Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee: Interview and Music

To. Talk about. Thanks.

We are. So when I was kid about eight or nine years old and placed a call green. He was a day coming in at night and he was going at night. No one could get it. I'm on a plane with you know some towels washing put it you know. So when he did next day I get into the bed get it. And yet when the father get it I don't run out of. So they

call Fox Chase them. I found that I learned to play the guitar for my father as he was playing the blues. I remember when I started playing the piano when I was eight years ago. OK. But. We just placed above while playing. Full of love and full of light. Oh yeah he did.

I wish my father rejected her. To me it was. Just too much right to expect people to keep on. Thank you.

Yes. It's alright for a child just to put a little weight. We'll let her go. Oh yes.

That's my second title of my latest album cover song. Which is called True Blue blues is true. It's not an imitating song. It's not a someone that can actually help me that I didn't write except a key to the highway. You know I do have a lot of hitchhiking days and that was the key that I had I didn't couldn't pay my bus fare as I walked. But otherwise a lot of people can imagine things in Singapore but I cannot imagine nothing no feeling for. It's very hard for me to learn a song from somebody else let's not know the route in the background because I'm falsifying it right. But being in close touch with the writers being around I'm such a big town to read and. Me the store and I will add lived not in the same form and I do some of the things that I can relate to. We were talking earlier we're down in your room.

You saying that you work almost all year round or you know if I live month out of you you're on the road. Do you know if you feel a little eight or nine days old that Bedell couldn't call it a vacation and then they would go to show that you guys ever get burnt but you. Relate to. Because I'm right. But being in close touch with writers been around such a big town I just they told me the store and I was at lived not in the same form and I do some of the things that I can relate to. We were talking earlier we're down in your room you saying that you work almost all year round or you have violet months out of here. You're on the road. Yeah

you know if you feel the eight in nine days all at bed you know couldn't call it a vacation than do I go to show that you guys ever get burnt out traveling Rollitt don't bother me you know and this Thoreson the day you know hit wake at night. What do you what do you make your homes now. I live in Long Island New York. I'm on the west coast Oakland California where the retire rich should be. But three that you think is there for tax never retire man. What I want to tough on I haven't reached my goal yet. When you go what you go it's a gravy the victory for my guitar for my tombstone. That's my but you know my goal no I don't know anything about it tiny It may have to do with us that made more year than I. I mean what. If I think about it I get sick. When I Feel Good people want it. You've been singing most of your lives right. Yeah. Does

that ever get. I was singing in church and I was to be a specialist same thing and I quote this new thing like Yeah well now you take people's saying it's the same plane I'm all good. I knew the part of the same little blues you know you didn't mix all of the go there you know you had to basically be sort of thought you know you talk oh yes and it was a shoot she made a lot of new the night and blues saying well she plays guitar also Yeah. Yeah she passed away you know she live in the rain. Yes you put it away for four years. But three four years ago. And you know that was a no but singing you know singing all the time does that ever get to be a hassle or do you have a kind like say wow man you know I've been singing No you don't mean I love it. Anything you little you don't get tired of. If you decide to play into it for the money you know you feel down like you could you know.

But so I love what I do. Money is important so I'm on. And I have something important to say. I'm still writing because I never get to writing because 60 years I don't think I can tell it all. And I was just writing and I I love what I do and I do what I love and is nobody can tell me what to do. And I feel good in doing it and I have no real line to say it's boring. Are musicians getting paid the kind of money that they should you know I don't know about the people that's doing that thing but I am very satisfied with my little check. Yeah I would have done it. I'm not doing bad I'm doing better than I did when I started. And I mean you know there's no need to grumble. I can call my own shots I don't have to price what you and I don't have to work. I simply think what else a little bit about the places you're

playing you know around the area now I know you're in Dayton now you're saying you're also up in the Lido and going to be down in Cincinnati or something like You know we just left Milwaukee at Beth Saturday that day would you call it. Bill players want to see a whole NBA one and one of the brewery if you just listen to us there you know hopefully we will be going to Rochester and a whole lot of different places I've got and you know people. To back me up around all of us beat out five six day then I'll be cut out again over the toilet and through South Florida Tennessee Washington D.C. Do you like playing the best yet. Favorite places with a domain on deals and I'll let you know what what i already in common Oh enjoy my music. Know what kind of audience do you have. We have put it all so we handle mail in here now and people like the blues you know.

I think they just don't know about it is to me you know knowing what we know play to them but once you know we played one Friday night it is same fellow could have yet another club you know we meet at a club. Yeah yeah two other places we played you know when you were there they were packing Oh yeah for you know what I mean it will be the one you got to be the place. Sometimes the atmosphere of a place can change the artist have to build up to it so have to first investigate sees a new place very striking placed according to what he had before and look out to some time has some to do with it. Yeah and he has been over two weeks so you have to laugh at that it was like No way. And you got to stretch a little bit more. Overall what do you find you find the best audiences do you find them and cities the size of Dayton or I'd say for instance in New York in Milwaukee where we like Chicago we had it all in these in Detroit he had already had a full house hill and I play a clip there

and we then can I don't run to Canada for two weeks at one club and they had time people we knew about it when I would have you dancing or traveling overseas. Old at all that is you. Oh yeah a little food in Paris Switzerland Djama hang on. How do the people oh they who created by the people in France you know they kept them two boys who would use then they would use them but they lacked the music man. Holland job gone. You know I felt a little guilty living in love. And some of the gangs some of militia thing thing. And someone asked them what do you know tell the rest you know what to plant you in a place a little bit on your heart you know and let them know I'll play the harmonica. If you were. There it was all right to

me. Talk. To me. Where she got me all. My rig in millinery. And did what I told her I have it done I vomit out a. Towel for me every day. Town farmer little mama. Fawn managed a. Day. Some time ago.

Now my mom will ring in the mail namely you know I'm already paying. Well and the mailman won't. A Montana. Man won't. You tell me to post all the five. In IT PUT IN THE MANAGER. You know I got out OK. Yeah. I always tell a bad story. Oh it's sometimes and

it's I have to have a blue. Yeah you don't know much to be here if you ask me to lose it all. Do lobby say oh we're not planning on not getting back to getting back to the True Blue and and the story that it depicts or situations or conditions that it depicts do you think is have some maybe could have a bearing on the ability of Blues or the pushing of blues you know within the music industry. That's a question the fact that blues really tells the story of the way some things are some conditions are do you think it may have an effect. Yes that's very true. And when you hear somebody telling something they feel they want somebody to know what right you keep it to yourself. That's what blues is just true. Blues is not. I started him coming over here and started talking about as a parent you can be so wealthy while they're living on Eleventh Street in New York. He just told me that two to one he wouldn't tell his friends at 2 I'm quite sure it wouldn't be just talk I'd make it I said that's what you get for being rich.

But the point of it is why should I tell you that I was born with a silver spoon and I wasn't. I should I tell you I lived on easy street when I didn't have it that way. My parents are from a broken home family of fashion stopped me from going to school you understand other kind of difficulties I'm not ashamed of it. My mother had to lose my data too they wouldn't separate. You know that was a problem but it didn't give me anything to see you know to be ashamed of because I know people now that are separating you know it's 50 years ago so you think I'm going to try to keep it to myself what a big you know my parents were just as lying as fooling myself and that's what I had some hard times had some bad times and I had some good times and that's what I relate in my songs. Whiskey Women and Money is the principal characters of the song but out of this. Take them away then you'll find the essence of my song right in the middle. Everything I'm saying you know it's not all that I use them as crutches. Mostly women with the crutches. But the truth is there was a woman treated bad some

songs. I started my own. Look at the day's condition that of the black community or the black man in general. Could you actually sit down and write songs that depict hard times that today you know we've advanced quite a bit from the 1930s and 40s. I guess you guys and I recorded it. Why can't we get you to play you know 16 you know 1963 do you know I was in I was at a school in Missouri and you know just below that school I couldn't even want to truck stop and get no food to eat. The other president was as a did you know that I'd have to go to but I don't buy a sandwich. That's 60s and 60s you know. I walked up to a hotel on a 25 units one car parked and he says we filled up the field up and I said you have a lot of hitchhikers pass he said Don't get smart with me as I'm sorry I thought maybe

it's your stuff here I got a car I drove off. But I wrote that song. Wow. But I don't have to not people here but the mass media now is on television and radio and newspapers. Black Panther Party everybody else is talking about writing about and they know but I do say at a time when I feel like it because I was saying things that people should know that is still existing that they wouldn't know unless some people just like me would write about it. Do you think of yourself as a messenger. That's all I am. I'm a communicator. I'm living in a young people's world and I'm so thankful to be at that end and so I'm trying to communicate with them. I've got seven children but they're not going to give back what they all are followed when I go look for me. They were looking for tractors to try you know they were looking for me to bring them back and fish and hunt. They look for frozen food. Are your kids doing music. No no I'm so proud of how ones my son has done electronics my other girl is

dressed designer mother go under burglar alarm system than my youngest girl is studying business and is on the West Coast where yeah West Coast and I got a younger son in county he's only 10. Don't know what he might be going to be another brown and yeah I don't know. I hope but I've never tried advised them to play music. I was away floating in the south. And a lot of people lost their homes. Mrs. Smith made a big record and also a lot of Jost. There's a fellow they got out of that same part of the country Mississippi John Hurt made one too. It was called Mississippi had water blue. The reason it was known as back water that same backwater made old son in me pack up things and go back to get a tear and a good touch of back water. We're.

Right in. The sky. Yes. Yes. She. Said. Her.

Daughter. They need. To go. Norma. K.. K.. Well they wrote a book. About. Coffee. But you know the whole. Hour. Long. May just throw.

Off A ha ha ha ha. Not for. All the players players. Where I used to. Go. In the. World.

Oh and that was. All the. First big case. OK OK live there I know. You.

Can hang with. Us.