Ernest Thompson (musician)

Ernest Errott Thompson (February 20, 1892 – December 7, 1961) was a blind

Blinded as the result of a work-related accident in his late teens, Thompson spent most of his life as a street musician, singing to his own accompaniment on guitar and harmonica.^[7] In 1924, he was discovered by a Columbia A&R (Artist & Repertoire) representative who signed him to a recording contract.^[6][1] Thompson traveled to New York City for three recording sessions that year and returned in 1930 for two more sessions.^[2] However, sales of his records proved disappointing, and Columbia cancelled his contract. After a couple sessions with another label, Thompson's recording career ended, and he returned to his life as an itinerant musician, playing on the streets well into his fifties.^[1]

Early life

Thompson was born in 1892 in

Thompson returned to New York in September 1930 for two more sessions with Columbia, but only a few of the songs he recorded were released. Realizing the supply of traditional material was limited and that audiences were developing more sophisticated tastes, record companies began looking for new sounds and new songs. As a result of the changing market and Thompson's less than encouraging sales, Columbia dropped him from its roster. The musician made one last attempt at recording, with the Gennett label in Indiana, but when only four of the 14 sides he recorded were released, he returned to his life as a street musician.^[1][6]

In the early 1930s, Thompson began traveling with Cora Pistollious, a street performer who was mostly blind and who became his second wife. With the

In 1949, Thompson and Cora moved to High Point just east of Winston-Salem in Guilford County. He eventually was admitted to the Guilford County Home in nearby Greensboro where he died of heart failure in 1961.^[7]

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