ROBERT PETWAY

Robert Petway que junto a Tommy McCLENNAN se dedicaban a recoger viejos blues del Delta y versionarlos a su manera, así fué como Petway grabó la primera versión de este tema CATFISH BLUES.,versionado en infinidad de ocasiones. Petway dejó grabados 16 temas todos ellos entre 1941-1942. En los créditos de algunas versiones adjudican al propio Petway la autoría del citado CATFISH BLUES. Robert Petway fué uno de los intérpretes de guitarra con cuerpo de acero lo que todos conocemos como dobro. McCLENNAN ( Post's 20-2-11 y 1-1-12 )  grabaría mas tarde el mismo tema cambiándole el título por el de Deep Blues Sea Blues. 

                              

Very little is known about Robert Petway. He recorded only sixteen songs between 1941-1942 and there is only one photo available of him.

But this song, "Catfish Blues" is an important part of blues history !

For example Muddy Water based his "Rollin' Stone" hit on this recording and you can hear it.

I hope owners of the rights want to see this as an honor to this artist who plays with just wonderful blues-feeling! 

And same goes to these random photos of other blues artists, which I have found from net. 

My hope is that everyone can just listen to this fine musician. Enjoy!

It's so nice, that you can still buy these recordings on CD, mine is an old vinyl album!

Video & Words By COJWAT

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Wikipedia info : 

Robert Petway was an African-American blues singer and guitarist.

Very little is known about Robert Petway. His birthplace is usually speculated to have been at or near J.F. Sligh Farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi, birthplace of his close friend and fellow bluesman Tommy McClennan, although some recent research suggests that Petway may have been born at Gee's Bend, Alabama.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.

Like many bluesmen from the Mississippi Delta, 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.

"Catfish Blues"

One of Petway's most influential songs is "Catfish Blues", which he recorded in 1941. Amongst many other reworked versions, Muddy Waters used the arrangement and lyrics of "Catfish Blues" for his single "Rollin' Stone", the song from which the rock group The Rolling Stones chose their band name. The composition credit given to Petway is based entirely on the recording date of his version of the song; however it would be impossible to evidence that song as the conclusive and original source. There is speculation that Tommy McClennan had actually written the song, as he himself recorded it as "Deep Blues Sea". 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." In his autobiography David Honeyboy Edwards also remembers a delta blues guitarist he met called Tom Toy, who came from Leland, Mississippi. Apparently Toy was well-known locally for his version of Catfish Blues. Sadly, though, Toy was never recorded and he is forgotten today. Nothing is known about him and it is also uncertain when exactly Tom Toy was active.

                         

Rockin' Chair Blues es otro de los 16 temas que PETWAY dejó grabados .