Sam Chatmon was a Delta blues

Delta blues

The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...

 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...

 and singer. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks

Mississippi Sheiks

The Mississippi Sheiks were a popular and influential guitar and fiddle group of the 1930s. They were notable mostly for playing country blues, but were adept at many styles of United States popular music of the time, and their records were bought by both black and white audiences.In 2004, they...

 and may have been Charlie Patton

Charlie Patton

Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...

's half brother.

Life and career

Chatmon was born in Bolton

Bolton, Mississippi

Bolton is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 629 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Bolton is located at ....

, Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. Chatmon's family was well known in Mississippi for their musical talents; Chatmon was a member of the family's string band when he was young. He performed on a regular basis for white audiences in the 1900s.

The Chatmon band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 played rag

Ragtime

Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...

s, ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

s, and popular dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 tunes. Two of Sam's brothers, fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

r Lonnie Chatmon and guitarist Bo Carter

Bo Carter

Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon was an American early blues musician. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks in concerts, and on a few of their recordings...

, performed with guitarist Walter Vinson

Walter Vinson

Walter Vinson was an American Memphis blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks, worked with Bo Chatmon and his brothers, and co-wrote the blues standard, "Sitting on Top of the World"...

 as the Mississippi Sheiks.

Chatmon played the banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

, mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

, and harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

 in addition to the guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

. He performed at parties and on street corners throughout Mississippi for small pay and tips. In the 1930s he 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...

 both with the Sheiks, as well as with sibling

Sibling

Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...

 Lonnie as the Chatman Brothers.

Chatmon moved to Hollandale, Mississippi

Hollandale, Mississippi

Hollandale is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,437 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated in 1890 and almost totally destroyed by fire in February 1904.-Geography:...

 in the early 1940s and worked on plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

s in Hollandale. He was re-discovered in 1960 and started a new chapter of his career as folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

-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...

 artist

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

. In the same year Chatmon recorded for the Arhoolie

Arhoolie Records

Arhoolie Records is a small record label run by Chris Strachwitz. The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and publish previously obscure "down home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin and Bill Gaither...

 record 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,...

. He toured extensively during the 1960s and 1970s. He played many of the largest and best-known folk festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

s, including the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

 Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 in 1972, the Mariposa Fest in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 in 1974, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...

 in 1976.

A headstone memorial to Chatmon with the inscription "Sitting on top of the World" was paid for by Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

 through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund

Mt. Zion Memorial Fund

The Mt. Zion Memorial Fund is a Mississippi non-profit corporation formed in 1989 and named after the 101 year old Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Morgan City, Mississippi...

 and placed in Sanders Memorial Cemetery, Hollandale, Mississippi

Hollandale, Mississippi

Hollandale is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,437 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated in 1890 and almost totally destroyed by fire in February 1904.-Geography:...

 on March 14, 1998 at a large ceremomy held at the Hollandale Municipal Building, celebrated by the Mayor and members of the City Council of Hollandale as well as over 100 attendees.

Timeline

• 1897 - Born in Bolton, Mississippi
• 1930 - Recorded with the Sheiks, Lonnie and the Chatman Brothers
• 1940 - Moved to Hollandale, Mississippi, to work on plantations
• 1960 - Rediscovered as a folk-blues artist, he also recorded for the Arhoolie Label
• 1970 - Performed with Fingers Taylor on The Blues Caravan
• 1972 - Played many of his largest and best-known folk festivals
• 1974 - Played the Mariposa Fest in Toronto
• 1976 - Played the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
• 1983 - Died

External links

• Illustrated Sam Chatmon discography
• [ Sam Chatmon biography at Allmusic]
• The Land Where the Blues Began DVD 1978, Alan Lomax
  Alan Lomax
  Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
  
  /Worth - Long documentary that has a section on Sam Chatmon plus eight complete song performances.
• {http://mtzionmemorialfund.org/site/memorials/sam-chatmon/} Mount Zion memorial Fund