Robert Petway
- Soundtrack
Little is known about the early days of Mississippi Delta blues
singer/guitarist Robert Petway. He grew up in the Yazoo City area, but
it's not known if he was born there or, in fact, where or when he was
born.
What is known is that in the late 1920s he was a friend and partner of Delta bluesman Tommy McClennan. He and McClennan made the rounds of house parties and jukes--"juke joints", or local music/dance clubs that, in the strict segregationist atmosphere of 1920s Mississsippi, were among the few public places in which black artists could perform. McClennan was signed to Chicago's Bluebird Records, and he and Petway traveled there. Not long afterwards Bluebird also signed Petway. From 1941-42 Petway recorded eight records for Bluebird--the only records he ever made--including his most famous song, "Catfish Blues". After 1942 he basically disappeared; it's not known if he stayed in Chicago, or went back to Mississippi, or what happened to him at all.
What is known is that in the late 1920s he was a friend and partner of Delta bluesman Tommy McClennan. He and McClennan made the rounds of house parties and jukes--"juke joints", or local music/dance clubs that, in the strict segregationist atmosphere of 1920s Mississsippi, were among the few public places in which black artists could perform. McClennan was signed to Chicago's Bluebird Records, and he and Petway traveled there. Not long afterwards Bluebird also signed Petway. From 1941-42 Petway recorded eight records for Bluebird--the only records he ever made--including his most famous song, "Catfish Blues". After 1942 he basically disappeared; it's not known if he stayed in Chicago, or went back to Mississippi, or what happened to him at all.
