Papa Charlie Jackson
Encyclopedia
Papa Charlie Jackson was an early American
blues
man and songster
. He played a hybrid banjo guitar
and ukulele
, his recording
career beginning in 1924. Much of his life remains a mystery, but it is probable that he was born in New Orleans
, Louisiana
, and died in Chicago
, Illinois
in 1938.
and medicine show
s. Jackson was playing all around Chicago in the early 1920s. He was noted for busking
at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market
. He soon recorded "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" and "Airy Man Blues", the first commercially successful, self-accompanied recordings, by a male singer of the blues. One of his following tracks, "Salty Dog Blues", became his most famous song. He soon began cutting records
with Ida Cox
, Hattie McDaniel
and Ma Rainey
.
The late 1920s saw Jackson reach the pinnacle of his career, recording "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It" (a two-part song) with Blind Blake
. A few more recordings followed before the 1930s, but then Jackson left Paramount Records
and moved to Okeh Records
, recording with Big Bill Broonzy
.
His importance in the history of the blues has been lessened by several factors. His flair for unique and irreverent material, similar to that of Charley Patton, along with his fast upbeat tempo which made his records sell, did not fit into the traditional blues category. His records were of poor quality since about half of his 66 sides were recorded with an acoustic horn, not a microphone
. The rest contained a lot of "hiss" since Paramount used inferior quality materials in their pressing of records. Also, his banjo was not viewed as a traditional blues instrument. However, no one has duplicated his unique performances.
by Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions
in 1964. "Loan Me Your Heart" appeared on The Wildparty Sheiks
eponymous album in 2002. The Carolina Chocolate Drops
recorded "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" on their Grammy Award
winning 2010 album, Genuine Negro Jig, and often played the song in interviews after its release.
In 1973 Jackson's song "Shake That Thing" was briefly featured in the Sanford and Son
episode, "The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection". Fred, played by Redd Foxx
, could be seen dancing and singing to it at the beginning of the episode.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
man and songster
Songster
The term "songster" is most often used to denote a wandering musician, usually but not always African American, of the type which first appeared in the late 19th century in the southern United States...
. He played a hybrid banjo guitar
Banjo guitar
The banjo guitar, is known by many names: guitar banjo, guitjo, banjar, banjitar or ganjo. It is a six-string banjo with the neck of a guitar. It is tuned like a guitar and can be played by guitarists who desire the sound of a banjo...
and ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
, his recording
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...
career beginning in 1924. Much of his life remains a mystery, but it is probable that he was born in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and died in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 1938.
Career
Born Charles Alexander Jackson, he originally performed in minstrelMinstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
and medicine show
Medicine show
Medicine shows were traveling horse and wagon teams which peddled "miracle cure" medications and other products between various entertainment acts. Their precise origins unknown, medicine shows were common in the 19th century United States...
s. Jackson was playing all around Chicago in the early 1920s. He was noted for busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market
Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...
. He soon recorded "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" and "Airy Man Blues", the first commercially successful, self-accompanied recordings, by a male singer of the blues. One of his following tracks, "Salty Dog Blues", became his most famous song. He soon began cutting records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
with Ida Cox
Ida Cox
Ida Cox was an African American singer and vaudeville performer, best known for her blues performances and recordings...
, Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
and Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
.
The late 1920s saw Jackson reach the pinnacle of his career, recording "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It" (a two-part song) with Blind Blake
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
. A few more recordings followed before the 1930s, but then Jackson left Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
and moved to Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
, recording with Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
.
His importance in the history of the blues has been lessened by several factors. His flair for unique and irreverent material, similar to that of Charley Patton, along with his fast upbeat tempo which made his records sell, did not fit into the traditional blues category. His records were of poor quality since about half of his 66 sides were recorded with an acoustic horn, not a microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. The rest contained a lot of "hiss" since Paramount used inferior quality materials in their pressing of records. Also, his banjo was not viewed as a traditional blues instrument. However, no one has duplicated his unique performances.
Legacy
Jackson's "Shake That Thing" was coveredCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions
Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions (album)
Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions is an American folk music album. It was recorded live by the band of the same name at the Top of the Tangent coffee house in Palo Alto, California in July, 1964, and released in 1999....
in 1964. "Loan Me Your Heart" appeared on The Wildparty Sheiks
The Wildparty Sheiks
The Wildparty Sheiks were a band based in New York City from approximately the mid-1990s until 2002. They specialized in music originally performed by African-American musicians or Caucasians in blackface in the minstrel genre and related works, primarily from the early twentieth century...
eponymous album in 2002. The Carolina Chocolate Drops
Carolina Chocolate Drops
The Carolina Chocolate Drops is an old-time string band from Durham, North Carolina, United States. Its 2010 album, Genuine Negro Jig, won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, and was number 9 in FRoots magazine's top 10 albums of 2010.The Drops are one...
recorded "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" on their Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning 2010 album, Genuine Negro Jig, and often played the song in interviews after its release.
In 1973 Jackson's song "Shake That Thing" was briefly featured in the Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
episode, "The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection". Fred, played by Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
, could be seen dancing and singing to it at the beginning of the episode.
See also
- Four Eleven Forty FourFour Eleven Forty FourFour Eleven Forty Four or 4-11-44 is a phrase that has appeared repeatedly in popular music and other popular culture, either as a reference to numbers allegedly chosen commonly by poor African Americans while gambling, or to the combination of width and length of a penis, through multiplication of...
- List of banjo players
- List of blues musicians
- List of country blues musicians
- Music of LouisianaMusic of LouisianaThe music of Louisiana can be divided into four general regions. Southwest Louisiana, , Southern Louisiana, west of New Orleans the southeast, the region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues and Afro-Caribbean rhythms...