Charlie Patton

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Charlie Patton
Born May 1, 1891(1891-05-01)
Origin Edwards, Mississippi
Died April 28, 1934 (aged 42)
near Indianola, Mississippi
Genre(s) Delta blues
Country blues
Gospel blues
Years active 1916-1934

Charlie Patton, better known as Charley Patton (May 1, 1891 - April 28, 1934) is best known as an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of Delta Blues" and therefore one of the oldest known figures of American popular music. He is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man (Palmer, 1995). Robert Palmer considers him among the most important musicians that America produced in the twentieth century. Many sources, including musical releases, his gravestone,"[1] spell his name “Charley” even though the musician himself spelled his name "Charlie."

Contents

[edit] Biography

Charlie Patton was one of the first mainstream stars of the Delta blues genre. Patton, who was born in Hinds County, Mississippi near Edwards, lived most of his life in Sunflower County, in the Mississippi Delta. Most sources say he was born in 1891, but there is some debate about this. In 1900, his family moved 100 miles north to the legendary 10,000-acre Dockery Plantation sawmill and cotton farm near Ruleville, Mississippi. It was here that both John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf fell under the Patton spell. It was also here that Robert Johnson played his first guitar.

At Dockery, Charlie fell under the tutelage of Henry Sloan, who had a new, unusual style of playing music which today would be considered very early blues. Charlie followed Henry Sloan around, and, by the time he was about 19, had become an accomplished performer and songwriter in his own right, having already composed "Pony Blues," a seminal song of the era.

Robert Palmer describes Patton as a "jack-of all-trades bluesman" who played "deep blues, white hillbilly songs, nineteenth century ballads, and other varieties of black and white country dance music with equal facility".[2]

He was extremely popular across the Southern United States, and — in contrast to the itinerant wandering of most blues musicians of his time — played scheduled engagements at plantations and taverns. Long before Jimi Hendrix impressed audiences with flashy guitar playing, Patton gained notoriety for his showmanship, often playing with the guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. Although Patton was a small man at about 5 foot 5 and 135 pounds, his gravelly voice was rumored to have been loud enough to carry 500 yards without amplification. Patton's gritty bellowing was a major influence on the singing style of his young friend Chester Burnett, who went on to gain fame in Chicago as Howlin' Wolf.

Patton settled in Holly Ridge, Mississippi with his common-law wife and recording partner Bertha Lee in 1933. He died on the Heathman-Dedham plantation near Indianola from heart disease on April 28, 1934 and is buried in Holly Ridge (both towns are located in Sunflower County). A memorial headstone was erected on Patton's grave (the location of which was identified by the cemetery caretaker C. Howard who claimed to have been present at the burial) paid for by musician John Fogerty through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund in July, 1990. The spelling of Patton's name was dictated by Jim O'Neal who also composed the Patton epitaph.

Only one photograph of Charlie Patton is known to exist, although its authenticity is disputed.[citation needed] The photograph is owned by a collector, John Tefteller.

Patton's ethnicity is the subject of minor debate. Though he was considered African-American, because of his light complexion there have been rumors that he was Mexican, or possibly a full-blood Cherokee, a theory endorsed by Howlin' Wolf. In actuality, Patton's grandmother was a full-blood Cherokee, and Patton himself sang in "Down the Dirt Road Blues" of having gone to "the Nation" and "the Territo'" -- meaning the Cherokee Nation portion of the Indian Territory (which became part of the state of Oklahoma in 1907), where a number of Black Indians tried unsuccessfully to claim a place on the tribal rolls and thereby obtain land. Most likely he was a tri-racial person of mixed Anglo-Saxon, African, and Native American heritage.

Patton's death certificate states that he died in a house approximately twenty miles from Dockery's Plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. Bertha Lee is not mentioned on the certificate, the only informant listed being one Willie Calvin. His death was not reported in the newspapers.[3]

[edit] Recognitions

Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton is a boxed set collecting Charley Patton's recorded works. It also featuring recordings by many of his friends and associates. The set won three Grammy Awards in 2003 for Best Historical Album, Best Compilation, and Best Written Notes.

Charley Patton's song "Pony Blues" (1929) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2006.[4] The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

[edit] Charlie Patton time line

1891 Patton born in Hinds County, Mississippi near Edwards or Bolton.
1895 (Age 4) The Patton family moves near Edwards Depot.
1900 (Age 9) The Patton family moves to the Dockery Plantation in Sunflower County, Mississippi, where Charlie meets his musical influence Henry Sloan.
1905-1907 (Ages 14-16) Gets guitar lessons from Earl Harris of Cleveland, and learns "You Take My Woman" and "Maggie."
1908 (Age 17) Lives with Millie Barnes, and has a baby girl named Willie Mae.
1910 (Age 19) Writes songs including "Pony Blues," "Banty Rooster Blues," "Mississippi BoWeavil," and "Down The Dirt Road."
1916 (Age 25) Offered a position in W.C. Handy's band.
1922 (Age 31) Marries Mandy France on Oss Pepper's plantation.
1926 (Age 35) Willie Brown becomes his duet partner.
1929 (Age 38) Records fourteen titles for Paramount Records at Richmond, Indiana.
1929 (Age 38) In July, Paramount releases "Pony Blues," Patton's first issued recording, which sells well.
1929 (Age 38) Records again for Paramount, this time in Grafton, Wisconsin, with Henry "Son" Sims on fiddle.
1930 (Age 39) Third Paramount recording session, again in Grafton, Wisconsin, and accompanied by Son House and Willie Brown on guitar, and Louise Johnson on piano.
1932 (Age 41) Final Paramount recording is released.
1932 (Age 41) Marries Bertha Lee, an overseer's daughter, in Morgan City, Mississippi.
1933 (Age 42) Almost killed when his throat is slit near Holly Ridge, Mississippi.
1934 (Age 43) Records twenty-six titles, including "Oh Death," for the American Recording Company in New York City between January 30th and February 1st.
1934 (Age 43) Dies of heart failure on the Heathman-Dedham plantation in Mississippi.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Original 78s (in chronological order)

Title Catalogue No. Release Date Notes
Paramount
Pony Blues/Banty Rooster Blues Paramount 12792 July 1929
Prayer Of Death Pt.1/Prayer Of Death Pt. 2 Paramount 12799 pseudonym as Elder J. Hadley
Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues/Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues Paramount 12805 pseudonym as The Masked Marvel
Down The Dirt Road Blues/It Won't Be Long Paramount 12854
A Spoonful Blues/Shake It And Break It But Don't Let It Fall Mama Paramount 12869
Pea Vine Blues/Tom Rushen Blues Paramount 12877
Lord I'm Discouraged/I'm Going Home Paramount 12883
High Water Everywhere Pt. 1/High Water Everywhere Pt. 2 Paramount 12909 April 1930
Rattlesnake Blues/Running Wild Blues Paramount 12924
Magnolia Blues/Mean Black Cat Blues Paramount 12943 July 1930
Mean Black Moan/Heart Like Railroad Steel Paramount 12953 August 1930
Green River Blues/Elder Greene Blues Paramount 12972 September 1930
Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker/I Shall Not Be Moved Paramount 12986 October 1930
Hammer Blues/When Your Way Gets Dark Paramount 12988 November 1930
Moon Going Down/Going To Move To Alabama Paramount 13014 December 1930
Some Happy Day/You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die Paramount 13031
Circle Round The Moon/Devil Sent The Rain Blues Paramount 13040 End 1930 / Beginning of 1931
Dry Well Blues/Bird Nest Bound Paramount 13070 Spring 1931
Some Summer Day Pt. 1/Jim Lee Blues Pt. 1 Paramount 13080 Spring / Summer 1931
Frankie And Albert/Some These Days I'll Be Gone Paramount 13110 Beginning 1932
Joe Kirby/Jim Lee Blues Pt. 2 Paramount 13133 Beginning 1932
Vocalion
34 Blues/Poor Me Vocalion 02651
High Sheriff Blues/Stone Pony Blues Vocalion 02680 15th April 1934
Love My Stuff/Jersey Bull Blues Vocalion 02782 1st September 1934
Oh Death/Troubled 'Bout My Mother Vocalion 02904 With Bertha Lee
Hang It On The Wall/Revenue Wall Blues Vocalion 02931 15th April 1935

[edit] Edition

  • Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton, Revenant Records No. 212, 2001, (Complete recordings on seven CDs including all alternate takes, all recordings of other artists with Patton as company and two books on Patton beside many other features.)

[edit] Songs

[edit] Tributes

[edit] Historic marker

The Mississippi Blues Trail placed its first historic marker on Charlie Patton's grave in Holly Ridge, Mississippi in recognition of his legendary status as a bluesman and his importance in the development of the blues in Mississippi.[6] It placed another historic marker at the site where the Peavine Railroad intersects with Highway 446 in Boyle, Mississippi, designating it as a second site related to Patton on the Mississippi Blues Trail. The marker commemorates the original lyrics of Patton's "Peavine Blues" which describes the railway branch of Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad which ran south from Dockery Plantation to Boyle. The marker emphasizes that a common theme of blues songs was riding on the railroad which was seen as a metaphor for travel and escape.[7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gravestone of Charley Palmer
  2. ^ Palmer, Robert, Deep Blues, 1981 page 133 Penguin Books ISBN 0 14 00.6223 8
  3. ^ Palmer, Robert (1981), Deep Blues, Penguin Books Ltd.: Middlesex, Eng., p. 89, ISBN 0140062238 .
  4. ^ 2003 National Recording Registry choices
  5. ^ Julebrown.org website
  6. ^ Haley Barbour Unveils First Marker of Mississippi Blues Trail. Jazz News. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
  7. ^ Mississippi Blues Trail Markers To Be Unveiled in Bolivar County. Mississippi Development Authority. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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