Robert Petway
Encyclopedia
Robert Petway was an African-American blues
singer and guitarist.
Very little is known about Robert Petway. His birth place is speculated to have been at or near J.F. Sligh Farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi
, birth place of his close friend and fellow bluesman Tommy McClennan
. His birth date is guessed at 1908, and the date and even the occurrence of his death is unknown. There is only one known picture of Petway, a publicity photo from 1941. He only recorded 16 songs, but he is said to have been an influence on many notable blues and rock musicians, including John Lee Hooker
, Muddy Waters
, and Jimi Hendrix
.
, Petway traveled around as a musician, playing at parties, roadhouses
, and other venues available. Petway and McClennan often travelled and performed together. After McClennan had been in Chicago
for a few years, Petway travelled north to join him and cut records, as did Georgia's Frank Edwards
who met them in Mississippi.
", the song from which the rock group The Rolling Stones
chose their band name. There is debate on whether Petway deserves any credit for the Muddy Waters song, mostly stemming from the fact that blues musicians often borrow lines and verses from each other and often use common symbols and phrases that can not be traced back to one source. There is even some speculation that Tommy McClennan wrote the version that Petway recorded. Max Haymes has written a well-researched article, "Catfish Blues (Origins of a Blues)" on the topic, available at earlyblues.com. When David "Honeyboy" Edwards, a follower of Petway, was asked if Petway wrote the song, he replied, "He just made that song up and used to play it at them old country dances. He just made it up and kept it in his head."
on October 18, 1907, and died in Chicago on May 30, 1978.
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...
singer and guitarist.
Very little is known about Robert Petway. His birth place is speculated to have been at or near J.F. Sligh Farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
, birth place of his close friend and fellow bluesman Tommy McClennan
Tommy McClennan
Tommy McClennan was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist.-Life and career:McClennan was born on a farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi, United States, and grew up in the town...
. His birth date is guessed at 1908, and the date and even the occurrence of his death is unknown. There is only one known picture of Petway, a publicity photo from 1941. He only recorded 16 songs, but he is said to have been an influence on many notable blues and rock musicians, including John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
Career
Like many bluesmen from the Mississippi DeltaMississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
, Petway traveled around as a musician, playing at parties, roadhouses
Roadhouse (facility)
A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...
, and other venues available. Petway and McClennan often travelled and performed together. After McClennan had been in Chicago
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
for a few years, Petway travelled north to join him and cut records, as did Georgia's Frank Edwards
Frank Edwards (blues musician)
Frank Edwards was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player and singer. He was variously billed as Mr. Frank, Black Frank and Mr. Cleanhead.Edwards was born in Washington, Georgia....
who met them in Mississippi.
"Catfish Blues"/"Rollin' Stone"
One of Petway's most influential songs is "Catfish Blues", which he recorded in 1941. Muddy Waters used the lyrics and style of "Catfish Blues" for his first single "Rollin' StoneRollin' Stone
"Rollin' Stone" is a blues song recorded by Muddy Waters in 1950. It is Waters' interpretation of "Catfish Blues", a traditional blues that dates back to 1920s Mississippi...
", the song from which the rock group The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
chose their band name. There is debate on whether Petway deserves any credit for the Muddy Waters song, mostly stemming from the fact that blues musicians often borrow lines and verses from each other and often use common symbols and phrases that can not be traced back to one source. There is even some speculation that Tommy McClennan wrote the version that Petway recorded. Max Haymes has written a well-researched article, "Catfish Blues (Origins of a Blues)" on the topic, available at earlyblues.com. When David "Honeyboy" Edwards, a follower of Petway, was asked if Petway wrote the song, he replied, "He just made that song up and used to play it at them old country dances. He just made it up and kept it in his head."
Second verse of "Catfish Blues"
What if I were a catfish, mama
I said swimmin’ deep down in, deep blue sea
Have these gals now, sweet mama, settin’ out,
Settin’ out hooks for me, settin’ out hook for me
Settin’ out hook for me, settin’ out hook for me
Settin’ out hook for me, settin’ out hook for me
First verse of "Rollin' Stone"
Well, I wish I was a catfish,
swimmin in a oh, deep, blue sea
I would have all you good lookin women,
fishin, fishin after me
Sure 'nough, a-after me
Sure 'nough, a-after me
Oh 'nough, oh 'nough, sure 'nough
Death/disappearance
There is no record, official or unofficial, of Petway's death. As such, he may still be alive, though he would be roughly 103 years old. The last record of his public life is a quote from Honeyboy Edwards: "nobody I know heard what become of him." Blues researcher Jason Rewald has suggested, on the basis of social security records, that Petway may in fact have been born in Gee's Bend, AlabamaGee's Bend, Alabama
Boykin, also known as Gee's Bend, is an African American majority community and census-designated place in a large bend of the Alabama River in Wilcox County, Alabama. As of the 2010 census, its population was 275...
on October 18, 1907, and died in Chicago on May 30, 1978.
Original 78's (in chronological order)
| First Session, Recorded on March 28, 1941 | |
| Catalogue # | Title |
|---|---|
| Bluebird B8726 | "Rockin' Chair Blues" / "Let Me Be Your Boss" |
| Bluebird B8756 | "Sleepy Woman Blues" / "Don't Go Down Baby" |
| Bluebird B8786 | "My Little Girl" / "Left My Baby Crying" |
| Bluebird B8838 | "Catfish Blues" / "Ride 'Em On Down Shake 'Em on Down "Shake 'Em on Down" is a country-style blues song recorded by Bukka White in 1937. It is his best-known song and "became part of the repertoire of Chicago blues".-Background:... " |
| Second Session, Recorded on February 20, 1942 | |
| Catalogue # | Title |
| Bluebird B8987 | "Boogie Woogie Woman" / "Hollow Log Blues" |
| Bluebird B9008 | "Bertha Lee Blues" / "In The Evening" |
| Bluebird B9036 | "My Baby Left Me" / "Cotton Pickin' Blues" |
| Bluebird unissued | "Hard Working Woman" / "Ar'nt Nobody's Fool" |
External links
- [ Robert Petway] at Allmusic
- Catfish Blues (Origins of a Blues) By Max Haymes