Bio Full Biography »

Harmonica player Terry McMillan was a noted session musician with a distinctive bluesy style; he was also a talented drummer. He began his professional career in 1973 with a touring band. They disbanded in Nashville, and he got a job in Eddy Raven's band at the King of the Road. A year and a half later, Jimmy Dean introduced him to Chet Atkins, who hired him to play harmonica. McMillan was still inexperienced and couldn't play melodies, but Atkins saw great potential and helped him switch from the blues he had been playing to the Nashville style. McMillan later moved on to work for Jeannie C. Riley and Jerry Reed. He stopped touring in 1976 after getting married and began doing session work throughout the rest of the '70s for such performers as Steve Young and Mickey Newbury. In the early '80s, McMillan signed as a solo act with RCA Victor. Though a charismatic and highly energetic live performer, his solo recordings went nowhere and he went back to studio work, where his talent as a d...