CHARLIE " SPECKS " McFADDEN

Charlie "Specks" McFadden no estaba destinado a ser famoso, pero en el momento en que hizo sus primeras grabaciones en 1929, fue considerado uno de los principales cantantes orientados al blues con sede en St. Louis. Un buen amigo de Roosevelt Sykes, que toca el piano en muchas de las piezas grabadas por  McFadden  , que sin duda era un buen cantante de blues. Tuvo un éxito menor con "Groceries on the Shelf", del cual hizo tres versiones distintas  Al parecer, McFadden era un personaje bastante, conflictivo por lo que fué arrestado 13 veces durante 1929-1935, incluyendo diez veces por juego, lo que le dá credibilidad a su versión de "Gambler's Blues". Como en el caso de muchos de los primeros intérpretes de blues,  se sabe poco o nada de la vida de McFadden. 

              

Composed by Charlie McFadden

Charlie McFadden:Vocals

Aaron "Pine Top" Sparks:Piano

Recorded in Chicago, IL. Wednesday, August 2, 1933

Originally issued on the 1933 single (Bluebird B-5203) (78 RPM)

This recording taken from the 1993 album "Charlie "Specks" McFadden (1929-1937)" (Document BDCD-6041) (CD) (Austria)

                  

                  

All videos By randomandrare 

Charles Pertum known professionally as Charlie "Specks" McFadden (April 24, 1895 – November 15, 1966), was an American country blues singer and songwriter.

On his relatively limited number of recordings, McFadden was accompanied by Roosevelt Sykes and Lonnie Johnson amongst others. His recordings spanned the years from 1929 to 1937. His most notable title was the self-penned "Groceries on the Shelf (Piggly Wiggly)", which was initially recorded in Grafton, Wisconsin, circa February 1930.

Charles Pertum was born in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, United States. He was the son of Maggie Pertum.He used Charles "Speck" Pertum as his name on a couple of his earliest recordings, and also used the nickname "Black Patch", in both cases a reference to his reported "weak eyes". On most of his recordings he opted to use his stepfather's name, McFadden.

McFadden moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1921. He was considered to be one of the top blues singers in the city, and waxed his first recordings in 1929. He made friends with the blues pianist, Roosevelt Sykes, and Sykes played on twelve of the 20 tracks which are preserved for posterity. McFadden's most notable number was "Groceries on the Shelf (Piggly Wiggly)", which he wrote himself. He recorded three separate versions of the song,which was covered by Lucille Bogan.Piggly Wiggly is the name of a successful American supermarket chain, operating in the Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States, which first opened in 1916. Another of his tracks was "Gambler's Blues", the title of which he may have been well versed to expound. McFadden was arrested on 13 separate occasions between 1929 and 1935, with ten of those charges being for gambling. Little is known of his existence otherwise.

McFadden died in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 15, 1966, aged 71.