What do you think?
Rate this book
Charley Patton: Expanded Edition
The Father of the Delta Blues, Charley Patton (1891–1934) was born and raised around Mississippi's cotton plantations. During the 1920s, he was the first of the region's great stars, performing for packed houses throughout the South and making popular recordings in New York City. His music — ranging from blues and ballads to ragtime and gospel — is distinctive for his gravelly, high-energy singing and the propulsive beat of his guitar. Patton had a lively stage presence, originating many of the guitar-playing antics now associated with Jimi Hendrix and other latter-day musicians. His influence, among both his contemporaries and subsequent blues artists, is incalculable. Noted guitarist John Fahey presents a textual and musicological examination of Patton's music. This new edition of the original 1970 publication is enhanced by Fahey's notes from the Grammy-winning, out-of-print box set Screamin' and Hollerin' the The Worlds of Charley Patton. Available for the first time outside the set, Fahey's reconsideration of Patton's music offers fresh perspectives and key corrections of the historical record.
131 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1970
11 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 7, 2016
Apparently, while John Fahey was producing timeless "American Primitive" gems throughout the 60's and 70's he was also writing this book for his master's thesis at UCLA. The book sells for almost $2,000 in hardcover, but thanks to the mighty American library system, I was able to get the Charley Patton box set (now out of print), "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues" (just take a look at this set: http://revenantrecords.com/musics/pro.... This is probably the most beautiful, comprehensive box set I've ever seen or held in my hands). Fahey knew how to write a great narrative (see How Bluegrass Destroyed My Life or Vampire Vultures for proof), but this study of Patton is almost purely academic. He does a great job of uncovering lost facts about Patton and the times he lived in through primary sources - this book was published in 1970, so he was actually able to interview siblings and even Patton's last wife! The second half of this book consists of some pretty heavy technical analysis of Patton's guitar playing techniques, lyrical formats, and subject matter. This portion of the book was frequently over my head. Overall, this book is really for those interested in learning more about one of the originators of blues (Patton taught Son House, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf the ropes), but the casual reader would probably be bored to tears. I enjoyed it, at least the parts I understood.
January 29, 2008
A scholarly study of a legend by a legend in his ownright... includes transcriptions of all known Patton songs
October 24, 2011
A biography and extremely technical analysis of the guitar transcriptions of, if not the founder of the Delta Blues, arguably the best practioner of the Delta Blues, written by the creator of American Primitive Guitar. The future creation of this book was often cited by clerics during the Middle Ages as one of several proofs of the existence of a benevolent God. The fact that the book now sells for over $140 on Alibris is proof that capitalism (perhaps better known in the Middle Ages as pure avarice)is alive and well. Of course, if you are a personal friend of mine, I will happily lend it to you. Or better yet, the book is included in the cd box set released by John Fahey's Revenant label: "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton," which is the best cd box set ever released.
January 20, 2019
So very technical....so very
Being written in 1970 the information is pretty sparse. Not much has came in the ensuing 40+ years but this is more of an oral than a book
Oh well glad I read it
Being written in 1970 the information is pretty sparse. Not much has came in the ensuing 40+ years but this is more of an oral than a book
Oh well glad I read it
September 10, 2018
Five stars for a couple reasons.
Relatively little is known about Patton, yet Fahey paints a brilliant backdrop with which to lay the rough sketch of Charley's rambunctious musical life....bringing his subject to life in a way that others have not.
Most important, Fahey's groundbreaking research into the musical mode and scale, as well as the lyrical context is a must-read for anyone that seeks to understand Country Blues. Aside, I wish I could read music, as Fahey's and 'Blind Owl' Al Wilson's (of Canned Heat fame) musical research unearths some really fascinating discoveries.
Arguably, Patton is the most important figure in pre-war Blues. His influence can be heard in almost any American genre, and he could have been, quite possibly, the first rock and roll star to walk this earth.
Relatively little is known about Patton, yet Fahey paints a brilliant backdrop with which to lay the rough sketch of Charley's rambunctious musical life....bringing his subject to life in a way that others have not.
Most important, Fahey's groundbreaking research into the musical mode and scale, as well as the lyrical context is a must-read for anyone that seeks to understand Country Blues. Aside, I wish I could read music, as Fahey's and 'Blind Owl' Al Wilson's (of Canned Heat fame) musical research unearths some really fascinating discoveries.
Arguably, Patton is the most important figure in pre-war Blues. His influence can be heard in almost any American genre, and he could have been, quite possibly, the first rock and roll star to walk this earth.
January 21, 2021
So, this is a bit of a cheat. I've already read Fahey's book on Patton, but this expanded edition includes his liner notes from Revenant's box set (which I think Fahey was at least partially behind), Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton. The original text was from Fahey's 1970 book and the liner notes make for an interesting compare/contrast. Fahey clarifies some things and addresses some critiques of Patton's life and body of work. I only wished I owned the original box set.
February 13, 2025
It was an ok read, the seccond half of the book though slightly interesting tried to give tenurous links to Patton. But worth the read.
Read
March 6, 2025I’ve become obsessed with the music of Charley Patton after buying one of his CD compilations earlier this year. For those unaware, Patton was a Delta blues performer, one of the earliest and most influential from the region. There is so much raw emotion in his songs, and they remain haunting nearly a century later. I’m a blues fan, having grown up listening to my parents’ blues albums, but I’d never heard Patton’s music (or much pre-war blues outside of Robert Johnson) until that CD. Naturally I wanted to find out more about the guy, so I looked to the library for help. This is the first book on Patton I found, written by John Fahey, another musician I admire. It was originally published in 1970 then expanded after being included in the (now absurdly expensive) Patton box set from 2001. Whichever edition you read, this is a comprehensive, insightful document.
After an introduction about the blues and a brief biography of Patton, Fahey delves in to the meat of the book: musical analysis of Patton’s songs. I’ll say this right now - if you’re not a musician, this will be gibberish to you. Fahey gets extremely technical, using music theory terms all over the place. As a musician and music nerd, I loved Fahey’s obsessive analysis and found myself recalling the songs as I read about them, figuring out in my head how they fit with what Fahey was saying. He analyzes Patton’s guitar tunings, song structures, types of songs, and lyrics with charts, lists, and more. I like how Fahey categorizes the songs: blues, religious, rags, Tin Pan Alley, and “problematical” songs (i.e. ones that don’t fit into a category). It shows the breadth of Patton’s influences and the type of music he was perhaps performing years before his first recording session in 1929. Fahey’s analysis of the blues is especially illuminating; he goes into flatted third and sevenths, as well as the notes that don’t appear in Patton’s blues songs. Finally, the book contains transcriptions of lyrics to nearly every song. This is useful because it’s sometimes difficult to make out what Patton is saying (though I love his voice). Basically, everything you need to know about Patton’s recorded music is contained here. It’s a supreme feat of nerdy musical analysis.
Elsewhere, Fahey draws some interesting conclusions about Patton’s life. He notes that while Patton was musically proficient, even genius, he was first and foremost an entertainer. This would explain his use of Tin Pan Alley song structures in several songs. Also, even though Patton seemingly wanted to be a global star, he sang about little else outside his world – the furthest geographical reference is Chicago. There’s more, like Patton’s opposing religious and secular lifestyles, his final recordings, etc. Fahey has a lot to say on this person whose life is not well-documented.
While reading the book, I came to realize that Fahey is analyzing in an academic way music that never asked to be. It’s “folk” music from a specific community Fahey is not from, and here he is making meaning out of it. I can see how this might be troubling to some but I found Fahey’s approach respectful and entirely out of appreciation. He never talks down to Patton or his music, treating it with absolute sincerity. If you know Fahey’s music you know he loved country blues and was in fact friends with some of those early musicians.
This edition contains a rejoinder to folklorist David Evans, who took issue with some of Fahey’s remarks about Patton’s intelligence and role as an entertainer. Fahey says he didn’t intend for it to come off that way - I didn’t react how Evans did - and that he does see Patton as a superior performer in command of his craft.
If you like Charley Patton’s music, this is a must-read. As I said, musicians will get more out of this than non-musicians, but there’s plenty of fascinating stuff surrounding the musicology. And if you’ve gotten to this point in the review and haven’t heard Patton’s music, I hope I've encouraged you to do so.
After an introduction about the blues and a brief biography of Patton, Fahey delves in to the meat of the book: musical analysis of Patton’s songs. I’ll say this right now - if you’re not a musician, this will be gibberish to you. Fahey gets extremely technical, using music theory terms all over the place. As a musician and music nerd, I loved Fahey’s obsessive analysis and found myself recalling the songs as I read about them, figuring out in my head how they fit with what Fahey was saying. He analyzes Patton’s guitar tunings, song structures, types of songs, and lyrics with charts, lists, and more. I like how Fahey categorizes the songs: blues, religious, rags, Tin Pan Alley, and “problematical” songs (i.e. ones that don’t fit into a category). It shows the breadth of Patton’s influences and the type of music he was perhaps performing years before his first recording session in 1929. Fahey’s analysis of the blues is especially illuminating; he goes into flatted third and sevenths, as well as the notes that don’t appear in Patton’s blues songs. Finally, the book contains transcriptions of lyrics to nearly every song. This is useful because it’s sometimes difficult to make out what Patton is saying (though I love his voice). Basically, everything you need to know about Patton’s recorded music is contained here. It’s a supreme feat of nerdy musical analysis.
Elsewhere, Fahey draws some interesting conclusions about Patton’s life. He notes that while Patton was musically proficient, even genius, he was first and foremost an entertainer. This would explain his use of Tin Pan Alley song structures in several songs. Also, even though Patton seemingly wanted to be a global star, he sang about little else outside his world – the furthest geographical reference is Chicago. There’s more, like Patton’s opposing religious and secular lifestyles, his final recordings, etc. Fahey has a lot to say on this person whose life is not well-documented.
While reading the book, I came to realize that Fahey is analyzing in an academic way music that never asked to be. It’s “folk” music from a specific community Fahey is not from, and here he is making meaning out of it. I can see how this might be troubling to some but I found Fahey’s approach respectful and entirely out of appreciation. He never talks down to Patton or his music, treating it with absolute sincerity. If you know Fahey’s music you know he loved country blues and was in fact friends with some of those early musicians.
This edition contains a rejoinder to folklorist David Evans, who took issue with some of Fahey’s remarks about Patton’s intelligence and role as an entertainer. Fahey says he didn’t intend for it to come off that way - I didn’t react how Evans did - and that he does see Patton as a superior performer in command of his craft.
If you like Charley Patton’s music, this is a must-read. As I said, musicians will get more out of this than non-musicians, but there’s plenty of fascinating stuff surrounding the musicology. And if you’ve gotten to this point in the review and haven’t heard Patton’s music, I hope I've encouraged you to do so.
December 16, 2017
Esta es la famosa tesis doctoral que se aventó el excéntrico, demente y genial John Fahey. Escuchar a Charley Patton e imaginar los escenarios donde se desenvolvío este personaje, me producen un placer infinito. La foto que aparece en la caratula es la única imagen que existe del famoso fundador del blues del Delta. Todo esto y muchos aspectos biográficos lo convierte un mito. Pertenece al panteón de las más grandes figuras mitológicas de la cultura estadounidense. Sin Charley Patton no existe el blues, el rock and roll, el rhythm blues, inclusive el Hip-Hop.
Me saboreaba leyendo los distintos pasajes sobre la descripción de los temas que cantaba Charley Patton. Causa mucha risa lo incoherente de sus letras; esa mezcla de tradición oral combinada con las experiencias personales de Patton lo hacen muy interesante. Patton es un cronista del Mississippi de los años 20.
El arte a veces se acerca más a la verdad que los libros de historia. Si quieres viajar al sur estadounidense de los años 20, no hay nada mejor que Charley Patton.
Si te gusta la música de Charlie Patton y quieres conocerlo de una forma didáctica pero divertida, te recomiendo el comic de R. Crump llamado Patton. De seguro te darás una verdadera gozada.
Me saboreaba leyendo los distintos pasajes sobre la descripción de los temas que cantaba Charley Patton. Causa mucha risa lo incoherente de sus letras; esa mezcla de tradición oral combinada con las experiencias personales de Patton lo hacen muy interesante. Patton es un cronista del Mississippi de los años 20.
El arte a veces se acerca más a la verdad que los libros de historia. Si quieres viajar al sur estadounidense de los años 20, no hay nada mejor que Charley Patton.
Si te gusta la música de Charlie Patton y quieres conocerlo de una forma didáctica pero divertida, te recomiendo el comic de R. Crump llamado Patton. De seguro te darás una verdadera gozada.
October 6, 2024
good read, characterizing the enigma of songster-trickster-clown-and-preacher charley patton. a tacit outsider and true american troubador, a miles davis, a bob dylan. fahey writes with a funny stubborn pseudo-analytic that i can recognize as his voice completely.
June 5, 2012
Fahey's Master's thesis, printed in a series of blues monographs. I loved it, and the rest of the mongraphs in the series. Wish I had 'em now!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews