Charlie Patton is considered the Father of the Delta Blues. Just go ahead and look him up on Wikipedia. There's no doubt that Charlie Patton's style is what almost all blues guitarists who knew him - - Son House being the main one supposedly - - used as the basis for their styles.
There's a lot of mystery surrounding Patton. I'm not exactly sure if anybody has the facts straight. For one thing, I heard that Patton created a guitar for John Lee Hooker out of a wash tub, a broomstick, and a piece of string. Sounds ridiculous, but, then again, who knows?
Another thing I heard is that Patton's throat was slashed by a man who was jealous of Patton doing the deed with his wife. The throat slashing occurred when Patton was on stage in a barn. The throat slashing is what accounts for Patton's gurgling, low, voice.
Of course, the biggest mystery surrounding Patton, and the one that I'd like to know most about is in regards to Patton's heritage. Was this guy black? Was he white? Was he mixed? What about Patton being a Cherokee? I've heard that one before.
Let me know if anybody's got some info on that. In the mean time, enjoy this clip I got from Youtube.
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With talent like Patton had who cares about his nationality. He was out in front of a lot of others with sound and style.
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