Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form, and thus with an independent existence. (...) Typography remains a source of true delight, true knowledge, true surprise.

Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style

Peetie Wheatstraw, the High Sheriff from Hell

July 2, 2007

blues, bluesmen

8 comments

Well, maybe I should write sumffin about Peetie Wheatstraw’s / William Bunch’s life, but it would be useless, cause the little information available is already gathered in a good wikipedia entry. The only thing I could add is about the Buick that caused Peetie’s death: it was a gift Peetie received from a record company (Decca, if I’m not misstaken); it was an usual practice that record companies offered some 700$ car to bluesmen, instead of paying them the due percent of sales. OK, I’ll assume you have already read the wikipedia entry.
I won’t analyse any song for now; as a mater of fact, today I’ve been playing, exceptionally, Barbecue Bob (I also played in open D, which is also very rare), and I’m not quite ready to enter a brand new universe. I’ll write instead about two Peetie Wheatstraw verses; they’re from the “Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp no 2″, which Wheatstraw recorded in Chicago (March 26, 1937) for Decca. Unfortunately I’m not allowed to post the song, but here’s a sample. (NB. Peetie – vocals & piano – recorded this song with Lonnie Johnson). Finally, if you wana listen to other Peetie Wheatstraw blues, I found some on Soundpedia.
Now here’s the two verses:

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The Devil’s Son-in-Law

June 30, 2007

bluesmen, stories

5 comments

As we all know, da Devil had a daughter. She was a Black gal, very beautiful and ready to satisfy a man’s soul. But she usta drink moonshine and whiskey all nite lon’, while lissenin’ to da Devil’s music. By en by, she got lonely, cause all da friends-girls she had had had da notion she wuz very mean en meant no good.

En she wuz alwayz sad en lonesome en she would alwayz be on her faddah’s trail (well, i mean tail), cause the only satisfaction she could git wuz his music.

En one day, when da Devil felt he couldn’t stan’ no mo’ his daughta on his tail, he thought to himself he wuz bound to git her married. En da Devil married his daughta to Peetie Wheatstraw.

Well, I’ll tell you ’bout Peetie Wheatstraw in the next post, cause one will git unlucky ef he writes dis kinna sumffins by daytime.

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Willie Brown, bluesman and friend

June 23, 2007

blues guitar, bluesmen, delta blues

6 comments

Willie Brown spent all his life (August, 6,1900, Clarcksdale, MS – December, 30,1952, Tunica, MS) in the Delta. He played with Charlie Patton and Son House and recorded by himself only a few (disputed) songs. Brown’s style is very sofisticated, inspired by the rythmic versatility of Charlie Patton and influenced by Son House’s stunning use of syncopes. As a matter of fact, he accompanied Son House from the early 30s to the late 40s.
Willie Brown is especilly known for being referred to in the famous Robert Johnson Crossroad Blues (“my friend-boy Willie Brown”) – some day, baby, I gonna write about that song. It is not quite sure if Johnson referred to him in his verse, but this is the most reliable hypothesis. Anyway, it is also known that the person who had to be notified in the occasion of Johnson’s death was called Willie Brown. At the time, in the Delta, there were at least two bluesmen having this name and probably thousands of other people, but this is a beautiful blues story which I want to believe in. If it is true, it might give us a hint in the attempt of understanding the character.
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