101 Reasons Not to Stop Someone from Dancing on the Train Tracks

Album Review: 

Tony Manard - Know Why 

http://tonymanard.com

The above listed site, on the main page, will get you to a place where you can pick up the above album by Tony Manard, who perhaps goes around wanting to "know why" everything is the way it is. I don't "know why" that's the name of his album, but if a man was to use his intuition and intellect and think of what might be on said album, he might not be all that surprised to find six of these songs coming from Manard.  In truth, I'm no Manard expert, but like all plural beings, I possess the ability to profile and judge folks, perhaps cold-read is a more acceptable term in our times. So I make assumptions and speak truth to power despite the offensive potential to a gracious and cordial individual who seems a genuinely kind soul. 

In my own mind, "Mississippi (Why You Gotta Be So Mean?)" is the artist taking on the role of a blue-collar southerner who wants to murder his employer, yet also desires some sort of job security so that he can grow old with a little grace and get a taste of the not-so-complicated twilight of life. There is also a tinge of sympathy for the plight of the unskilled laborer (read: redneck) in today's society whose job prospects are dwindling. While it's not mentioned directly in the song, it's implied that the increasingly diversified population and economy in the southern states is going to require folks to attain a different skill set to maintain their productive status in society. Of course, many of our brothers and sisters find themselves lost and feel as if they have no options, nothing to lose, and many people go the same route of our protagonist, learning the hard way that they had more than most. I think I hear Cecil Yancy back there on a harmony, and Alice Hasen demonstrates her abilities as a catgut scraper too on the opening track.  A full-length video directed and produced by Libby Brawley, one of the newer filmmakers in the Memphis-New York connection, is embedded below. 

The track that stands out to this lifelong admirer of the music of Beck and Leonard Cohen is "Track 6: B-Movie Actor," which contains lyrics that remind me of a love affair between two beatnicks.  The most interesting aspect is the rhythm and the melody and even the vocal. It's a shake up for Manard. Granted, it may be a bit groggy on the highs, but compared to the tone on the rest of the album, I'm actually quite refreshed and invigorated by its steadiness. Manard's skill as an instrumentalist cannot be denied by any sober critic, but I always felt that Robert Jr. Lockwood said it well when he said, "Don't play too much." Unlike a few other places on the album, the business of filling up space is abandoned in favor of pedantic, progressive rhythm on this aural delight, which should not fail to peak the curiosity and interest of Manard's more dedicated following. It is notable for nothing else if not Vincent Manard's closing with the Aztec Death whistle.  It makes you feel as if things will be all right despite a lot having gone wrong.  With no more ado, enjoy the show - TDM

"Mississippi (Why You Gotta Be So Mean?)"

Tony Manard

Muddy Waters' Obituary

The Clarksdale Press Register - Monday, May 2, 1983

Muddy Waters, the little boy who came to live with his grandmother in Stovall in 1918 and grew up to be a blues music superstar, died Saturday in Chicago.

Waters died of "cardiac arrest" at home in the Chicago suburb of Westmont, said his manager, Scott Cameron. He was pronounced dead at 2:17 a.m. Saturday at Good Samaritan Hospital in suburban Downers Grove, spokeswoman Roberta Butler said.

The rotund singer hadn't been ill and had planned to make another album this summer, Cameron said. He had earned six Grammys during his career.

Waters was born April 4, 1915, in Rolling Fork. His name was McKinley Morganfield and his father Willie Morganfield was a farmer and musician. After his mother died, he moved in with his grandmother in Stovall.

"Area History Rich in Musical Traditions" by Sid Graves 1978

Sid Graves - November 14, 1978 - Clarksdale Press Register  

A rich aspect of Clarksdale and Coahoma County's history is that of its music. Natives of the city and county, as well as those who have visited and performed here and the surrounding Delta, have contributed to the blues musical tradition which has reached beyond regional borders to influence the other uniquely American music forms of jazz and country, in addition to rock and roll, pop, and western music.

From blues popularizer W. C. Handy who relates in his autobiography that he first heard the blues fourteen miles from Clarksdale) to John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and others, the area has been prominent and includes talents as diverse as B. B. King, Mississippi John Hurt, Sam Chatmon, Ike Turner and white bluesman Mose Allison of Tippo.

The heritage of the blues ( from "blue devils" ) is competently treated by folklorist William Ferris in his recently published Blues from the Delta.
 

A native of Vicksburg, Ferris is the founder and co-director of the Center of Southern Folklore in Memphis, and associate professor of Afro-American Studies at Yale. Currently on a European tour for the U. S. Department of State, he will assume duties as director of the Center for Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi next year. His films, recordings and photographs on Southern Folkways, artists, musicians and craftsmen have helped preserve for posterity ways of doing things and being that are rapidly disappearing. ( His exhibit on folk architecture is scheduled for a 1981 showing at Carnegie Public Library.

Ferris has also recorded three albums of Delta bluesmen, and his record of Mississippi mule trader Ray Lum is a fine example of the use of oral history to record and enrich our understanding of the American heritage. The young folklorist, who received his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, has published numerous articles on the blues, and this book is a more detailed treatment of the subject which was published in his book of the same title in England in 1970. 

 

Blues from the Delta is based on inter-views with the individuals who make and perform the music. In 1967, Ferris began his research, the methods of which are related in this illustrated volume and which were described as "past strange" by a fellow white Mississippian.

Living with the families of the subjects of his study resulted in friendships which are illustrated with letters and photographs. More importantly, the completed book is an accomplished document of the blues history and our social history. 

 

Bluesmen, such as Pine Top Johnson and Jasper Love of Clarksdale, were interviewed, and the transcript of a "house party" held in Clarksdale is included in the work. While B. B. King is achnowledged for his important assistance in the book's preparation, it is the lesser-known Delta bluesmen who are treated more fully and to whom the work is dedicated. These included Shelby "Poppa Jazz" Brown, Wallace "Pine Top" Johnson, Lee Kizart, Jasper Love, Maudie Shirley and James "Son" Thomas.

These performers and others recall their experiences and interpret the blues in their own language as Ferris includes transcripts of interviews as well as sections on the roots and the composition of the blues.

Interesting chapters on bluesmen and preachers, verses, proverbs, audiences and other subjects reveal a keen appreciation of the music. A helpful bibliography, discography and filmography are also included. Clarksdale is frequently mentioned in the book, and there are photographs of this city, Lula, and the performers from the vicinity.

While some may object to the rough language contained in the publication, the many devotees of the blues and admirers of its performers and the history of their important music will rejoice and enjoy.
 

Blues from the Delta is available at the public library and the local bookstore. Persons wishing to check copies out may telephone 624-4461 to place their name the request list.

The sixty-minute videotape Good Mornin Blues, produced by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television and narrated by B. B. King, is available for individual or group viewing at the public library. A series of films made by William Ferris will be shown at the branch library at dates to be announced in the future.

 

The Disappearance of Robert Petway: A New Theory

By Jason Rewald - first published in 2011 for American Blues Scene

Robert Petway, a blues musician from the 1930’s and 40’s, is known primarily for one thing: penning the great “Catfish Blues”, one of the most prolific songs in blues history, influencing Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix and countless others.

Very little is known about Robert Petway’s life. It has been said that he was born around 1908, around Yazoo City, most likely on the J.F. Sligh Farm. This information is largely accepted, as his closest friend, Tommy McClennan, was born at this location. All other information, including the cause, location, and time of his death, are unknown. All that is known for certain is this: Robert Petway recorded 16 songs, and only has one known photo taken around 1941 as a record company publicity shot.

However, after researching Petway for some time, I have formed a new theory.

With little to go on, I began by researching Robert Petway’s last name. Although by today’s standards this might seem like a fairly common name, in the early 1900’s, it was anything but common. In fact, when searching Census Records, there is only one African American Petway living in all of Mississippi in 1920. Even he was born in Alabama. By 1930, not a single Petway resides in Mississippi (according to the Census Records). 

While doing other research on other blues stars of the day, I came to see patterns. A common pattern I tend to see has to do with last names. Usually, one can find family with the same surname in or around the area where these stars where presumably born. If Robert Petway was indeed born in Mississippi, then it becomes somewhat safe to assume you would find other family members – parents, spouses, siblings, etc – also in the area, or at least the state. This was obviously not the case. Though our blues stars loved to ramble, travel, and never settle down, usually the parents – sharecroppers, laborers, etc – didn’t move around much. So I expanded my search.

Turns out the name Pettway (note the extra “T”) does have historical significance. Gee’s Bend, also known as Boykin, is a very poor tenant community on Alabama. It lies on the edge of the Black Belt in Wilcox County. It is named after Joseph Gee, a planter, and the first white man to settle in the area. In 1845, this land was sold to Mark Pettway to settle a $29,000 debt. About a year later, in 1846, the Pettway family moved from North Carolina to Gee’s Bend, bringing with them over 100 slaves. When the slaves were freed, many of them stayed, continuing to help the Pettways as sharecroppers, planters, and laborers. A lot of these ex-slaves took the surname Pettway or a derivative of it. In fact, Arthur Rothstein, credited with photographing many of the black tenants of Gee’s Bend as hired by the Resettlement Administration, noted that most of them had the last name Pettway or Petway. 

Pettway Plantation, Gees Bend, Alabama

In fact, I believe that Robert’s Father, Tom Petway, lived with his uncle Robert (listed at “Robt.” on the 1880 Census Record) in Gee’s Bend, and worked as a sharecropper after the Pettway family took over in 1845. The Census Record I uncovered shows a young Tom, age 10, living with his Uncle Robert and his family. The record shows “Rehoboth Beat” in Wilcox as the area he lived in. The Rehoboth Beat covered Gee’s Bend.

Though I have no outstanding proof, I believe that Robert Petway, our famous author of “Catfish Blues”, was born in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. I believe his father, Tom, got into the sharecropping business as he became older. He fathered a son, Robert, who stayed in Gee’s Bend and learned to farm cotton, among other things. On the Census Record I found for Robert, it shows him at age 12 (born October 18th 1907) living in Gee’s Bend with his father Tom, a farmer. It also shows a sister, Idenia, living with them. Could it be that Robert Petway, whom we love and adore, was named after Tom’s uncle with whom he lived with? A 1920 Wilcox County, Alabama Census listing Robert Petway, second from the bottom.

Any way you slice it, Gee’s Bend was not the best place to be. It was isolated. It had a ferry come from time to time, but the ferry was unreliable. The town was poor, and falling apart. In about 1932, the Red Cross started to help Gee’s Bend with public assistance. Being as bad as it was, many of the younger residents, who did not have a personal stake in Gee’s Bend, began to leave. In 1932, Robert Petway would have been about 25 years old, a prime age to leave the failing town of Gee’s Bend.

I believe it was around this time that Robert fled to Mississippi, not for the love of music, but for his ability to farm. The rumors of ever fertile soil and the ability to buy land in the Mississippi Delta would have made it an appealing prospect. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that you could buy the land in Gee’s Bend. I believe Robert left to do what he knew best: make a better living farming. This excursion took him to the J.F. Sligh Farm in Yazoo City. I believe this is where he may have met – or reunited – with McCelnnan. But I think McClennan was more than a friend. I think he was his musical mentor. Robert Petway most likely was a farmer by day, and learning the blues and playing parties by night.

After a few years playing music in the Delta, Robert Petway headed north to Chicago in 1939. This much we know to be true – he, in fact, recorded for Bluebird in Chicago in 1941. Not to mention, by 1939, McClennan was already in Chicago, and it’s more than likely that Robert Petway went to join him.

I believe Petway never left Chicago after traveling north. After all, why would he? Life in the north, though often tough, was far better than life in the south at that time. Work paid better, apartments and living arrangements were often better. What small town farming boy wouldn’t want to stay in Chicago? Even Honeyboy Edwards recalled Petway staying on the North side of Chicago, and never being heard from again. In my opinion, Robert Petway died in Chicago, in Cook County, on May 30th 1978. There are both national and state death index records stating as much.

Some other interesting facts?

Honeyboy Edwards recalled Petway talking about living and farming in Blythville, Arkansas. Petway was from Boykin, Alabama.

If Robert Petway arrived in MS around 1932, and left by 1939, there would be no Census Record of him living in MS.

It is also rumored that Petway once played the Three Forks Bar, where legendary bluesman Robert Johnson was allegedly poisoned.

The one known photo of Petway depicts him in rural farming attire. Even his traveling buddy McClennan borrowed a suit for his own photo. I believe Petway wore this outfit because it is what he was used to wearing – he was, after all, a farmer.

With so little to go on, no one will ever know for sure. However, in my opion, Robert Petway was born October 18th 1907 in Gee’s Bend Alabama to sharecropping parents. He left Gee’s Bend around 1932, and headed to Mississippi to farm. I believe he met, learned from, and played with Tommy McClennan, before heading to Chicago in 1939. After recording for Bluebird in 1941, he would later die May 30th 1978.