Born 130 years ago in the heart of Mississippi, Charlie Patton (c.
1891-1934) is considered by many to be a father of the Delta blues. With
his bullish baritone voice and his fluid slide guitar touch, Patton
established songs like "Pony Blues," "A Spoonful Blues," and "High Water
Everywhere" in the blues lexicon and, through his imitators, in American
music. But over the decades, his contributions to blues music have been
overshadowed in popularity by those of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and
other mid-century bluesmen and women who've experienced a resurgence in
their music. King of the Delta Blues Singers, originally published in
1988, began a small renaissance in blues and Patton research and set a
new scholarly precedent touching even the spelling his name--which, to
Patton himself, was "Charlie," not the "Charley" of the early records.
And now, with the wide availability of Patton's complete discography in
multiple formats, this revised second edition brings the legend of
Charlie Patton into a clarity of detail that was previously impossible.
Gayle Dean Wardlow and the late Stephen Calt (1946-2010) originally
probed Patton's career in the Mississippi Delta, his early performances
and recordings, and his musical legacy that continues to influence
today's guitarists and performers, including such musicians as Jack
White and Larkin Poe. For this second edition, Wardlow and Edward Komara
refined the text and rewrote major sections, updating them with new
scholarship on Patton and Delta blues. And finally, Komara has added a
new afterword bringing Patton into the contemporary blues conversation
and introducing numerous musical examples for the modern researcher and
musician.
The second edition of King of the Delta Blues Singers will further
cement Patton's legacy among important blues musicians, and it will be
of interest to anyone absorbed in the beginnings of the Delta blues and
music biographies.
