Peetie Wheatstraw

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Peetie Wheatstraw (actually William Bunch ; born December 21, 1902 in Ripley , Tennessee , † December 21, 1941 in St. Louis , Missouri ) was an American blues pianist, guitarist, singer and songwriter who was great in the 1930s Enjoyed popularity. He called himself the " Son-in-Law of the Devil" ( The Devil's Son-In-Law ) or the " High Sheriff of Hell ".

life and career

Little is known about his early years. His family moved to Cotton Plant, Arkansas , shortly after he was born . He learned to play piano and guitar at an early age. In 1927 he began a life as a traveling musician. In 1929 he came to Saint Louis, Missouri, where he remained as a musician for the rest of his life. He gave himself the stage name Peetie Wheatstraw (from an Afro-American legend) and created the devil myth in order to increase public interest.

Following the example of the duo he admired Leroy Carr (piano) and Scrapper Blackwell (guitar), Wheatstraw played with many greats of the blues, including the guitarists Lonnie Johnson , Kokomo Arnold , Charley Jordan , Bumble Bee Slim , Willie Fields , Charlie McCoy as well pianists Barrelhouse Buck and champion Jack Dupree . He often appeared alone, mainly accompanying himself on the piano. From 1930 he recorded over 170 pages of records over the years. His best-known pieces include Four O'Clock In The Morning and Tennessee Peaches Blues .

Wheatstraw influenced many important blues musicians, such as Robert Johnson , who reworked some of Wheatstraw's tracks into his own songs. So was z. B. from the King Of Spades the Little Queen Of Spades . Peetie Wheatstraw died in 1941, at the height of his career, on his 39th birthday when his car was hit by a train in St. Louis.

The writer Ralph Ellison used Peetie Wheatstraw as a model for characters in his novels Invisible Man and Juneteenth .

Awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Wheatstraw, Peetie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bunch, William (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues pianist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Ripley , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1941
Place of death St. Louis , Missouri