Ry Cooder & Taj Mahal Rising Sons Reunion Honors Legendary Blues Duo Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee

 

Taj says: Havin travelled nearly to all the 4 corners of this globe, playin the music we love, one question has always dogged Papa Ry & Papa Taj!

When are you guys gonna make more music together?!
Well, more than 50 years later, we did it!! Come April 22, 2022 y’all need to “shake fanny on down” n’ pick up a copy of our newest release on Nonesuch Records, Get On Board n’ check out our tribute to one of the best acoustic musical Blues duos there ever was! Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee!!

Our first single is “Hooray Hooray”:

Pre-Order/Listen Here...

In 1965, Rising Sons, featuring Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal, tore up Los Angeles. They played wild live shows at The Troubadour and Ash Grove, and seemed destined to top the charts, along side their L.A. contemporaries and label-mates, The Byrds. 

A multi-racial band with at least three potential frontmen (but "no actual leader", according to bass player Gary Marker), performing a unique blend of blues, folk, and rock presented challenges for their label, Columbia, who had no actual idea on how to market them properly.

By 1966, the band had broken up. Their sole album, albeit widely bootlegged, was not officially available until 1992.

Rising Sons in 1966: Taj Mahal, Jesse Lee Kincaid, Gary Marker, Ry Cooder and Kevin Kelley.

Ry and Taj

Taj Mahal went on to a great solo career with musicians like guitarist Jesse Ed Davis. Here they are performing at The Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus  in 1968... (not released officially until 1996).

Ry Cooder played with artists like Captain Beefheart, scored films like the 1984 Wim Wenders' film Paris, Texas, and produced 1997's Grammy-winning look at Cuban music, Buena Vista Social Club:

The return of Rising Sons after more than 50 years is also a chance to take a fresh look at Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, a classic blues duo. The new album, Get On Board, contains songs that Sonny and Brownie made famous.

Harmonica player Sonny Terry (1911-1986) and guitarist Brownie McGhee (1915-1996) mainly played acoustic country blues together in the Piedmont style. They were connected to some of the original blues greats, such as Blind Boy Fuller, who they played with in the 1930s. They performed at many folk festivals and were seen by many during the 1960s blues revival. They knew and played with greats such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie. We haven't heard much about them lately (although Sonny got his own US stamp a few years back, in 1998)... So it is quite fitting that Rising Sons rise again to honor Sonny and Brownie! Keep that flame going!