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Peetie Wheatstraw/
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Sometimes called “The Devil’s Son-in-Law”,
blues pianist, guitarist and vocalist Peetie Wheatstraw was born in Ripley,
Tennessee, in 1902 but was raised on a cotton plantation in Arkansas. Real
name William Bunch, he adopted the name Peetie Wheatstraw when he moved to
East St. Louis when he was 29 years old, taking the name from an old folk
story. He was already a fine pianist when he arrived in East St.Louis and he
quickly established himself as part of the local blues scene. Over the next
few years he collaborated with a number of artists including
Bumble Bee Slim,
Kokomo Arnold, Charlie McCoy,
Blind Teddy Darby and
Charley Jordan,
but primarily with Lonnie Johnson. Moving
between East St. Louis, Chicago and New York, he recorded with all these
artists throughout the 1930’s, on Vocalion, Bluebird and
Decca, and his records sold well. Tragically at the height of his
success he was killed in East St. Louis (on his birthday, aged 39) whilst
going over a railway crossing when a train hit his car. |
