<back - SONNY RHODES - DISCIPLE OF THE BLUES - Clarence Smith aka Sonny Rhodes was born November 3, 1940 in Smithville, Texas, he was the 6th and last child of Leroy and Julia Smith, who were sharecroppers. He began playing seriously when he was 12, although he got his first guitar when he was 8 as a Christmas present. Rhodes began performing around downtown Smithville and Austin in the late '50s, while still in his teens. Sonny heard a lot of T-Bone Walker when he was young, and it shows in his playing today. Other guitarists he credits as being influences include LC Robinson, Pee Wee Crayton, Percy Mayfield and BB King. 

Sonny's first band, Clarence Smith and the Daylighters, played the Austin Texas area Blues clubs before Sonny decided to join the Navy. Sonny credits uncle as his greatest influence and learning source. As a boy, he would watch his uncle in downtown Smithville Texas buskin' for change. "When you pray to God as a youngster that all you want to be is a Bluesman" he recalls. "No one is happier to be a working practitioner of this art form than me, I knew that music was what I wanted to do. I wanted to get out and make records. I wanted to play." testifies Sonny. "I prayed to do this, and I asks the Good Lord, since I'm a religious person. Then I followed the dream. Dreams come true, I'm here to tell you. Seems sometimes like things have to get real bad before they get good. But the good outweighs the bad. I think sometimes God tests me, and so far I've stood the test."   MP3- BRITHDAY BLUES | TEXAS FENDER BENDER
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