Peetie Wheatstraw (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941) was the name adop… Read Full Bio ↴Peetie Wheatstraw (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941) was the name adopted by singer William Bunch, a greatly influential figure among 1930s blues singers. Although the only known picture of Bunch shows him holding a National brand tricone resonator guitar, his primary instrument was the piano.
Wheatstraw was born William Bunch in Ripley, Tennessee but grew up in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, where his family relocated soon after his birth. Little is known of his early life, other than that he took up playing both the piano and guitar at a young age.
Bunch left Cotton Plant in 1927 and began living the life of an itinerant musician traveling throughout the Deep South. Like many African Americans of this time period, the great migration eventually drew his attention to the cities of the North. Places such as Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit were favoured destinations, due to the wealth of employment in the factories located in these cities. St. Louis was another city that drew its share of uprooted individuals who sought a better life than that offered by the toil of sharecropping. It was in St. Louis that Bunch landed in 1929.
Having honed his musical talents while travelling, and influenced by the popularity of the Blues duet of pianist Leroy Carr and guitar player Scrapper Blackwell, Bunch found easy work in the clubs of both St. Louis and East St. Louis on the other side of the Mississippi River.
It was around this time Bunch decided to change his name to Peetie Wheatstraw. He also called himself "The Devil's Son-in-Law" and this title is under his name starting with his earliest recordings.
Wheatstraw's self-promotion swiftly paid off as he became a popular performer in East St. Louis, to the extent that he was asked to Chicago in 1930 to partake in recording sessions. He first entered the Vocalion Studios on August 13, 1930, and recorded a handful of numbers which included "Four O'Clock In The Morning" and "Tennessee Peaches Blues". Over the following decade, he would make several such treks, recording over 160 sides for the Vocalion, Decca and Bluebird labels.
Wheatstraw was known for his laid-back approach and adept singing and songwriting, though his instrumental talents were average at best. His songwriting appealed to working class minorities, due to their nature of the content—he often wrote about social issues such as unemployment and public assistance. There were also pieces about the immoral ways of loose women, and true to his own self-publicity, death and the supernatural. Almost all of his songs included his trademark "Ooh, well well", usually accentuated in the third verse, and this has been carried on by many subsequent Bluesmen, most noteworthy today being R.L. Burnside.
On his records Wheatstraw is occasionally heard playing guitar, but he usually took to the piano and required a guitarist to play with him—among his collaborators were Kokomo Arnold, Lonnie Johnson, Charlie Jordan, Charlie McCoy and Teddy Bunn, in addition to pianist Champion Jack Dupree. On some of his last dates, Peetie Wheatstraw recorded within a jazz inspired framework, collaborating with Lil Armstrong and trumpeter Jonah Jones.
Wheatstraw's influence was enormous during the 1930s. Perhaps the most obvious example of Wheatstraw's impact can be seen in the writings of Robert Johnson, often considered the most important Blues figure of the era. Many of Johnson's own recordings were actually re-workings of other popular artists of the time, and he drew heavily from Wheatstraw's repertoire.
Wheatstraw was born William Bunch in Ripley, Tennessee but grew up in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, where his family relocated soon after his birth. Little is known of his early life, other than that he took up playing both the piano and guitar at a young age.
Bunch left Cotton Plant in 1927 and began living the life of an itinerant musician traveling throughout the Deep South. Like many African Americans of this time period, the great migration eventually drew his attention to the cities of the North. Places such as Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit were favoured destinations, due to the wealth of employment in the factories located in these cities. St. Louis was another city that drew its share of uprooted individuals who sought a better life than that offered by the toil of sharecropping. It was in St. Louis that Bunch landed in 1929.
Having honed his musical talents while travelling, and influenced by the popularity of the Blues duet of pianist Leroy Carr and guitar player Scrapper Blackwell, Bunch found easy work in the clubs of both St. Louis and East St. Louis on the other side of the Mississippi River.
It was around this time Bunch decided to change his name to Peetie Wheatstraw. He also called himself "The Devil's Son-in-Law" and this title is under his name starting with his earliest recordings.
Wheatstraw's self-promotion swiftly paid off as he became a popular performer in East St. Louis, to the extent that he was asked to Chicago in 1930 to partake in recording sessions. He first entered the Vocalion Studios on August 13, 1930, and recorded a handful of numbers which included "Four O'Clock In The Morning" and "Tennessee Peaches Blues". Over the following decade, he would make several such treks, recording over 160 sides for the Vocalion, Decca and Bluebird labels.
Wheatstraw was known for his laid-back approach and adept singing and songwriting, though his instrumental talents were average at best. His songwriting appealed to working class minorities, due to their nature of the content—he often wrote about social issues such as unemployment and public assistance. There were also pieces about the immoral ways of loose women, and true to his own self-publicity, death and the supernatural. Almost all of his songs included his trademark "Ooh, well well", usually accentuated in the third verse, and this has been carried on by many subsequent Bluesmen, most noteworthy today being R.L. Burnside.
On his records Wheatstraw is occasionally heard playing guitar, but he usually took to the piano and required a guitarist to play with him—among his collaborators were Kokomo Arnold, Lonnie Johnson, Charlie Jordan, Charlie McCoy and Teddy Bunn, in addition to pianist Champion Jack Dupree. On some of his last dates, Peetie Wheatstraw recorded within a jazz inspired framework, collaborating with Lil Armstrong and trumpeter Jonah Jones.
Wheatstraw's influence was enormous during the 1930s. Perhaps the most obvious example of Wheatstraw's impact can be seen in the writings of Robert Johnson, often considered the most important Blues figure of the era. Many of Johnson's own recordings were actually re-workings of other popular artists of the time, and he drew heavily from Wheatstraw's repertoire.
Tight Time Blues
Peetie Wheatstraw Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Peetie Wheatstraw:
All Night Long Blues Stay out all night long Now just to keep you off…
Beer Tavern How many mo' years Baby, now will I be your slave? I…
Bring Me Flowers While I'm Living Bring me flowers while I′m living Please don't bring them wh…
Cocktail Man Blues Cocktail Man Blues Trk 7 Disc 2 2:44 Peetie Wheatstraw (Will…
Coon Can Shorty Well now, they call me Coon Can Shorty The man from…
Crapshooter's Blues Crapshooters Blues Trk 1 Disc 1 3: 09 Peetie Wheatstraw (Wil…
Crapshooters Blues Crapshooters Blues Trk 1 Disc 1 3:09 Peetie Wheatstraw (Will…
Crazy With The Blues I waked up this mornin' Just crazy with the blues I waked…
Cut Out Blues I'm going cut out my way of living, and I'm…
Drinking Man Blues The evening sun is beginning to sing low The evening sun…
Gangster's Blues Gangster's Blues Trk 16 Disc 2 2:45 Peetie Wheatstraw (Willi…
Good Whiskey Blues Whiskey Head Blues Trk 7 Disc 1 2: 44 Peetie Wheatstraw…
Jungle Man Blues I ain't nothin' but a hobo Want somebody to help me…
King of Spades I′m the king of spades, and the women takes on…
King Spider Blues Let me be your king spider, want to build my…
Little House Little House (I'm Gonna Chase These Peppers) Trk 12 Disc…
Long Time Ago Blues This very mornin', long time ago Um-hm-well-well Been a long…
Machine Gun Blues Machine Gun Blues Trk 8 Disc 2 2: 47 (Peetie Wheatstraw) Pee…
Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp Trk 8 Disc 1 2:28 Peetie Wheatstraw …
Pete Wheatstraw Now this is Peetie Wheatstraw, remember People wanna know w…
Police Station Blues Well-oh-well Mama, now on some old rainy day Hoo-hoo-um-mm…
Poor Millionaire Poor Millionaire Trk 13 Disc 1 2: 54 Peetie Wheatstraw (Smit…
Poor Millionaire Blues When a man is down He's lucky he ain't got no…
Shack Bully Stomp Shack Bully Stomp Trk 4 Disc 1 2:32 Peetie Wheatstraw (Willi…
Sinking Sun Blues The evening sun is beginning to sing low The evening sun…
Slave Man Blues How many mo' years Baby, now will I be your slave? I…
Sleepless Night Blues Now, let me tell you I'd like to see my baby,…
Tennessee Peaches Blues Tennessee Peaches Blues Trk 2 Disc 1 3: 00 Peetie Wheatstraw…
The Good Lawd's Children The Good Lawd's Children Trk 13 Disc 2: 45 Peetie Wheatstraw…
The Last Dime The Last Dime Trk 6 Disc 1 3:18 Peetie Wheatstraw (William…
Third Street's Going Down Third Street's Going Down Trk 4 Disc 2 3:04 Peetie Wheatstra…
Throw Me in the Alley Throw Me In The Alley Trk 15 Disc 2 2:48 Peetie…
What More Can a Man Do? What More Can A Man Do Trk 5 Disc 2…
When I Get My Bonus When I was broke, didn't have a dime You hinkty women,…
Whiskey Head Blues Whiskey Head Blues Trk 7 Disc 1 2: 44 Peetie Wheatstraw…
Working On the Project Working On The Project Trk 15 Disc 1 3:02 Peetie Wheatstraw…
You Can't Stop Me From Drinking You Can't Stop Me From Drinking Trk 9 Disc 2…
You Got to Tell Me Something You Got To Tell Me Something Trk 14 Disc 2 Peetie…
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@Participle8
This is Kokomo Arnold singing "Cutter Blues," not Peetie Wheatstraw singing "Telephone Blues."