Some Blues You Just have to Hear Series - Charlie Patton

In Southern Mississippi in April 1891, Charlie Patton was born to sharecropper parents. When he was nine years old his family moved to the Will Dockery Plantation located in the Delta. The Mississippi Delta is a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, the Mississippi River on the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The Delta is famous for its fertile soil and extreme poverty making it the ideal location for sharecroppers.

Henry Sloan was an African American musician who moved to the Delta area around the same time as the Patton’s. Although Sloan is considered one of the earliest performers in the history of Delta Blues he never recorded any music. His claim to fame is that he tutored Charlie Patton on the guitar in the ways of the blues. Charlie dogged his every step and played the blues with him for several years.

It was said that Patton defined the life of a bluesman. He had an earthy voice many considered course and it was attributed to hard times and harder living. He drank and smoked excessively. It’s not known for sure but it thought that he had eight wives. He moved around a lot and never stayed in one spot long. He even spent a short time in jail.

Patton made his first recording in June of 1929 for the Paramount label. He recorded fourteen songs for them, all recorded on 78’s. His first session was so successful that he was invited back just four months later and recorded an additional twenty eight tunes.

He played the slide guitar too making it a popular instrument in the playing of the blues. Patton is at the top of the list in blues history. He influenced the style of the blues and the performers in the succeeding generation. Performers that can trace their blues style back to Patton include Son House, Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson. It’s even been suggested that Patton may have been the first rock and roller. He was a real ham while performing on stage, playing the guitar loud and rough while holding it between his knees or behind his back. He jumped around, tapping the body of the guitar or using the back of his guitar as a drum.

In February of 1934, Patton had his last recording session in New York City. That was just two months before his death on April 28, 1934. He is buried in Holly Ridge, Mississippi and his major role in developing the Delta Blues is noted on his tomb stone. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 1980.