Patton was born in
Hinds County, Mississippi, near the town of
Edwards and lived most of his life in
Sunflower County, in the
Mississippi Delta. Most sources say he was born in April 1891, but the years 1881, 1885, and 1887 have also been suggested. Patton's parentage and race also are uncertain. His parents were Bill and Annie Patton, but locally he was regarded as having been fathered by former
slave Henderson Chatmon. Several of Chatmon's children became popular Delta musicians, as solo performers and as members of groups including the
Mississippi Sheiks. Biographer
John Fahey described Patton as having "light skin and Caucasian features." Patton was considered African-American, but because of his light complexion there has been much speculation about his ancestry over the years. One theory endorsed by blues musician
Howlin' Wolf was that Patton was
Mexican or
Cherokee. It is generally agreed that Patton was of
Black, White, and Native heritage. Some believe he had a
Cherokee grandmother; however, it is also widely asserted by historians that he was between one-quarter and one-half
Choctaw. In 1897, his family moved north to the
Dockery Plantation, a cotton farm and
sawmill near
Ruleville, Mississippi. There, Patton developed his musical style, influenced by
Henry Sloan, who had a new, unusual style of playing music, which is now considered an early form of the blues. Patton performed at Dockery and nearby plantations and began an association with
Willie Brown.
Tommy Johnson,
Fiddlin' Joe Martin,
Robert Johnson, and Chester Burnett (who later became famous in
Chicago as
Howlin' Wolf) also lived and performed in the area. Patton served as a mentor to these younger performers. Robert Palmer described Patton as a "jack-of all-trades bluesman", who played "deep blues, white
hillbilly songs, nineteenth-century ballads, and other varieties of black and white
country dance music with equal facility". He was popular across the southern United States and performed annually in Chicago; in 1934, he performed in
New York City. Unlike most blues musicians of his time who were often itinerant performers, Patton played scheduled engagements at plantations and taverns. He gained popularity for his showmanship, sometimes playing with his guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. Patton was about 5 feet 5 inches tall (1.65m), but his gravelly voice was reputed to have been loud enough to carry 500 yards without amplification; a singing style which particularly influenced Howlin' Wolf (even though
Jimmie Rodgers, the "singing brakeman", has to be cited there primarily). Patton settled in
Holly Ridge, Mississippi, with his common-law wife and recording partner,
Bertha Lee, in 1933. His relationship with Bertha Lee was a turbulent one. In early 1934, both of them were
incarcerated in a
Belzoni, Mississippi jailhouse after a particularly harsh fight. W. R. Calaway from
Vocalion Records bailed them out of jail and escorted them to New York City, for what would be Patton's final recording sessions (on January 30 and February 1).{{cite book Patton died on the Heathman-Dedham plantation, near
Indianola on April 28, 1934. He is buried in Holly Ridge (both towns are in Sunflower County). His death certificate says that he died of a
mitral valve disorder. The death certificate does not mention Bertha Lee; the only informant listed is one Willie Calvin. Patton's death was not reported in the newspapers. A memorial headstone was erected on his grave (the location of which was identified by the cemetery caretaker, C. Howard, who claimed to have been present at the burial), paid for by musician
John Fogerty through the
Mount Zion Memorial Fund in July 1990. The spelling of Patton's name was dictated by
Jim O'Neal, who composed the epitaph. ==Recognitions==