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Charley Patton

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For the Royal Marine commando, see Charlie Paton.

Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American music and inspired most Delta blues musicians. The musicologist Robert Palmer considered him one of the most important American musicians of the twentieth century.

Charley Patton
Publicity photo for Paramount Records, the only confirmed extant photograph of Patton, c. 1929
Background information
Also known as
  • The Masked Marvel
  • Elder J. J. Hadley
Bornc. April 1891
Hinds County, Mississippi, U.S.
Died28 April 1934(1934-04-28) (aged 43)
Heathman Plantation, Sunflower County, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instruments
Years active1916–1934
Labels

Patton (who was well educated by the standards of his time) spelled his name Charlie,[1] but many sources, including record labels and his gravestone, use the spelling Charley.[2]

Biography

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Patton was born in Hinds County, Mississippi, near the town of Edwards, and lived most of his life in Sunflower County, in the Mississippi Delta. Most sources say he was born in April 1891, but the years 1881, 1885 and 1887 have also been suggested.[3] Patton's parentage and race also are uncertain. His parents were Bill and Annie Patton, but locally he was regarded as having been fathered by former slave Henderson Chatmon, several of whose children became popular Delta musicians, as solo performers and as members of groups such as the Mississippi Sheiks.[4] Biographer John Fahey described Patton as having "light skin and Caucasian features."[5]

Patton was considered African-American, but because of his light complexion there has been much speculation about his ancestry over the years. One theory endorsed by blues musician Howlin' Wolf was that Patton was Mexican or Cherokee. It is generally agreed that Patton was of Black, White, and Native heritage.[6] Some believe he had a Cherokee grandmother;[7] however, it is also widely asserted by historians that he was between one-quarter and one-half Choctaw.[8] In "Down the Dirt Road Blues", Patton sang of having gone to "the Nation" and "the Territo'", referring to the Cherokee Nation's 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.

In 1897, his family moved 100 miles (160 km) north to the 10,000-acre (40 km2) Dockery Plantation, a cotton farm and sawmill near Ruleville, Mississippi.[9] There, Patton developed his musical style, influenced by Henry Sloan, who had a new, unusual style of playing music, which is now considered an early form of the blues.[10] Patton performed at Dockery and nearby plantations and began an association with Willie Brown.[11] Tommy Johnson, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Robert Johnson, and Chester Burnett (who went on to gain fame in Chicago as Howlin' Wolf) also lived and performed in the area, and Patton served as a mentor to these younger performers.[12] Robert Palmer described 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".[13] He was popular across the southern United States and performed annually in Chicago; in 1934, he performed in New York City. Unlike most blues musicians of his time, who were often itinerant performers, Patton played scheduled engagements at plantations and taverns. He gained popularity for his showmanship, sometimes playing with the guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. Patton was a small man, about 5 feet 5 inches tall (1.65m),[14] but his gravelly voice was reputed to have been loud enough to carry 500 yards without amplification; a singing style which particularly influenced Howlin' Wolf (even though Jimmie Rodgers, the "singing brakeman", has to be cited there primarily).[15]

Patton settled in Holly Ridge, Mississippi, with his common-law wife and recording partner, Bertha Lee, in 1933. His relationship with Bertha Lee was a turbulent one. In early 1934, both of them were incarcerated in a Belzoni, Mississippi, jailhouse after a particularly harsh fight.[16] W. R. Calaway from Vocalion Records bailed the pair out of jail, and escorted them to New York City, for what would be Patton's final recording sessions (on January 30 and February 1).[17] They later returned to Holly Ridge and Lee saw Patton out in his final days.[17]

He died on the Heathman-Dedham plantation, near Indianola, on April 28, 1934, and is buried in Holly Ridge (both towns are located in Sunflower County). His death certificate states that he died of a mitral valve disorder.[18] The death certificate does not mention Bertha Lee; the only informant listed is one Willie Calvin.[19] Patton's death was not reported in the newspapers.[20]

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 epitaph.[citation needed]

Recognitions

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Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton, a boxed set collecting Patton's recorded works, was released in 2001. It also features recordings by many of his friends and associates. The set won three Grammy Awards in 2003, for Best Historical Album, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, and Best Album Notes.[21] Another collection of Patton recordings, The Definitive Charley Patton, was released by Catfish Records in 2001.[22]

Patton's song "Pony Blues" (1929) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2006.[23] The board annually selects recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

In 2017, Patton's story was told in the award-winning documentary series American Epic.[24] The film featured unseen film footage of Patton's contemporaries[25][26] and radically improved restorations of his 1920s and 1930s recordings.[27][28] Director Bernard MacMahon observed that "we had a strong feeling that the music of Patton and his peers reflected the local geography, and I was struck by the extent to which that belief was already shared by people who were living in the Delta back then, when it was a center of musical innovation. Listening to interviews with H. C. Speir, who owned a furniture store in Jackson in the 1920s and was responsible for virtually all the recordings of early Delta blues, he clearly linked the music to its surroundings."[29] Patton's story was profiled in the accompanying book, American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself.[30]

In May, 2021, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posthumously inducted Patton into the 2021 class as an Early Influence.[31]

Historical marker

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The Mississippi Blues Trail placed its first historical marker at the cemetery where Patton's grave is in Holly Ridge, Mississippi, in recognition of his legendary status as a bluesman and his importance in the development of the blues in Mississippi.[32] It placed another historic marker at the site where the Peavine Railroad intersects Highway 446 in Boyle, Mississippi, designating it as a second site related to Patton on the Mississippi Blues Trail. The marker commemorates the lyrics of Patton's "Peavine Blues", which refer to the branch of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad which ran south from Dockery Plantation to Boyle. The marker notes that riding on the railroad was a common theme of blues songs and was seen as a metaphor for travel and escape.[33]

Discography

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Paramount recordings

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Recording Date Recording Location Matrix Song Paramount Issue # Release Date
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15216 "Pony Blues" 12792-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15211 "Mississippi Boweavil Blues" 12805-B 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15214 "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues" 12805-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15215 "Down the Dirt Road Blues" 12854-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15217 "Banty Rooster Blues" 12792-B 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15221 "Pea Vine Blues" 12877-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15220 "It Won't Be Long" 12854-B 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15222 "Tom Rushen Blues" 12877-B 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15223 "A Spoonful Blues" 12869-B 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15224 "Shake It and Break It (But Don't Let It Fall Mama)" 12869-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15225 "Prayer of Death, Part 1" 12799-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15225A "Prayer of Death, Part 2" 12799-B 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15226 "Lord, I'm Discouraged" 12883-A 1929
June 14, 1929 Richmond, Indiana G15227 "I'm Going Home" 12883-B 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0038=1 "Elder Green Blues" ≠ 12972-A 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0041 "Mean Black Cat Blues" 12943-A 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0050 "Heart Like Railroad Steel" 12953-B 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0047 "Hammer Blues" 12998-A 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0051 "Some Happy Day" 13031-A 1930
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0049 "When Your Way Gets Dark" 12998-B 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0040 "Devil Sent the Rain" ≠ 13040-B 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0052 "You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die" 13031-B 1930
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0039 "Circle Round the Moon" ≠ 13040-A 1930
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0048 "Magnolia Blues" 12943-B 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0043 "Some Of These Days, I'll Be Gone" 13110-B 1930
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0077 "Mean Black Moan" ≠ 12953-A 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0044=3 "Green River Blues" 12972-A 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0061 "Jesus Is a Dying Bed Maker" ≠ 12986-A 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0037=1 "Going Move to Alabama" ≠ 13014-B 1930
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0059 "High Water Everywhere, Part 1" 12909-A 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0060 "High Water Everywhere, Part 2" 12909-B 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0062=2 "I Shall Not Be Moved" 12986-B 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0064=1 "Runnin' Wild Blues" ≠ 12924-B 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0063=2 "Rattlesnake Blues" ≠ 12924-A 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0057 "Jim Lee Blues, Part 1" 13080-A 1930
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0058 "Jim Lee Blues, Part 2" 13133-B 1930
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0042=1 "Frankie and Albert" 13110-A 1930
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0067 "Joe Kirby" ≠ 13133-A 1930
May 28, 1930 Grafton, Wisconsin L0432=1 "Moon Going Down" † 13014-A 1930
May 28, 1930 Grafton, Wisconsin L0433 "Bird Nest Bound" † 13070-A 1930
May 28, 1930 Grafton, Wisconsin L0431 "Some Summer Day" † 13080-B 1930
May 28, 1930 Grafton, Wisconsin L0429 "Dry Well Blues" † 13070-B 1930

≠ Vocals and guitar by Patton, with Henry "Son" Sims on fiddle.

† Willie Brown on accompanying guitar

1929; Henry "Son" Sims (vocals), Patton accompanying guitar
Recording Date Recording Location Matrix Song Paramount Issue # Release Date
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0046 "Come Back Corrinna" 12912-A 1929
November 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0045 "Farrell Blues" 12912-B 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0066 "Be True, Be True Blues" 12940-A 1929
December 1929 Grafton, Wisconsin L0065 "Tell Me Man Blues" 12940-B 1929

Vocalion recordings

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Recording Date Recording Location Matrix Song Vocalion Issue # Release Date
January 30, 1934 New York City 14723=1 "Jersey Bull Blues" 02782-A 1934
January 30, 1934 New York City 14725=2 "High Sheriff Blues" 02680-A 1934
January 30, 1934 New York City 14727=1 "Stone Pony Blues" 02680-B 1934
January 31, 1934 New York City 14739=1 "34 Blues" 02651-B 1934
January 31, 1934 New York City 14746 "Love My Stuff" 02782-B 1934
January 31, 1934 New York City 14747 "Revenue Man Blues" 02931-A 1934
February 1, 1934 New York City 14749 "Oh Death" ‡ 02904-A 1934
February 1, 1934 New York City 14749 "Troubled 'Bout My Mother" ‡ 02904-B 1934
February 1, 1934 New York City 14757 "Poor Me" 02651-A 1934
February 1, 1934 New York City 14758 "Hang It On the Wall" 02931-B 1934

‡ Vocal duet with Bertha Lee

1934; Bertha Lee (vocals), Patton accompanying guitar
Recording Date Recording Location Matrix Song Vocalion Issue # Release Date
January 31, 1934 New York City 14735=1 "Yellow Bee" 02650-A 1934
January 31, 1934 New York City 14736=1 "Mind Reader Blues" 02650-B 1934

Citations

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  1. ^ "• Charley Patton April 28, 1891 – April 28, 1934..." Iloveancestry.net. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "Charley Patton (1891–1934)". Findagrave.com. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  3. ^ Charley Patton Birthplace, Mississippi Blues Foundation.
  4. ^ Fahey 1970, p. 18.
  5. ^ Fahey 1970, p. 26.
  6. ^ "Mississippi Blues Trail". Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "New York Guitar Festival - Charley Patton Tribute". July 14, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  8. ^ Farber, Jim (July 19, 2017). "'Buried history': unearthing the influence of Native Americans on rock'n'roll". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  9. ^ Palmer 1981, p. 50.
  10. ^ Palmer 1981, pp. 51–52.
  11. ^ Palmer 1981, p. 58.
  12. ^ Palmer 1981, pp. 59, 61.
  13. ^ Palmer 1981, p. 133.
  14. ^ Wardlow 1998, p. 30.
  15. ^ David Dicaire (1999). Blues Singers. Jefferson NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0606-7.
  16. ^ Palmer 1981, p. 86-7.
  17. ^ a b Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 43. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  18. ^ Wardlow 1998, p. 98.
  19. ^ Palmer 1981, p. 88.
  20. ^ Palmer 1981, p. 89.
  21. ^ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 159. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
  22. ^ "The Definitive Charley Patton: Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  23. ^ "The National Recording Registry 2006: National Recording Preservation Board (Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. May 13, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  24. ^ "BBC - Arena: American Epic - Media Centre". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  25. ^ "Mule Calls and Outlaws: A Conversation With 'American Epic' Director Bernard MacMahon". Men's Journal. May 23, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  26. ^ "'American Epic' Recreates Music History With Elton John, Beck & More". Udiscovermusic.com. May 10, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  27. ^ "American Epic". Stereophile.com. June 12, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  28. ^ Lewis, Randy (May 14, 2017). "'American Epic' explores how a business crisis ignited a musical revolution". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  29. ^ Wald, McGourty & MacMahon 2017, p. 120.
  30. ^ MacMahon, Bernard; McGourty, Allison; Wald, Elijah (1970). American epic : when music gave America her voice (First Touchstone hardcover ed.). New York. ISBN 9781501135606. OCLC 935784467.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  31. ^ "Class of 2021 Inductees | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". Rockhall.com. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  32. ^ "Haley Barbour Unveils First Marker of Mississippi Blues Trail". Jazz News. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  33. ^ "Mississippi Blues Trail Markers to Be Unveiled in Bolivar County" (PDF). Mississippi Development Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2008.

References

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Relevant literature

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  • Sacré, Robert, ed. Charley Patton: Voice of the Mississippi Delta. 2018. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi
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