Terry Adail (December 14, 1921 – August 23, 2001), known professionally as Doc Terry, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician who started playing the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

at the age of 12, influenced by

Sonny Boy Williamson I John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson (March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player and singer-songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of r ...

whom he would hear play at country picnics in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, ninth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, and the largest city by population in the Mississippi Delta region. It is the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, Was ...

. During his career, Terry played with blues musicians such as

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

Yank Rachell Yank Rachell (born James A. Rachel; March 16, 1910 – April 9, 1997) was an American country blues musician who has been called an "elder statesman of the blues". His career as a performer spanned nearly seventy years, from the late 1920s to th ...

and

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: * Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England * Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay * Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815� ...

Biography

After serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, Terry returned to the U.S. and became active in the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

blues scene in the late 1940s. During the 1950s he played in juke joints all around the St. Louis area. When Boo Boo Davis moved to St. Louis in the 1960s, he joined Terry's band for a time. In the 1970s, Terry formed his own record label called D.T.P. Records, named after his band, Doc Terry and the Pirates. Terry led the Pirates with vocals and harmonica playing, and was joined by Thomas Johnson on guitar, Nathaniel Thomas on drums, Peter Smorodin on bass, with Patti Thomas providing additional vocals. The Pirates performed mainly around the St. Louis area at venues that included: the USS President, Union Station Biergarten, Broadway Oyster Bar, Webster Grill and

Blueberry Hill "Blueberry Hill" is a popular American song published in 1940 and first recorded and released by Sammy Kaye in 1940 on RCA Victor. It is best remembered for its 1950s rock and roll version by Fats Domino. Glenn Miller peaked at no. 2 on the ' ...

. In 1988, they were featured on a PBS television documentary about the St. Louis blues scene, which also included blues artists James Crutchfield, James DeShay and George McCoy.

Discography

Singles

*"Rock With Doc" / "Who Do Blues"; D.T.P. Records TS71-74 / TS71-75 *"Things Can't Stay The Same" / "Dr. Boogie"; D.T.P. Records TS74-588 / TS-74-589 *"Running Blues" / "Down The Road I Go"; D.T.P. Records DTP-1421 (1971)

Compilation album tracks

*''Chicago Blues''; Various Artists; JSP CD 401 (1997) ::"Dr. Boogie" / "Things Can't Stay The Same" *''Chicago Blues 2''; Various Artists; JSP CD 405 (1998) ::"Who Do Blues" *''The Best of Harmonica Blues''; Various Artists; Wolf 120105 (2001) ::"Born In The Delta" *''St. Louis Blues Today''; Various Artists; Wolf 120941 (2015) ::"Born In The Delta" / "A.C.D. Blues" *''Harpin' On It - A Blues Harmonica Anthology''; Various Artists; JSP CD 811 (2017) ::"Dr. Boogie" / "Things Can't Stay The Same"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Doc 1921 births 2001 deaths American blues singers American blues harmonica players St. Louis blues musicians Musicians from St. Louis