Brownie McGhee

Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.

Birth and Death Data: Born Knoxville (city and county seat of Knox County, State of Tennessee, United States), Died February 16, 1996 (Oakland (city and county seat of Alameda County, California, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1940 - 1953

Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, piano

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 65 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia WC3154 10-in. 6/19/1940 Precious Lord Brother George and his Sanctified Singers Male vocal solo, with harmonicas and washboard vocalist  
Columbia WC3223 10-in. 8/6/1940 Pickin' my tomatoes Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica, and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3224 10-in. 8/6/1940 Me and my dog blues Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3225 10-in. 8/6/1940 Born for bad luck Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and harmonica instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3226 10-in. 8/6/1940 I'm callin' Daisy Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica, and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3233 10-in. 8/7/1940 Step it up and go Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica, and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3234 10-in. 8/7/1940 My barkin' bulldog blues Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and harmonica instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3235 10-in. 8/7/1940 Let me tell you 'bout my baby Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica, and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3236 10-in. 8/7/1940 Prison woman blues Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica, and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3238 10-in. 8/7/1940 Back door stranger Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3245 10-in. 8/7/1940 Be good to me Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica, and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3246 10-in. 8/7/1940 Not guilty blues Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and harmonica instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia WC3247 10-in. 8/7/1940 Coal miner blues Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and harmonica instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3782 10-in. 5/22/1941 Step it up and go no. 2 Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3783 10-in. 5/22/1941 Money spending woman Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3784 10-in. 5/23/1941 Death of Blind Boy Fuller Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3785 10-in. 5/23/1941 Got to find my little woman Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3786 10-in. 5/23/1941 I'm a black woman's man Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3787 10-in. 5/23/1941 Dealing with the devil Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3788 10-in. 5/23/1941 Double trouble Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar, harmonica and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3789 10-in. 5/23/1941 Woman, I'm done Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3790 10-in. 5/23/1941 Key to my door Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3791 10-in. 5/23/1941 Million lonesome women Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and harmonica instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3792 10-in. 5/23/1941 Ain't no tellin' Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Columbia C3793 10-in. 5/23/1941 Try me one more time Brownie McGhee Male vocal solo, with guitar and washboard instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
(Results 1-25 of 65 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "McGhee, Brownie," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108013.

McGhee, Brownie. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108013.

"McGhee, Brownie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108013

External Sources

Wikipedia: Brownie McGhee

Discogs: Brownie McGhee

Allmusic: Brownie McGhee

IMDb: Brownie McGhee

Britannica: Brownie McGhee

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: McGhee, Brownie, 1915-1996 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82234801

Wikidata: Brownie McGhee - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q950313

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24787962

MusicBrainz: Brownie McGhee - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9d48cb68-cd4d-49fe-b7a8-d31deb678fe8

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/105902 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/105902

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