Sonny Boy Nelson

Sonny Boy Nelson December 23 1908 – November 4 1998 Was An American Blues Musician. Nelson Sang And Played Many Instruments Including Banjo Guitar Harmonica Horn Mandolin And Violin. He Was Born Eugene Powell In Utica Mississippi United States The Child Of An Interracial Affair And His White Father Soon Abandoned The Family. His Family Soon Moved To A Plantation At Lombardy Near Shelby Mississippi. Nelson Learned To Play The Guitar By The Age Of Seven. Together With His Half Brother Ben On A Mandolin Nelson Began To Play As A Novelty Act At Picnics And Suppers And For Prisoners At The Mississippi State Penitentiary. In 1915 His Half Brother Bennie "Sugar" Wilson May Have Been The Inspiration For Nelson To Learn The Banjo-Mandolin. Nelson Became Friends With The Chatmon Family See Sam Chatmon As Both Families Worked Together On The Kelly Drew Plantation In Hollandale Mississippi. He Later Married Fellow Singer Mississippi Matilda. Nelson's Guitar Was A Silvertone And He Inserted An Aluminium Resonator Into It Similar To Those Found On The National Guitar. He Also Fitted A Seventh String Using The 12 String Models As His Inspiration. The Extra String Was A 'C' An Octave Higher Than The Conventional String. Later Electric Styles Overhadowed His Fame And He Went On To Live A Quiet Life Until His Death.
Nelson Died In November 1998 In Greenville Mississippi At The Age Of 89. read less