Sonny Terry

American Piedmont blues musician (1911–1986)
Person human Q781878
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Sonny Terry

Summary

Sonny Terry is a human[1]. Born in Greensboro[2], he… he was born on October 24, 1911[3]. He passed away in Mineola[4]. He died on March 11, 1986[5]. He worked as a blues musician[6], harmonicist[7], singer[8], and musician[9]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (559 views/month, #7,162 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Sonny Terry was born in Greensboro[2].
  • Sonny Terry died in Mineola[4].
  • Sonny Terry was born on October 24, 1911[3].
  • Sonny Terry died on March 11, 1986[5].
  • Sonny Terry held citizenship in United States[11].
  • Sonny Terry is identified as part of the African Americans ethnic group[12].
  • Sonny Terry's professions included blues musician[6].
  • Sonny Terry's professions included harmonicist[7].
  • Sonny Terry worked as a singer[8].
  • Sonny Terry worked as a musician[9].
  • Sonny Terry's field of work was Piedmont blues[13].
  • Sonny Terry is recorded as male[14].
  • Sonny Terry's instance of is recorded as human[15].
  • Sonny Terry's genre is blues[16].
  • Sonny Terry's record label is recorded as Alligator Records[17].
  • Sonny Terry's record label is recorded as Capitol Records[18].
  • Sonny Terry's record label is recorded as Chess Records[19].
  • Sonny Terry's record label is recorded as Elektra[20].
  • Sonny Terry's record label is recorded as ABC Records[21].
  • Sonny Terry is part of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee[22].
  • Sonny Terry's Commons category is recorded as Sonny Terry[23].
  • Sonny Terry's voice type is recorded as tenor[24].
  • Sonny Terry's family name is recorded as Q18388656[25].
  • Sonny Terry's family name is recorded as Terry[26].
  • Sonny Terry's given name is recorded as Saunders[27].

Body

Origins and Family

Sonny Terry's place of birth was Greensboro[2]. He was born on October 24, 1911[3]. He is identified as part of the African Americans ethnic group[12].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include blues musician[6], harmonicist[7], singer[8], and musician[9]. Sonny Terry's field of work was Piedmont blues[13].

Death and Burial

Sonny Terry died on March 11, 1986[5]. He died in Mineola[4].

Why It Matters

Sonny Terry ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (559 views/month, #7,162 of 1,000,298).[10] He has Wikipedia articles in 15 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[28] He is known by 7 alternative names across languages and contexts.[29]

FAQs

Where was Sonny Terry born?

Sonny Terry's place of birth was Greensboro[2].

Where did Sonny Terry die?

Sonny Terry died in Mineola[4].

What did Sonny Terry do for work?

Sonny Terry worked as blues musician[6], harmonicist[7], singer[8], and musician[9].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [14] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [11] . wikidata.org.
  5. [15] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  6. [13] . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [6] . wikidata.org.
  8. [7] . wikidata.org.
  9. [8] . wikidata.org.
  10. [9] . wikidata.org.
  11. [16] . Montreux Jazz Festival Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  12. [12] . Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. wikidata.org.
  13. [17] . wikidata.org.
  14. [18] . wikidata.org.
  15. [19] . wikidata.org.
  16. [20] . wikidata.org.
  17. [21] . wikidata.org.
  18. [22] . wikidata.org.
  19. [23] . wikidata.org.
  20. [24] . wikidata.org.
  21. [3] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  22. [5] . Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [28] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [29] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Sonny Terry. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/sonny-terry
MLA “Sonny Terry.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/sonny-terry.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_sonny-terry_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Sonny Terry}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/sonny-terry}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Sonny Terry — https://4ort.xyz/entity/sonny-terry (retrieved 2026-04-10)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/sonny-terry · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 1d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-21 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Genre
    Instrument harmonica, voice, Jew's harp
    Described by source Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians
    Partner in business or sport Brownie McGhee
    + 25 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32152|batch #32152]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (34)"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.