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Charlie Patton drawing

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lrphoenix:
So here's a drawing I did of Charlie Patton. As I was doing this I wondered what Charlie would think of a guy from England, living in Finland drawing his portrait from 100 years ago.

(changed the original picture as it was too big when you clicked on it. Hope this one is better. Please ignore the mad professor that is holding it. I had been playing with electricity.)

Blues Vintage:
He would approve. Nice job.

I learned not to long ago why his jacket and collar was so raised on his left side.
To hide a significant scar when he got stabbed with a razor in a fight once.

lrphoenix:

--- Quote from: Blues Vintage on November 16, 2024, 04:01:56 PM ---I learned not to long ago why his jacket and collar was so raised on his left side.
To hide a significant scar when he got stabbed with a razor in a fight once.

--- End quote ---

About this... His first recordings were in 1929, so I'm guessing the portrait photo was taken sometime that year. Then his throat was cut sometime in the thirties before his last recording date of 1934. So I don't think that it is possible for him to have had that scar when the photo was taken.

Also, after many, many hours of staring at his photo whilst drawing, it looks to me, that there is a high collar on the left side (Patton's right side) as well. It's just not clear in the picture due to the fact that it is so dark on that side. But you can see the dark outline of it against the lighter background.

Blues Vintage:
The razor incident was in 1929 according to Bessie Turner, Patton's niece, probably early 1929, the photo was almost certainly taken at the time of his June 14, 1929 recording session (Charley Patton, Voice Of The Mississipi Delta).
Maybe he got stabbed again in the 1930s.

lrphoenix:

--- Quote from: Blues Vintage on November 17, 2024, 05:54:01 PM ---The razor incident was in 1929 according to Bessie Turner, Patton's niece, probably early 1929, the photo was almost certainly taken at the time of his June 14, 1929 recording session (Charley Patton, Voice Of The Mississipi Delta).
Maybe he got stabbed again in the 1930s.

--- End quote ---

Just to make sure, I'm treating this like we're sitting in a pub and having a friendly discussion.

In the book King of the Delta Blues, 2nd edition, which is supposed to be the most thorough writing of Patton's music and life (although there will always be things that are wrong or mistaken), that Patton's throat was slit in 1933 at a house frolic in Holly Ridge. Some old guy cut him. This is from David 'Honeyboy' Edwards. Edwards claimed it was a deep cut. Some people heard that Patton had been killed.
Willie Young who wasn't there also heard Patton was killed there. But obviously he wasn't and it seems the wound wasn't as bad as had been made out. Although Patton ended up with 'a long, jagged scar across his throat'.

Patton had been wounded before this. If I remember it was a pistol/shotgun wound in his leg, which was why he walked funny. And he may have been knifed at some point too.

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