Ernest Thompson

b. 1892, near Winston-Salem, Forsythe County, North Carolina, USA, d. 1961, USA. As a youth Thompson began working in a local sawmill where, while only in his late teens he was blinded in an accident. He was sent to the North Carolina State School for the Blind where he decided against following any of the skills he was taught. Instead, he took to the road as a musician. Over the years, he became adept on many instruments, notably the guitar, and he played on the streets and at dances and other rural gatherings. In addition to his playing, Thompson sang in a very light tenor t...