McGhee and Terry and a Great Deal More

Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry moved to New York City in 1942. They moved in with Huddie and Martha Ledbetter on East 9th Street. Over the next few years, they became part of the curious alliance between folk music and left-wing politics, as Leadbelly and Josh White did. Both men busied themselves in the recording studio, for both commercial and private interests. There were recordings for the Library of Congress and for Terry regular sessions for Moe Asch, who set up the Folkways label. Brownie also began a long and eventful career as a session guitarist with others who had moved to New York - Jack Dupree, Wilbert Ellis, Dan Burley and Ralph Willis. Then, a mystery. In 1945, three musicians cut ten songs, most of the time calling themselves Sonny Boy & Lonnie, but they also became Sonny Boy and Sam or Shorty Smith & His Rhythm. By the nature of their music, it was thought that the musicians came from the Carolinas or the Midwest.The current consensus is that they are Teddy 'Sonny Boy' Smith, vocal and guitar, Lonnie Johnson, piano and Sam Bradley, vocal and guitar. They then vanished, leaving these amazing sides as a memorial. So it went with the other artists here. Some, like Bob Gaddy, Champion Jack Dupree and Edward P Harris achieved success in varying degrees. Others - Alonzo Scales, Wilbert Ellis and Bobby Harris disappeared after brief acquaintance with the studio.What's beyond doubt is the commitment that all these artists bring to the studio. Sometimes astonishing, they're never less than wonderfully listenable.

Additional Details

Label: JSP Records

Genre: Blues

Release Date: 08/10/10

UPC: 788065710828