Decades before Jimi Hendrix was playing his guitar behind his head, Patton was doing the same, among other flashy moves. As blues scholar Paul Oliver attests, “Charley Patton is without question one of the most impressive and important of bluesmen on record.” Others have referred to him as “The First Rock’n’Roller.”Ī supremely confident artist, Patton was a consummate showman, who, despite his small stature, blew crowds away with his guitar skills and booming, husky voice. Artists had to give audiences a show, and that’s what Patton did better than anyone else. In Patton’s day, there was a degree of competition among Delta musicians, as they made their living by playing shows. Why did Charley Patton make such an impression with his music? Within a few years, Patton had become a central figure in the local music scene and served as a mentor to many of the area’s budding bluesmen, including such future legends as Robert Johnson, Fiddlin’ Joe Martin, Howlin’ Wolf, Tommy Johnson, Son House, and Roebuck “Pops” Staples. It is also considered to be the birthplace of Delta blues, thanks in large part to Charley Patton.Īs a teenager, Patton fell under the tutelage of musician Henry Sloan, who worked as a day laborer at Dockery and encouraged the young man to develop his talents. In local circles, it was popularly believed that Charley’s biological father was Henderson Chatmon, a formerly enslaved man who fathered several popular musicians in the area (including members of the famed Missippi Sheiks).Īt the turn of the century, the Pattons relocated to Dockery Plantation – a massive cotton plantation that employed thousands of workers. Charley Patton’s early lifeĪccording to most sources, Charley Patton was born in Hinds County, Mississippi on or around April 22, 1891, to Bill and Annie Patton. Although Patton’s life was brief – he was nearly 40 years old when he made his first recording and died just a few years later – his music and legacy have endured for a century. In the 1920s and 30s, Patton literally strode across the Delta and beyond, wowing fans and inspiring other musicians with his incredible showmanship and powerful songs. Charley Patton’s legend strides across the Delta like no other bluesman of his generation.
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