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Brownie McGhee 1915-1996

Geoffrey Himes, Rolling Stone, 4 April 1996

AS A GUITARIST, Brownie McGhee was a master of the intricate, ragtime-influenced patterns that define the blues of the South's Piedmont region. As a singer he had a baritone with the flexibility to handle the genre's hillbilly, Tin Pan Alley and spiritual influences. McGhee was best known for his work with the late harmonica virtuoso Sonny Terry, but McGhee also recorded as a solo artist and a bandleader. He died in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 16, at the age of 80.

Total word count of piece: 280

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