Dossie Terry

By Marv Goldberg

© 2026 by Marv Goldberg

This will be a short one. ("Why does he keep saying that, daddy?"). Although Dossie Terry recorded (with a squeak in his voice) from 1945 to around 1967, there's not a single appearance ad, only two uninformative newspaper blurbs, and not a single known photo.

So why am I bothering? Well, I have collected some information, which should never be wasted. But more than that, I found some places that talk about Dossie Terry as a woman. Since he wasn't, that needs to be corrected.



Dawson Jacob "Dossie" Terry was born on October 31, 1922, in Ellaville, Georgia, to Ike Terry (a farmer) and Clara Morrison. He had a single known sibling, J. R. Terry. (That was actually his name, even on his World War 2 registration.)

The 1930 census (in Ellaville) is a mess. It shows "Clary Terry" with two sons: J. R. and "Danson". Either that census-taker was more hard-of-hearing than normal, or, more likely, a neighbor gave the information. Clary is down as 30 and single; she was actually around 37 and probably divorced. J. R. was 12 years old and "Danson" was 10; they should have been 15 and 7.

So where was Ike Terry? In Florida, getting into trouble. On February 2, 1931, he was sentenced to 5 years in a Florida prison for "Assault To Murder". He'd serve 4 1/2, before being released on June 26, 1935. In the 1930 census, he was in Reddick, Florida, still a farmer; he was married again, with several step children.

The 1940 census found Dossie's mother still in Ellaville. Since she's once again enumerated as "Clary Terry", I guess that's what she called herself. Her age is correct this time and she says she's a widow, but I can't find any record for Ike dying. Her son is now "Dorsey", which is a lot closer.

Dossie registered with the draft, still in Ellaville, on September 30, 1942, but there were no surprises. I suppose you need to know that he was 6 feet tall and 152 pounds. It didn't give his occupation, but I believe he was a farm laborer.

On June 21, 1944, Dossie Terry married Ruby Blunt in Brooklyn. She also came from Ellaville, but was already living in Brooklyn in 1940. The next year, they had a son, Carlton. Although they lived in Brooklyn from then on, I can't find any further records of them together, including the 1950 census. Since she died as Ruby Terry, I'll assume they remained married. For some reason, Ruby waited until January 1955 to tell Social Security about her name change.

In late 1945, Dossie recorded four songs for the Chicago label, owned by Jay Mayo Williams (who usually called himself "J. Mayo Williams"): "The O.P.A. Blues", "Furlough Blues", "Whiskey Head Woman", and "Doretha Doretha Boogie". On all of these, he was accompanied by Melba Pope's Trio (she was described as a singing pianist). Although Williams did recording sessions in New York (where Dossie laid down these tracks), Chicago labels said the company itself was in Chicago. Dossie, who was, as we'll see, a prolific songwriter, penned "Whiskey" and "Doretha".

By the end of the year, Chicago had issued "The O.P.A. Blues" (about the Office Of Price Administration, a somewhat hated wartime agency) and "Furlough Blues" (an Earl Hines tune). The sides were credited to "Dossie 'Georgia Boy' Terry", accompanied by Melba Pope's Blues Boys.

It's possible that, in early 1946, "Whiskey Head Woman" and "Doretha Doretha Boogie" were released as Chicago 119. If so, it would be the last Chicago record; both were then released as Southern 119 (another company that J. Mayo Williams owned) in February.

Dossie's first mention in the press was in the September 11, 1946 Atlanta Daily World [in the Ellaville news column]: "Mr. Dorsey [sic] Terry of Brooklyn is visiting relatives here."

Around October 1947, a Dossie Terry side appeared on Ivin Ballen's 20th Century label from Philadelphia: "She's Alright". This was, most probably, a J. Mayo Williams master (written by Terry and Williams), sold to Ballen. The flip, "Bobbie Town Woogie", by Lee 'Georgie Boy' Brown And His Boogie Band, was presumably another old master.

On December 5, 1951, Dossie had a session for RCA, which yielded two known songs: "Lost My Head" and "When I Hit The Number". A second session, on December 13, gave us four more: "Sad, Sad Affair", "Didn't Satisfy You", My Love Is Gone", and "Twenty-Four Years". Dossie had written "Twenty-Four Years", "When I Hit The Number", and "My Love Is Gone" with pianist Howard Biggs.

In January 1952, RCA released "Didn't Satisfy You", backed with "Twenty-Four Years". They were reviewed in the March 1 Billboard:

Twenty-Four Years (73): Terry displays an aggressive blues shout style in knocking out an okay ditty.

Didn't Satisfy You (60): The singer's persuasive way makes the most of a fairly routine piece of material.

The February 9, Afro-American contains the only mention of Dossie, as a singer, ever printed:

From the State of Georgia, cradle of many a blues chanter, comes Dossie Terry, who sings-shouts two blues items on his introductory RCA Victor platter.

Dossie teamed with Howard Biggs to write "Twenty-Four Years" and Biggs, a man with a solid feeling for the blues, also penned the reverse surface, "Didn't Satisfy You" [along with Joe Thomas].

Not resting on his RCA laurels, Dossie recorded one more known side for J. Mayo Williams: "New Moon Blues" (which Dossie had written). This was released, sometime in 1952, on Williams' Ebony label, as "Georgia Boy Terry with the Blues Blowers"). The flip was "I Got To Check Up On My Baby", by "Georgia Boy McCain with the Blues Blowers".

Back to RCA. They issued "When I Hit The Number", backed with "My Love Is Gone" in April. However, they weren't sent out for review.

The final RCA record was "Lost My Head", backed with "Sad, Sad Affair", issued in August 1952. These were reviewed in the September 6 Billboard, the September 10 Down Beat, and the October 4 Cash Box:

Lost My Head (BB; 75): Disk tales off like "Junco Partner", but doesn't hold up. It's the story of a guy who got in trouble. It's got merit in the lyrics and the buck dance tempo sets a good mood.

Sad, Sad Affair (BB; 73): Routine blues ditty is handed a first-rate reading by Terry, a good shouter.

Down Beat: Sad, Sad Affair (3 stars); Lost My Head (2 stars): Terry, a Brooklynite from Georgia, sings his tale off (the sad, sad tale of a lost love) to the powerful accompaniment of Budd Johnson's tenor and alto, Howard Biggs' piano, and Rene Hall's guitar. Head is a novelty with Latin rhythm, the traditional Manana melodic form, and more of Budd. [As I've said in the past, Down Beat would have been much happier if all vocals had been removed from recordings.]

Lost My Head (CB; B): A quick tempo novelty is presented with vocal tricks by Dossie Terry; a cute and appealing disk.

Sad, Sad Affair (CB; B): Terry shows his versatility with an entirely different piece of material. The singer does a bit of blues shouting as he delivers a slow low down item.

Here's a bit of confusion, courtesy of the September 20, 1952 Cash Box (prior to its October 4 review):

For a slow drag number, Dossie Terry has it on RCA-Victor: "Sad Sad Affair" b/w "Lost My Head". On the former, gal does some firm chirping, complete with "breaks". The latter side is on a calypso kick with strong overtones of blues thrown in for extra effect.

Since Dossie sounds like a man on both sides, it shows they really didn't listen at all. It's possible they'd been influenced by a blurb that had been printed in the August 23 Baltimore Afro-American:

Spinning out a mournful tale on the "A" side of her current RCA Victor disc, "Sad, Sad Affair", blues singer Dossie Terry throws her all into this slow, drag number. Dossie gives a hot driving performance, complete with "break" singing and background blowing to match.

The overside, "Lost My Head", has a unique calypso beat and Dossie again demonstrates her versatility with this different blues beat.

Here's what I go through (courtesy of the "Pity The Poor Researcher Department"). On February 12, 1953, Dossie had another four-song session for RCA Victor. The musicians were Dick Vance (trumpet), Eddie Barefield (clarinet), Ben Webster (tenor sax), Howard Biggs (piano), Everett Barksdale (guitar), Abie Baker (bass), and James Crawford (drums). All that's missing from this in-depth reporting are the song titles, all of which remain unknown and unreleased.

There was nothing at all for Dossie in 1954. The only 1955 fact is that, on March 10 he copyrighted "Hey Bartender". Lots of artists have sung it (for example Floyd Dixon), but he, himself, never recorded it.

Again, nothing at all in 1956. Considering that he only occasionally went into a recording studio and never seemed to appear anywhere, I have to wonder what he did with his time.

1957 was a big year for Dossie: he recorded for both X-Tra and King. For X-Tra, it was "Railroad Section Man" (which he wrote), backed with "You Will Be Mine". They weren't sent out for review, so I don't know exactly when they were released.

On July 18, 1957, he recorded "Thunderbird" and "I Got A Watch Dog" for King. Both songs, released in August, were written by Dossie and William Gray. (I don't know if the X-Tra record was released before or after King.) On July 26, he also recorded the unreleased "You're Saying Something". "Thunderbird", his most famous recording, was reviewed in Billboard on August 26 and Cash Box on September 14:

Thunderbird (BB; 68): Shouting is better than this blues material. Good rockin' beat helps, but stronger stuff is available.

I Got A Watch Dog (BB; 67): Lusty shouting, but material adds up to little that's outstanding.

Thunderbird (CB; B+): Terry bounces through a rhythmic middle beat with a staccato effect. Terry "feels so good" and his elated reading brings that impression through solidly. It is an infectious wax that the kids should lean heavily on. [Yes, kids, drink enough Thunderbird and you'll have to lean on something.]

I Got A Watch Dog (CB; B): Dossie Terry wails a middle beat bouncer with an energetic performance. Terry puts a maximum of feeling into his reading of the tuneful blues. Ok wax.

In 1958, Dossie recorded another couple of songs he'd written with William Gray: "Fool Mule" and "Skinny Ginny". (This was the era of "Bony Maronie", "Short Fat Fannie", and "Skinny Minnie".) They were released on Bill Lasley's Chicago-based Amp 3 label around April, as "Dossie (Thunderbird) Terry". However, not everyone was receptive. There was an ad for the N.D. Davidson Music Co. ("Your Community Music Center") in the May 11 Vincennes, Indiana Sun-Commercial. In the ad, Davidson made comments on the new discs he was selling. Of Dossie's, he said: "If I could pass sentence on this guy, I'd ask only one question . . . if he preferred AC or DC". Everyone's a critic.

Dossie wrote loads of songs with William Gray. The other ones I know about are (note that I didn't go crazy trying to find out if they'd all been recorded):

Get With It (recorded by Pearl Galloway for Amp 3)
Hi-Fi Baby and Hold Out, Baby (recorded by Teddy McRae for Amp 3)
I Love You So
I'm Gonna Wait
Love You All The Time (recorded by Joe Columbo for Amp 3)
Making Tracks
My Heart's On Strike
Oh You Pretty Little Thing
The Queen Sings The Blues
Stop Now, Come On
Sugar Lump (recorded by Frank Verna & Playboys on United Artists)
Sweet Hunk Of Junk
That's All I Need
What's The Matter Baby (recorded by Joe Shepard on End)
You're The Only One For Me
Your Buggy Don't Ride Like Mine

Nothing at all in 1959. On October 7, 1960, he and Leslie Butler copyrighted a song called "Bills", which was recorded by Louis Jordan on Warwick. He also wrote "Taking Care Of Business" with Lester Butler (I don't know if that was an error or if there were two Butlers), which was recorded by Ruth Brown and copyrighted on September 19. Each copyright notice names a different Butler.

On March 8, 1961, Dossie copyrighted "Honey Bee". It had been recorded by the Drifters in 1955, but not released until March 1961. On April 6, he copyrighted two more songs, both written with Leslie Butler: "No Other Love Will Do" and "Come On". He, himself, recorded both of those for a release on the Bonus label, probably in March (with the title truncated to "No Other Love"). One more with Leslie Butler: "The Donkey Trot", was copyrighted on May 29; that one was recorded by Pete And Ernie, on King.

Nothing at all in 1962 or 1963, but in June 1964, King reissued "Thunderbird", paired with the Lamplighters' "Be Bop Wino". It got a B+ in the June 27 Billboard, which said: "Rockin' teenish blues hand-clapper." The fact that the song encouraged drinking didn't seem to bother the Billboard reviewer's recommendation for teenagers.

Another 1964 release was "Crazy Wig", backed with "Yeah! Yeah!", both written with Leslie Butler. These were on the Code label, probably from December. His name appeared on the label as "Dorsey Terry".

Two more years with no known activity: 1965 and 1966.

Dossie's last original release was on Teddy McRae's Enrica label, possibly in 1967: "Soul Food", backed with "Hip Shakin' Soul Rockin' Mama". Dossie wrote both of these with James Murray Shelton.

"Thunderbird" saw two more reissues. In 1989, it was on Ripete, with "I'm Traveling Through This Land", by The Ambassadors Of Philadelphia as the flip. At an unknown date, it was put out on Federal, with the Lamplighters' "I Used To Cry Mercy Mercy" on the back. It's an odd number (FK02), which I can't date.

Dossie Jacob Terry died in July 1977, in Brooklyn; there was no obituary. Continuing the mysteries in his life, there was also nothing that gave the exact date.

Aside from the ones I've already mentioned, Dossie Terry wrote or co-wrote many other tunes. For example: Dinah Washington's "(No, No, No) You Can't Love Two" (written with Leroy Kirkland); Ruth Brown's "Bye Bye Young Men"; the Clovers' "Alrighty Oh Sweetie"; the Jive Five's "Beggin' You Please" (with Leslie Butler and Joe Rene); and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's "That's The Way To Treat Your Woman" (with William Gray and Eddie Vinson). There were probably loads more.

It's hard to form a conclusion about Dossie Terry. He had a pleasant voice (although his squeak can get annoying), but he was really more of a songwriter than a singer. More than that, he seemed to go out of his way to keep us from knowing him.


Special thanks to Bill Daniels for the RCA recording dates.



CHICAGO (Dossie "Georgia Boy" Terry with Melba Pope's Blues Boys)
117 The O.P.A. Blues / Furlough Blues - ca. late 45

SOUTHERN ("Georgia Boy" Terry with Melba Pope's Trio)
119 Whiskey Head Woman / Doretha Doretha Boogie - 2/46
            Probably also issued as Chicago 119

20th CENTURY (Dossie Terry; probably a Chicago/Southern master)
2046 She's Alright / [Bobbie Town Woogie - Lee "Georgie Boy" Brown And His Boogie Band] - ca 10/47

EBONY (Georgia Boy Terry with the Blues Blowers)
1003 New Moon Blues / [I Got To Check Up On My Baby - Georgia Boy McCain] - 52

RCA (Dossie Terry)
4474 Didn't Satisfy You / Twenty-Four Years - 1/52
4648 When I Hit The Number / My Love Is Gone - 4/52
4864 Lost My Head / Sad, Sad Affair - 8/52

X-TRA (Dossie Terry)
103 Railroad Section Man / You Will Be Mine - 57

KING (Dossie Terry)
5072 Thunderbird / I Got A Watch Dog - 8/57

   UNRELEASED KING
      You're Saying Something (recorded July 26, 1957)

AMP 3 ("Dossie (Thunderbird) Terry")
2113 Skinny Ginny / Fool Mule - ca. 4/58

BONUS (Dossie Terry)
B101 No Other Love / Come On - ca. 3/61

KING (Dossie Terry; re-release)
5890 Thunderbird / [Be Bop Wino - Lamplighters] - 6/64

CODE (as "Dorsey Terry")
411 Crazy Wig / Yeah! Yeah! - 12/64

ENRICA (Dossie Terry)
1017 Soul Food / Hip Shakin' Soul Rockin' Mama - ca 67

RIPETE (Dossie Terry; re-release)
2002 Thunderbird / [I'm Traveling Through This Land - The Ambassadors Of Philadelphia] - 89

FEDERAL (Dossie Terry)
FK02 Thunderbird / [I Used To Cry Mercy Mercy - Lamplighters] - ??