Sonny Terry Heritage Edition Marine Band

The Sonny Terry Heritage Edition Marine Band is a brand-new product that was just introduced by Hohner in January at the annual NAMM Convention.  This is the first time that Hohner has honored an artist by putting his likeness on the revered Marine Band 1896.  Although Sonny played many different models, the Marine Band was his favorite.   Virtually all of the other artist edition harmonicas offered by Hohner are based on of the Hohner MS-Blues Harp. 

It is available in the key of C only.  The Heritage Edition features the traditional black and tan pear wood comb that was used up until a few years ago.  It comes in a beautiful display case which includes the harmonica, a retro paper box and a rubber stamp bearing Sonny’s name.  The stamp is yet another tribute to Sonny who was blind and used a rubber stamp to sign documents. 

It has been my honor to act as an Agent for the Sonny Terry Estate LLC for the past four plus years.  When our joint venture relationship was established, we set three primary goals which have acted as our guiding principles:

1. To honor Sonny’s legacy and work to perpetuate his music.
2. To thank the artists, authors and harmonica instructors who have helped keep Sonny’s music alive.
3. To raise funds for the estate.

The Sonny Terry Heritage Edition Marine Band is solid evidence that we have done some good work.  We have gifted Estate Harmonicas to many of the artists, authors and teachers who are keeping Sonny’s music relevant – Joe Filisko, Steve Baker, Tom Ball, Ben Hewlett, Grant Dermody, Peter “Madcat” Ruth and Winslow Yerxa have all been recipients of an Estate Harmonica.  We have also worked closely with Martine Haeffner, Curator of the Harmonika Museum in Trossingen, Germany to set up an exhibit at the World Harmonica Festival in November 2018 which then morphed into a permanent Sonny Terry Exhibit in the museum.  We are currently in talks with the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, which is a part of The Smithsonian and the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, MO. To create exhibits that will honor Sonny.  There is little doubt that had we not been so active in promoting Sonny’s legacy 30+ years after his passing, Hohner would probably not have taken the initiative to honor him with this Heritage Edition Marine Band.  Kudos to Hohner for doing so.  What a grand gesture that is so appreciated. 

The Heritage Edition Marine Band is priced at $69.99 and available for immediate delivery.  If you have an interest in owning a harmonica from Sonny’s personal collection, we have several of them available on our website.  In addition to the estate harmonicas, this week we will be listing some other personal items from the estate such as Event Posters, Performance Shirts, Harmonica Cases and Harmonica Belts.  Some of the Event Posters will also include original Performance Contracts from the events, most of which are signed by Brownie McGhee. 

The Sonny Terry Estate Items are available at on this website and at www.SonnyTerry.net.