Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American R&B bandleader and pianist, and the most prolific R&B instrumentalists of the late '40s and early '50s.
Thompson began working in combos while in high school and went on the road for extended periods after graduating from Phillips. He also spent some time in the band of Erskine Tate. He began working as a leader in 1940, with a group billed as Sonny Thompson and His Swingsters. During 1941 and 1942, Thompson attended the University of Chicago, supporting himself by playing gigs. During 1941 and the first quarter of 1942, he played solo piano at the Garrick Stage Bar. He also worked in groups led by Lonnie Simmons, Red Allen, and Stuff Smith in the Down Beat Room downstairs. In 1943 Sonny Thompson entered the Army. He return to playing, performing at places such as Garrick Stage Bar, Bar o’ Music and got a break when he was asked to step in to replace Earl Hines at El Grotto. An item in Down Beat (July 15, 1945, p. 4), “Thompson Has Fine New Crew,” described the band as a “14-piece outfit.”
Thompson made his first recording session with a sextet backing June Richmond on Mercury Records; two singles were released. The two sides he did for Sultan were his first as a leader. During 1947 Thompson teamed up with the Dick Davis Combo to play regularly at the Tradesmen’s Lounge, appearing with them on a recording session for the fledgling Miracle label in January. Thompson began recording under his own name with Miracle in mid-1947, using the Sharps and Flats as his rhythm section and frequently adding Eddie Chamblee’s tenor sax.
In 1947 Sonny signed with Lee Egalnick’s Miracle company, where he made fine recordings under his own name, but also backed other artists on the label, namely tenorist Dick Davis, Piney Brown and Gladys Palmer. Shortly after this Sonny was to lay down “Long Gone” Pts. 1 & 2, which King Records’ Syd Nathan was to snap up once the Miracle record began to hit the juke boxes and showed considerable chart action (it sold some 200,000 copies and lasted for more than 30 weeks on the charts). The record was so popular that Miracle label boss Lee Egalnick had to fight bootleggers in St. Louis, who were selling counterfeit copies of the disc. The rhythm section consisting of Alvin Garrett, Leroy Morrison and Thurman “Red” Cooper maintain a relaxed and often used accompaniment behind Sonny’s piano and the great tenor Eddie Chamblee.
The success of “Long Gone” Pts. 1 & 2” ensured Thompson’s position as the “King of the Two Parter” (a fine follow-up appeared as “Still Gone” parts 3 and 4) and subsequent double siders included “The Fish”, “Mellow Blues”, “Real Real Fine”, “Cotton Ball” and “Cat On The Keys”. In the same year (1948), “Late Freight” climbed No. 1 position in the Billboard R&B charts and stayed there for 13 weeks! (The piece was later called “Creepin’” when it was issued in Britain). Further chart success included “Blues On Rhumba” (no. 14 position) and “Blue Dreams” (no. 10 position). “Long Gone” was to be featured heavily in Billboard over the next two years, not only because of its success, but also through King Records’ purchase of the Miracle label and a lawsuit involving Jimmy Yancey, Meade Lux Lewis, Doug Suggs and Cripple Clarence Lofton!
By 1952 he had moved on to King Records, where he worked in A&R and as a session musician and arranger. At King, he had further R&B Top 10 successes with the singer Lula Reed, the biggest hit being "I'll Drown in My Tears" which reached number five. Thompson married Reed sometime in the early 1950s. He continued to work as a session musician, and to perform with Reed into the early 1960s. He also had success as a songwriter, often co-writing with blues guitarist, Freddie King. Songs Thompson wrote (or co-wrote) included "I'm Tore Down", "Let Them Talk", "Hide Away", "The Stumble", "Three Hearts in a Tangle", "Late Freight", and "Long Gone".
In 1951, Sonny began recording with singer Lula Reed, later to be his wife and in November 1952. During this period Thompson provided the band, sidemen and arrangements for the first of four sessions with the great Wynonie Harris. Although Wynonie was still a big star, he was faced with the challenge of the emerging rock ’n roll boom. Lula and Sonny had great success with “Let’s Call It A Day” (no. 7 position) and “I’ll Drown In My Tears” (no. 5 position in the Billboard R&B charts), both penned by Henry Glover and together they even tried their hands on a couple of Gospel numbers. Little is known of Lula’s professional life and like a surprising number of R&B artists, her very first record enjoyed more success than just about any of her later work. “I’ll Drown In My Tears” made it to the number 5 position in Billboard’s R&B charts in 1952. It has since become associated with Ray Charles, whose retitled version owed a debt to to both Lula Reed and Sonny Thompson. The debt was repaid in the early 1960s, when Lula made an appearance on Charles’ own Tangerine label.
From 1960 Sonny had switched to the organ cutting six soul-jazz styled instrumentals for King, Knight and Bethlehem. As a sideman, Sonny had accompanied innumerable groups and artists on countless recording sessions — among them The Swallows, Wynonie Harris, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, Mabel Scott, The Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, The Five Keys, Lucky Millinder, Billy Stewart, James Brown, Jesse Johnson and Little Milton, only to name a few.
In 1970, Sonny co-produced one of Howlin’ Wolf’s last albums for Chess Records, “Message To The Young” and played keyboards on the session. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he began appearing at Jazz Festivals and even toured Europe a couple of times, performing in England, France, Switzerland, Italy and Yugoslavia. In 1972, he recorded two LPs for the French label Black & Blue in France while on tour; he was part of the Chicago Blues Festival in the same year and cut an album as a sideman with Luther “Georgia Boy” Johnson. In the early 1970s he played keyboards on two Jimmy Dawkins albums on the Delmark label. Shortly after, Sonny Thompson fell into obscurity; he died on August 11, 1989 in Chicago (just shortly before his 67th birthday), after a long battle against diabetes. In 2024 the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed the headstone for him at Homewood Memorial Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois.
(Edited from Big Road Blues)
