“Drop Dead in Front of Your Door” is a moment captured in time

Music Maker Foundation is proud to announce a new solo album by renowned Mississippi blues artist Terry “Harmonica” Bean! Drop Dead in Front of Your Door releases on the Music Maker label September 6, 2024.

Drop Dead in Front of Your Door is a field recording made in 2023 at the artist’s home in Pontotoc, MS. Tim Duffy (folklorist and Music Maker Foundation co-founder) recorded Terry playing a solo set of deep Mississippi blues, accompanied only by his namesake harmonica and guitar.

“When we record in the field, there is no time for multiple takes,” Duffy says, “so the recording is a moment captured in time. If you take the time to listen deeply to this album, you will be transported to that afternoon in Terry’s living room in Pontotoc, where he so generously performed for us.”

Terry “Harmonica” Bean lives on the land where he grew up with his 23 brothers and sisters. His father and extended family members all played the blues, but they supported their families through hard manual labor. Terry grew up in the fields, working cotton and corn alongside his father from the time he could walk.

As a young man, Terry was a gifted baseball player with the talent and ambition to go pro. In his early 20s, however, he suffered a terrible vehicle accident that curtailed his sports dreams. Instead, he turned to the blues. After going to a blues festival in the 1980s, he decided he was just as good as anyone on stage. He began performing around his home state of Mississippi, and has since toured throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia.