One of the most famous names in the history of the blues, Saunders Terrell AKA Sonny Terry was a giant of his chosen genre for more than half a century. UK blues fans of a certain age will have built their collections on records that Sonny made both on his own and with his regular recording and touring partner Walter 'Brownie' McGhee. They were among the first US blues and/or R&B artists to come to the UK in the mid-1950s, and individually and collectively their popularity remains high with those who saw them or bought their records in the process of building a collection.
Although they were known largely as exponents of a more countrified folk blues in the 60s (and before!). Both Sonny and Brownie cut first rate, out-and-out rhythm & blues in what is known as the 'Piedmont' style in the 1950s. This Jasmine collection brings together all the singles that Sonny recorded during that decade and features some of the hardest, most exhilarating music to come out of that extraordinary period in time.
Although these records were mostly credited to Sonny on their original release, Brownie appears on almost all of them as well. It's to be hoped that a second Jasmine collection will feature those 50s singles on which Brownie took top billing.
It's surprising, given that there was seemingly a never-ending supply of Sonny & Brownie on vinyl in the 50s and 60s, how little of their music has been made available in the CD era - particularly in the 'noughties. This CD goes some way - a long way, in fact - to redressing that balance! If you have a taste for whoopin' and hollerin', rockin' and rollin', harmonica-driven R&B, you'll find plenty of it here.
