Snooky Pryor

Snooky Pryor
Pryor in Edinburgh in 1993
Background information
Birth nameJames Edward Pryor
Born(1919-09-15)September 15, 1919 or 1921
Lambert, Mississippi, U.S.
Died(2006-10-18)October 18, 2006 (aged 85 or 87)
Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Harmonica
  • vocals
Years active1945–2006
Labels

James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (September 15, 1919 or 1921 – October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player. He claimed to have pioneered the now-common method of playing amplified harmonica by cupping a small microphone in his hands along with the harmonica, although on his earliest records, in the late 1940s, he did not use this method. In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.