@Mowgli - Good to see Charley Patton receive some recognition. He seems to be one of those forgotten or overlooked talents where fans of the Delta Blues genre tend to focus on Robert Johnson. The story from historians goes – Johnson, just a young kid at the time, would hang out at the popular juke joints constantly bugging Patton and even Son House to teach him how to play. Both Patton and House became frustrated with Johnson and told him to bugger off. Johnson left, returning about a year later as a talented player. This is where the story of him selling his soul at the cross roads came from. So technically without Patton, we wouldn’t have Johnson
Charley was a bit of an odd ball, at only 5’ 5” it was said he could sing so loud you could hear him clearly a ¼ mile away. Bit of a rock n’ roller, for lack of better terminology, decades before the genre was even coined. He would dance and thrash around, almost possessed like, playing the guitar with his teeth and behind his head and sometimes even smashing it. Alcoholic and constantly fighting, died at a very young age of 34.
If you can get past the poor fidelity of his recordings it is IMO some of the best blues ever written. To this date he still influences many musicians.
Charley was a bit of an odd ball, at only 5’ 5” it was said he could sing so loud you could hear him clearly a ¼ mile away. Bit of a rock n’ roller, for lack of better terminology, decades before the genre was even coined. He would dance and thrash around, almost possessed like, playing the guitar with his teeth and behind his head and sometimes even smashing it. Alcoholic and constantly fighting, died at a very young age of 34.
If you can get past the poor fidelity of his recordings it is IMO some of the best blues ever written. To this date he still influences many musicians.
