Papa Charlie Jackson
Template:Infobox musical artist
William Henry "Papa Charlie" Jackson (November 10, 1887 – May 7, 1938)<ref name="para">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Eagle, Bob L., LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. ABC-CLIO. p. 513. Template:ISBN.</ref> was an early African American bluesman and songster who accompanied himself with a banjo guitar, a guitar, or a ukulele. His recording career began in 1924.<ref name="Russell"/> Much of his life remains a mystery, but his draft card lists his birthplace as New Orleans, Louisiana, and his death certificate states that he died in Chicago, Illinois, on May 7, 1938.<ref name="amg">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CareerEdit
Jackson began his career playing in minstrel shows and medicine shows.<ref name="Harris263">Harris, Sheldon (1994). Blues Who's Who (rev. ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. p. 263. Template:ISBN.</ref> From the early 1920s into the 1930s, he played frequent club dates in Chicago and was noted for busking at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market.<ref name="Russell"/> In August 1924, he recorded the commercially successful "Airy Man Blues" and "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" for Paramount Records.<ref name="Russell 2">Template:Cite book</ref> In April 1925, Jackson released his version of "Shave 'Em Dry".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of his subsequent tracks, "Salty Dog Blues", became his most famous song. Among his recordings are several in which he accompanied classic female blues singers, such as Ida Cox, Hattie McDaniel, and Ma Rainey.<ref name="Russell">Template:Cite book</ref>
According to the blues writer Bruce Eder, Jackson achieved "a musical peak of sorts in September of 1929 when he got to record with his longtime idol, Blind Arthur Blake, often known as the king of ragtime guitar during this period. 'Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It' parts one and two are among the most unusual sides of the late '20s, containing elements of blues jam session, hokum recording, and ragtime."<ref name="amg"/> A few more recordings for the Paramount label followed in 1929 and 1930.<ref name="Harris263" /> In 1934, Jackson recorded for Okeh Records, and the following year he recorded with Big Bill Broonzy.<ref name="Harris263" /> Altogether, Jackson recorded 66 sides during his career.
RecordingsEdit
- "Airy Man Blues" 1924
- "Shake that Thing" 1925
- "All I Want is a Spoonful" 1925
- "Bad Luck Woman" 1926
- "Let's Get Along" 1926
- "Baby, Don't You Be So Mean" 1927
- "Ash Tray Blues" 1928
- "Baby Papa Needs His Loving" 1929
- "Baby Please Loan Me Your Heart" 1929<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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LegacyEdit
Jackson was an influential figure in blues music. He was the first self-accompanied blues musician to make records.<ref name="amg" /> He was one of the first musicians of the hokum genre,<ref name="redhotjazz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which uses comic, often sexually suggestive lyrics and lively, danceable rhythms.<ref>Evans, David (2005). The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Blues. Penguin. p. 74. Template:ISBN.</ref> He wrote or was the first to record several songs that became blues standards, including "All I Want Is a Spoonful" and "Salty Dog".<ref>Herzhaft, G., Harris, P., Haussler, J., and Mikofsky, A. J. (1997). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. p. 93. Template:ISBN.</ref> Nonetheless, he has received little attention from blues historians.<ref name="redhotjazz" />
Jackson's "Shake That Thing" was covered by Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions in 1964. "Loan Me Your Heart" appeared on the Wildpary Sheiks' eponymous album in 2002. The Carolina Chocolate Drops recorded "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" on their Grammy Award–winning 2010 album, Genuine Negro Jig, and often played the song in interviews after its release.
A brief selection from "Shake That Thing" was used in the television series Sanford and Son, in the 1973 episode entitled "The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection", in which Fred Sanford, played by Redd Foxx, danced and sang along with it.
See alsoEdit
- Four Eleven Forty Four
- List of banjo players
- List of blues musicians
- List of country blues musicians
- Music of Louisiana