Patton, Charley

Patton, Charley April 1891; Edwards, MS – 28 April 1934; Heathman Plantation near Indianola, MS Charley (or Charlie) Patton was the first Mississippi blues performer to commit a significant body of music to recordings. His music has become emblematic of the genre called Delta Blues , representing the black American experience during the Jim Crow era in one of the country’s most racially divided places. It is a voice from an underclass that struggled to survive systematic exploitation, droughts…