ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602190143
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
Brownie McGhee, the blues guitarist and singer who brought fingerpicking Piedmont blues to an international audience, died Friday in Oakland, Calif., where he lived.
The cause was stomach cancer, said his daughter, Vilhelmina McGhee. He was 80.
In a long-running partnership with harmonica player Sonny Terry, who died in 1986, McGhee preserved and popularized the blues style of the Carolina Piedmont area. McGhee's intricate parts combined bass lines, chords and counter melodies while he sang.
McGhee and Terry were major figures in the folk revival of the late 1950s and early '60s, performing at protest rallies and Broadway. McGhee also worked in styles from gospel to rhythm-and-blues.
- The New York Times
LENGTH: Short : 27 linesby CNB