Charley Patton

b. 1891 in Bolton (Mississippi)

d. April 28th, 1934 in Indianola (Mississippi)

COMPLETE RECORDED WORKS

Document

Volume 1 (June - December 1929)

Volume 2 (December 1929)

Volume 3 (December 1929 - February 1934)

COMPLETE RECORDINGS

JSP

FOUNDER OF THE DELTA BLUES

Yazoo

KING OF THE DELTA BLUES

Yazoo

June 1929 - February 1934

Fils de Bill et d'Annie Patton (bien que son père ait pu être l'ancien esclave Henderson Chatmon), on ne connait pas grand chose de la vie de Charley Patton. Probablement d'ascendance Choctaw ou Cherokee, il vit à Ruleville où il est fortement influencé par Henry Sloan (1870-1948), le pionnier du Delta Blues. Tout en travaillant dans diverses plantations, Charley joue de sa guitare comme musicien itinérant avec Tommy Johnson, Chester Burnett (futur Howlin' Wolf), Willie Brown, Robert Johnson. Découvert par le talent-scout H.C. Speir, Charley est envoyé aux studios Gennett de Richmond pour graver ses premiers morceaux. Entre juin 1929 et mai 1930, Charley Patton enregistre donc ses premières faces pour Paramount : "Mississippi boweavil blues", "Down the dirt road blues", "Screamin' and hollerin' the blues", "Shake it and break it". Puis, il grave pour Vocalion en janvier - février 1934. Son oeuvre enregistrée s'arrête là. Fondateur du Delta Blues, il chante d'une voix rocailleuse et passionnée et son jeu de guitare très rythmique influencera des dizaines de bluesmen. Il semble s'installer à Holly Ridge (Mississippi) en 1933 avec sa femme Bertha Lee (leur relation orageuse dégénère souvent en bagarres pour lesquelles ils seront parfois incarcérés). Le label Document fut le premier à publier une intégrale de cette oeuvre primordiale. Ensuite, il y eut aussi le label Revenant qui proposa un luxueux coffret supervisé par John Fahey. Enfin plus récemment, JSP a également sorti un coffret de Charley Patton. Pour une sélection raisonnée de ses titres, il faut choisir les 2 CD Yazoo : "Founder of the Delta Blues" et "King of the Delta Blues", des disques indispensables à toute collection Blues.

Son of Bill and Annie Patton (although his father may have been the former slave Henderson Chatmon), little is known about Charley Patton's life. Probably of Choctaw or Cherokee descent, he lives in Ruleville where he is strongly influenced by Henry Sloan (1870-1948), the pioneer of the Delta Blues. While working in various plantations, Charley plays his guitar as a itinerant musician with Tommy Johnson, Chester Burnett (future Howlin' Wolf), Willie Brown, Robert Johnson. Discovered by the talent-scout H.C. Speir, Charley is sent to Gennett Studios in Richmond to cut his first songs. Between june 1929 and may 1930, Charley Patton recorded his first sides for Paramount : "Mississippi boweavil blues", "Down the dirt road blues", "Screamin' and hollerin' the blues", "Shake it and break it". Then, he records for Vocalion in january - february 1934. His recorded work stops there. Founder of Delta Blues, he sings with a rocky and passionate voice and his very rhythmic guitar playing will influence dozens of bluesmen. He seems to settle in Holly Ridge (Mississippi) in 1933 with his wife Bertha Lee (their stormy relationship often degenerates into fights for which they will sometimes be incarcerated). The Document label was the first to publish a complete serie of this primordial work. Then, there was also the Revenant label which offered a luxurious box-set supervised by John Fahey. Finally more recently, JSP also released a box-set of Charley Patton. For a reasoned selection of his titles, it is necessary choose the 2 Yazoo CDs : "Founder of the Delta Blues" and "King of the Delta Blues", essential records for any Blues collection.