Baby Tate
Encyclopedia
Baby Tate was an American
Piedmont blues
guitarist
, who in a sporadic career spanning five decades, worked variously with guitarists Blind Boy Fuller
, Pink Anderson
, and Peg Leg Sam
. His playing style was influenced by Blind Blake
, Buddy Moss
, Blind Boy Fuller
, Josh White
, and Willie Walker
, and to some extent Lightnin' Hopkins
.
, Georgia
, he was raised in Greenville
, South Carolina
. In his adolescence
, Tate started performing locally, after seeing Blind Blake
in Elberton. Tate later formed a trio
with Joe Walker (the brother of Willie Walker) and Roosevelt "Baby" Brooks and, up to 1932, played in the local area. As The Carolina Blackbirds, they appeared on the radio station
, WFBC, broadcasting from The Jack Tar Hotel, but for the rest of the 1930s worked for a living, mainly as a mason.
Baby Tate served in the United States Army
infantry during World War II
in the south of England, and did not return to the Spartanburg/Greenville club
circuit until 1946. Nevertheless, in 1950 Tate claimed to have recorded
several (unreleased) tracks for the Kapp
label
. Relocating to Spartanburg, South Carolina
, he performed solo before forming an occasional duo with Pink Anderson
; a working relationship that endured through to the 1970s.
Tate released his only album
, Blues of Baby Tate:See What You Done Done, in 1962, and twelve months later appeared in Sam Charters' documentary film
The Blues. Throughout the 1960s Tate performed irregularly across the US
. Utilising another harmonica player, Peg Leg Sam
, Tate recorded around forty tracks in August and December 1970 for Peter B. Lowry
, but the proposed album remained unreleased once Tate had unexpectedly died. He appeared at a concert at the State University of New York at New Paltz
, New York
as a result of Lowry's efforts in 1972.
Tate died from the effects of a heart attack
, in the VA Hospital
in Columbia, South Carolina
, in August 1972, at the age of 56.
In January 2011, Baby Tate was nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Blues Song category for "See What You Done".
Smithsonian Folkways
released a compilation album
on February 16, 2010, titled Classic Appalachian Blues. It featured the Baby Tate number, "See What You Done Done."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, who in a sporadic career spanning five decades, worked variously with guitarists Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller was an American blues guitarist and vocalist. He was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists with rural Black Americans, a group that also included Blind Blake, Josh White, and Buddy Moss.-Life and career:Fulton Allen was born in Wadesboro, North Carolina,...
, Pink Anderson
Pink Anderson
"Pink" Anderson was a blues singer and guitarist, born in Laurens, South Carolina.-Life and career:After being raised in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, he joined Dr...
, and Peg Leg Sam
Peg Leg Sam
Peg Leg Sam was an American country blues harmonicist, singer and comedian. He recorded "Fox Chase" and "John Henry", and worked in medicine shows...
. His playing style was influenced by Blind Blake
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
, Buddy Moss
Buddy Moss
Eugene "Buddy" Moss was, in the estimation of many blues scholars, one of two the most influential East Coast blues guitarists to record in the period between Blind Blake's final sessions in 1932 and Blind Boy Fuller's debut in 1935...
, Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller was an American blues guitarist and vocalist. He was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists with rural Black Americans, a group that also included Blind Blake, Josh White, and Buddy Moss.-Life and career:Fulton Allen was born in Wadesboro, North Carolina,...
, Josh White
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
, and Willie Walker
Willie Walker
This article is about the New Zealand rugby player. For the DC Comics character of the same name, see Black Racer.Willie Walker is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, currently playing in the Guinness Premiership for Worcester Warriors...
, and to some extent Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
.
Biography
Born Charles Henry Tate in ElbertonElberton, Georgia
Elberton is the largest city in Elbert County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,743 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Elbert County and serves as a hub for industry and small business in Northeast Georgia...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, he was raised in Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. In his adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, Tate started performing locally, after seeing Blind Blake
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
in Elberton. Tate later formed a trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
with Joe Walker (the brother of Willie Walker) and Roosevelt "Baby" Brooks and, up to 1932, played in the local area. As The Carolina Blackbirds, they appeared on the radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, WFBC, broadcasting from The Jack Tar Hotel, but for the rest of the 1930s worked for a living, mainly as a mason.
Baby Tate served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
infantry during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the south of England, and did not return to the Spartanburg/Greenville club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
circuit until 1946. Nevertheless, in 1950 Tate claimed to have recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
several (unreleased) tracks for the Kapp
Kapp Records
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp . David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Relocating to Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
, he performed solo before forming an occasional duo with Pink Anderson
Pink Anderson
"Pink" Anderson was a blues singer and guitarist, born in Laurens, South Carolina.-Life and career:After being raised in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, he joined Dr...
; a working relationship that endured through to the 1970s.
Tate released his only album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Blues of Baby Tate:See What You Done Done, in 1962, and twelve months later appeared in Sam Charters' documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The Blues. Throughout the 1960s Tate performed irregularly across the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Utilising another harmonica player, Peg Leg Sam
Peg Leg Sam
Peg Leg Sam was an American country blues harmonicist, singer and comedian. He recorded "Fox Chase" and "John Henry", and worked in medicine shows...
, Tate recorded around forty tracks in August and December 1970 for Peter B. Lowry
Peter B. Lowry
Peter B. Lowry , is a folklorist, writer, record producer, ethnomusicologist, historian, photographer, and teacher on popular music in his seventies specializing in blues, and jazz with a primary focus on the Piedmont blues of the south-eastern United States.-Ethnomusicological Field Research:Mr...
, but the proposed album remained unreleased once Tate had unexpectedly died. He appeared at a concert at the State University of New York at New Paltz
State University of New York at New Paltz
The State University of New York at New Paltz, known as SUNY New Paltz for short, is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It was founded in 1828 as the School for teaching of classics. In 1885, the New Paltz Normal and Training School was established as a school to prepare teachers for the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
as a result of Lowry's efforts in 1972.
Tate died from the effects of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, in the VA Hospital
Veterans Health Administration
The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA outpatient clinics,...
in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, in August 1972, at the age of 56.
In January 2011, Baby Tate was nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Blues Song category for "See What You Done".
Smithsonian Folkways
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
released a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
on February 16, 2010, titled Classic Appalachian Blues. It featured the Baby Tate number, "See What You Done Done."
Albums
- Blues of Baby Tate: See What You Done Done (1962) - Prestige/BluesvilleBluesville RecordsBluesville Records is a subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in the 1960s with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience...
, CD reissue Origin Blues Classics (OBC) (1995)
Singles
- "See What You Done Done" b/w "Late In The Evening" (1974 - recorded 1970) - Trix RecordsTrix RecordsTrix Records was a record label set up in 1972 by folklorist Peter B. Lowry.It lasted just under a decade as an active label dealing mainly with Piedmont blues artists from the Southeastern states , together with the anthology Detroit After Hours, a collection of Detroit piano players...