Sonny Thompson

Who was Sonny Thompson?

Sonny Thompson was an American R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s.

Born Alfonso Thompson in Centreville, Mississippi, he began recording in 1946, and in 1948 achieved two #1 R&B chart hits on the Miracle label – "Long Gone" and "Late Freight", both featuring saxophonist Eddie Chamblee. The follow-ups "Blue Dreams" and "Still Gone" were smaller hits.

By 1952 he had moved on to King Records. There, he had further R&B Top 10 successes with the singer Lula Reed, the biggest hit being "I'll Drown in My Tears". 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.

Thompson died in 1989 in Chicago.