineas Newborn, Jr. on piano, who later gained fame as a jazz pianist. An instrumental track recorded around this time, "Easy," was based on Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind".
In 1939, Horton began toying around with amplifying his harmonica but, after his recordings with Doyle, he would literally disappear from the blues scene during most of the 1940s, working different odd jobs to pay the bills.
Horton reappeared in 1948, blowing his harp behind the young blues guitarist B.B. King. He would later perform behind Eddie Taylor, and in 1951 Horton would record a number of sides for producer Sam Phillips. The songs were subsequently licensed to Modern/RPM Records and released under the name of "Mumbles," a nickname given him by Phillips that Horton didn't much like. In 1953, Horton packed up and moved to Chicago, where he soon was recruited by Muddy Waters for his band when Junior Wells was drafted into the army.
Horton would stay with the Waters band and recorded a number of sides with the blues legend before being fired for one infraction or another. By this time, however, Horton's searing harp technique had fully-matured, and he became an in-demand Chess Records session player. Through the end of the 1950s, Horton would appear on classic records by Jimmy Rogers ("Walking By Myself"), Otis Rush ("I Can't Quit You Baby"), Johnny Shines ("Evening Sun"), and even with Waters again.
Horton would record a number of solo sides throughout the 1950s, working with producer/musician Willie Dixon on songs released by the Chess, Cobra, and Jewel labels. Horton even traveled back to Memphis to record for Phillips' Sun Records, waxing his signature song "Easy" with guitarist Jimmy DeBerry in 1953. Horton wouldn't record a full-length debut album until 1964.
Also known as "Shakey," because of his head motion while playing the harmonica, Horton was active on the Chicago blues scene during the 1960s as blues music gained popularity with white audiences. From the early 60s on, he recorded and appeared frequently as a sideman with Eddie Taylor, Johnny Shines, Johnny Young, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon and many others.
Horton toured with a number of performers in the 60s, including Big Mama Thornton, Jimmy Rogers, Koko Taylor, and Robert Nighthawk. His musical contributions to the notable Vanguard Records compilation album, Chicago/The Blues/Today!, Vol. 3, released in 1966, earned the blues harpist a larger audience among white rock fans embracing the blues. He continued to tour extensively, usually as a sideman in the band of a better-known artist, and he appeared frequently at blues and folk festivals in the United States and Europe, often as part of Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars band. His own recordings often suffered from inconsistency caused by Horton's heavy drinking, and the majority of his best playing was usually achieved as a session player adding his flourishes to the work of stronger personalities.
In October 1968, while touring the United Kingdom, he recorded the album Southern Comfort with the former Savoy Brown and future Mighty Baby guitarist, Martin Stone. Into the 1970s, Horton performed at blues and folk music festivals in the U.S. and Europe, again with Willie. He appeared as a guest on recordings by blues and rock stars such as Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Winter. Horton also toured the U.S. in the 70s with Homesick James Williamson, Guido Sinclair, Eddie Taylor, Richard Molina, Bradley Pierce Smith and Paul Nebenzahl, and appeared on National Public Radio broadcasts.
Two of the best compilation albums of his own work are Mouth-Harp Maestro and Fine Cuts. He became a mainstay on the festival circuit, and often played at the open-air market on Chicago's Maxwell Street.
In the late-1960s, Horton began taking a number of young players under his wing, and his achievements as a teacher can be heard in the music of harp wizards like Peter "Mudcat" Ruth, Carey Bell, Charlie Musselwhite, and Billy Branch, all of whom forged careers of variable success. Horton recorded the acclaimed Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell with his student in 1973, and would appear again behind Muddy Waters on the blues legend's 1977 "comeback" album, I'm Ready, produced by Johnny Winter. In one of his final performances, he can be seen playing behind John Lee Hooker in the street scene of the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.
Horton’s playing, sometimes powerful and dramatic, other times delicate and sensitive, left an influence not only on harmonica masters like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, but on generations of harmonicists to come. His shy, gentle nature, often hidden beneath a gruff or glum exterior, endeared him to many. The uplifting beauty of Horton’s music contrasted with the sorrows and tragedies of his personal life. He died of heart failure on December 8, 1981, although his death certificate also cited acute alcoholism. Big Walter Horton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982.
In researching these artists, it’s clear that the history of the blues encompasses a wealth of talented individuals. Yet the passage of time often dims their legacy. Their stories need to be told. And we’ve only scratched the surface.