- Papa Charlie Jackson
Papa Charlie Jackson (c.1885 — 1938) was an early American
blues man andsongster . He played a hybrid guitar banjo andukulele , his recording career beginning in 1924. Much of his life remains a mystery, but it is probable that he was born in New Orleans,Louisiana , and died inChicago ,Illinois in 1938. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jifixq95ldke~T1 All Music Guide biography - accessed January 2008] ]Career
Born William Henry Jackson [http://www.paramountshome.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=5&page_id=76 Paramountshome.org biography - accessed January 2008] ] , he originally performed in minstrel and
medicine show s. Jackson was playing all around Chicago in the early 1920s. He was noted forbusking at the famous Chicago Maxwell Street Market. He soon recorded "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" and "Airy Man Blues", the first commercially successful, self-accompanied recordings, by a male singer of the blues. One of his following tracks, "Salty Dog Blues", became his most famoussong . He soon began cutting records withIda Cox ,Hattie McDaniel andMa Rainey .The late 1920s saw Jackson reach the pinnacle of his career, recording "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It" (a two-part song) with
Blind Blake . A few more recordings followed before the 1930s, but then Jackson leftParamount Records and moved toOkeh Records , recording withBig Bill Broonzy .cite book
first= Tony
last= Russell
year= 1997
title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
edition=
publisher= Carlton Books Limited
location= Dubai
pages= p. 123
id= ISBN 1-85868-255-X]His importance in the history of the blues has been lessened by several factors. His flair for unique and irreverent material, similar to that of
Charley Patton , along with his fast upbeat tempo which made his records sell, did not fit into the traditional blues category. His records were of poor quality since about half of his 66 sides were recorded with an acoustic horn, not amicrophone . The rest contained a lot of "hiss" since Paramount used inferior quality materials in their pressing of records. Also, his banjo was not viewed as a traditional blues instrument. However, no one has duplicated his unique performances.Legacy
Another song Jackson wrote - "Shake That Thing" - was covered by Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions in 1964. "Loan Me Your Heart" appeared on
The Wildparty Sheiks eponymous album in 2002.ee also
*
List of blues musicians
*Music of Louisiana
*List of banjo players
*List of Country blues musicians
*Four Eleven Forty Four
*Guitjo
*Jinx References
External links
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/jacksonp.htm Illustrated Papa Charlie Jackson discography]
* [http://www.redhotjazz.com/jackson.html Biography and discography @ Redhotjazz.com]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.