Sonny Terry

Acting

Sonny Terry

Born 1911-10-24 · Mineola, New York, U.S.

Sonny Terry was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occasionally imitations of trains and fox hunts.

Acting credits

The Color Purple poster
7.7

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

The Color Purple

1985

The Jerk poster
6.9

After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.

The Jerk

1979

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin' poster
6.5

A warmhearted memorial to the folk singer whose songs galvanized organizers and guitar-pickers across the United States. Part biography, part travelogue and part hootenanny, it follows the singer's son, Arlo Guthrie, as he retraces his father's steps and collects reminiscences from his father's family, friends and musical partners.

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin'

1984

BBC Arena: Woody Guthrie poster
NR

Documentary on the life of Woody Guthrie, the travelling songwriter and singer who paved the way for the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

BBC Arena: Woody Guthrie

1988

The Blues Under the Skin poster
10.0

Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, THE BLUES UNDER THE SKIN dramatizes the tumultuous relationship of a young couple (Onike Lee and Roland Sanchez) as they struggle to overcome the barriers of poverty and prejudice that keep them from finding happiness together.

The Blues Under the Skin

1973

Red, White and Blues poster
7.5

Director Mike Figgis (Stormy Monday, Leaving Las Vegas, Time Code) joins musicians such as Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Tom Jones, performing and talking about the music of the early sixties British invasion that reintroduced the blues sound to America.

Red, White and Blues

2003

Festival poster
6.0

Black and white footage of performances, interviews, and conversations at the Newport Folk Festival, from 1963 to 1966. The headliners are Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, who's acoustic and electric. Son House and Mike Bloomfield talk about the blues; John Hurt, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee show its range. The Osborne Brothers perform bluegrass. Donovan, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Mimi and Dick Farina, and others less well known also perform. Several talk musical philosophy, and there's a running commentary about the nature and appeal of folk music. The crowd looks clean cut.

Festival

1967

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 poster
10.0

Taken from the European tours organised for American blues musicians between 1962 and 1969, this release features performances by several popular blues artists, including: Big Mama Thornton, Roosevelt Sykes, Buddy Guy, Dr. Isaiah Ross, Big Joe Turner, Skip James, Bukka White, Son House, Hound Dog Taylor and Little Walter, Koko Taylor and Little Walter, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Helen Humes, Earl Hooker, and Muddy Waters.

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3

2004

To Hear Your Banjo Play poster
4.5

A short film about Pete Seeger and the birth of banjo music throughout the Southern United States.

To Hear Your Banjo Play

1947

Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues 1948-1974 poster
3.8

For some 30 years, they embodied "country blues" for folk music audiences around the globe. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were once ubiquitous, and as such tended to be taken for granted in the halcyon days of the 1960s blues rediscoveries. But nearly two decades have passed since the perennial team parted, and the 16 performances here remind us of this superb duo's complementary strengths.

Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues 1948-1974

2003

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Vol. 1 poster
NR

Taken from the European tours organised for American blues musicians between 1962 and 1969, this release features performances by several popular blues artists, including: T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, etc. ( Concerts originally released as a TV special )

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Vol. 1

2003

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Vol. 2 poster
NR

Taken from the European tours organised for American blues musicians between 1962 and 1969, this release features performances by several popular blues artists, including: T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Victory Spivey, T-Bone Walker ...

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Vol. 2

2003

No artwork available
9.0

A 16 minute short comprising 2 acts of a 1964 event where an innovative group of musicians performed on a real railroad track. The audience on one side of the tracks and the musicians on the station side.

American Folk-Blues Festival: The Blues and Gospel Train

1964