Brushy One-String

Biography

Andrew Chin, known professionally as Brushy One-String, is a Jamaican singer‑songwriter and guitarist from Ocho Rios, Jamaica, celebrated for performing with a single‑string acoustic guitar. Born into a deeply musical family — his father was noted Jamaican soul and reggae singer Freddie McKay and his mother, Beverly Foster, toured as a backing vocalist with Tina Turner — he was orphaned at a young age and left school early, remaining illiterate until adulthood.[5][9][2] Growing up with little material support but surrounded by sound, he experimented with pots, pans, and eventually guitar, but initially struggled with the standard six‑string instrument; he recalls playing so hard that he broke all the strings and pushed the guitar under his bed.[1][5]

In his mid‑teens, Chin had a vivid dream or vision instructing him to remove all but one string from his guitar and play it that way, an idea that family and friends largely mocked except for one person who told him it was his fate.[1][5][2] Taking the dream seriously, he restrung the guitar with a single low‑E string, developed a percussive style that uses the guitar body as a drum, and began busking in markets in a broad hat and sunglasses, singing songs that came directly from his daily struggles and surroundings.[1][5] After modest early recording activity, including cult‑status releases on the Roof International reggae label in the early 1990s, he drifted back to street performance, where filmmaker Luciano Blotta rediscovered him outside a rural studio around 2004 and recorded his song “Chicken in the Corn” for the 2007 documentary Rise Up.[4][2][5] A live performance video of “Chicken in the Corn” uploaded to YouTube in 2013 went viral, eventually garnering tens of millions of views and establishing him as the self‑styled “King of One String,” leading to festival appearances at South by Southwest, New Orleans House of Blues, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as well as the documentary The King of One String (2014) and albums such as his acclaimed studio debut Destiny (2013) and Live at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (2015).[4][5][7]

Brushy One‑String’s music fuses reggae, soul, rhythm and blues, and Delta blues into a stripped‑down but full‑sounding style built from one vibrating string, syncopated knocks on the guitar body, and his resonant, emotionally charged voice.[1][3][5] He cites soul singer Teddy Pendergrass and dancehall star Shabba Ranks as key influences, and commentators have linked his one‑string approach to older blues instruments like the diddley bow and monochord zithers.[1][3][5] Despite the apparent minimalism of his setup, his songs are narrative and uplifting, often reflecting on hardship, perseverance, and destiny, and he has come to be regarded as an off‑the‑beaten‑path Jamaican “national treasure,” demonstrating how resourcefulness and individuality can carve out a distinctive place in contemporary roots music.[4][3][5]

Fun Facts

• Brushy One-String performs on a standard acoustic guitar fitted with only a single low‑E string, using the remaining tuning pegs as makeshift percussion and the guitar body as a drum.[1][4][5]
• He was illiterate until adulthood and has said he primarily learned to read so that he could write his own lyrics and properly credit himself on songs after being exploited in an early recording contract.[4][3]
• The idea to strip his guitar down to one string came from a vivid dream he had as a teenager; despite initial ridicule from most people around him, he followed the vision and built his entire career on that one string.[1][2][5]
• His breakthrough song “Chicken in the Corn,” first captured informally by filmmaker Luciano Blotta, became a viral hit on YouTube in 2013, eventually attracting tens of millions of views and turning a street performance staple into an international calling card.[2][5][7]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Freddie McKay - Brushy One-String’s father; a prominent Jamaican soul and reggae singer whose career and repertoire formed part of Brushy’s musical upbringing. (Known for songs such as “Picture on the Wall”; part of the reggae/soul tradition Brushy grew up around.) [Childhood influence (1970s–1980s; precise dates not documented)]
• Beverly Foster - Brushy’s mother; a professional singer who toured as a backing vocalist with Tina Turner, contributing to the soul and R&B influences in his style. (Tour work with Tina Turner (specific tours not detailed in sources).) [Childhood influence (dates not specified)]
• Teddy Pendergrass - Explicitly cited by Brushy as a vocal and stylistic influence, shaping his soulful delivery and emotional intensity. (General influence of Pendergrass’s soul catalog rather than specific songs mentioned.) [Cited as an influence in interviews and profiles in the 2010s]
• Shabba Ranks - Named by Brushy as a key dancehall influence, reflecting the rhythmic and Jamaican popular music elements in his songwriting. (General influence of Shabba Ranks’ dancehall style; no single track specified.) [Cited as an influence in the 2010s]

Key Collaborators

• Luciano Blotta - Argentine filmmaker who discovered Brushy busking outside a rural Jamaican studio, recorded him for the documentary Rise Up, and helped bring “Chicken in the Corn” and his one‑string style to an international audience. (Documentary Rise Up (2007); use of “Chicken in the Corn” on the soundtrack; subsequent video and documentary work related to Brushy’s career.) [Initial encounter around 2004; documentary release 2007; continued promotion into the 2010s]
• Playing For Change collective - Global music project that features Brushy in performances and recordings, showcasing his one‑string guitar and voice alongside international musicians. (Appearances in Playing For Change videos and sessions featuring Brushy One-String (specific track listings vary by session).) [Documented collaborations and features in the 2010s]

Artists Influenced

• Various contemporary street and roots musicians (unspecified) - Music press and festival write‑ups describe Brushy as an inspirational example for resourceful, minimalist performers and street musicians, but specific named artists directly influenced by him are not documented in available sources. (N/A – influence described generally rather than through particular works.) [Influence noted broadly in commentary from the 2010s onward]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Chicken in the Corn (Destiny)
2. Chicken in the Corn - House Remix
3. Boom Bam Deng (Destiny)
4. Destiny (Destiny)
5. Chicken In The Corn (The King of One String (Acoustic))
6. Chicken In The Corn (Into The Deep (Deluxe Edition))
7. No Man Stop Me (No Man Stop Me)
8. Ganja Wata (All You Need Is One, Vol. 1)
9. Home Away from Home (All You Need Is One, Vol. 1)
10. Grays In My Blues (The King of One String (Acoustic))

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia