Brownie McGhee
A cornerstone of American folk-blues, whose warm guitar work and partnership with Sonny Terry brought Piedmont rhythms to coffeehouses and concert halls worldwide.
1915–1996 (age 81)·American folk-blues musician·Birthday: November 30·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Brownie McGhee turned a childhood bout with polio into a signature sound. Born in Tennessee in 1915, the disease left him with a limp, steering him away from manual labor and toward the guitar his father made him. He honed his craft in the Piedmont blues style, a lighter, fingerpicked counterpoint to the Delta's raw power. His life changed when he met harmonica wizard Sonny Terry in 1939; their musical and personal partnership would last over four decades. As the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s bloomed, McGhee and Terry became its blues ambassadors, playing at Newport Folk Festival and in Greenwich Village clubs. With a genial stage presence and a deft, rolling guitar technique, McGhee helped codify the acoustic blues that influenced a generation of rock and folk musicians.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Brownie was born in 1915, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Brownie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1915
#1 Movie
The Birth of a Nation
Brownie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1915Born
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1920Started school
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1928Became a teenager
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1931Could drive
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1933Could vote
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1936Turned 21
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1945Turned 30
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1955Turned 40
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 50
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1975Turned 60
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1985Turned 70
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 80
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
1996Died at 81
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
Key Achievements
- Formed a legendary musical partnership with harmonica player Sonny Terry that lasted from 1939 into the 1980s.
- Became a central figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, performing at major festivals and venues.
- Recorded hundreds of songs as a solo artist and with Terry, including the classic folk-blues album 'Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Sing'.
- Acted in and contributed music to several Broadway productions, including 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'.
Did You Know?
He taught himself to play guitar on an instrument his father built from a tin can and a piece of wood.
McGhee appeared in the 1979 Steve Martin film 'The Jerk', performing 'Pick a Bale of Cotton'.
He and Sonny Terry had a cameo in the 1980 musical film 'The Blues Brothers'.
His brother, Stick McGhee, was also a blues musician who recorded the early version of 'Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee'.
“This old guitar and me, we've been down a lot of roads together.”
