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.
You Can't Stop Me From Drinking
Peetie Wheatstraw Lyrics
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Peetie Wheatstraw (William Bunch)
(Jordan)
Peetie Wheatstraw - vocal, pno, (poss. Rhythm Willie Hood - hca
& poss. Lonnie Johnson - gtr
Sept. 14, 1939 Chicago, Decca 7692
Album: Peetie Wheatstraw Essentials Album
Allego Classic Blues cbl 200037
You can't stop me from drinkin'
It ain't no use to try
You can't stop me from drinkin'
It ain't no use to try
Because the way you treated me
Hoo-hoo-well-well, I'm gonna drink until I die
You can't stop me from runnin' around
Also from having my ball
You can't stop me from runnin' around
Also from having my ball
Because I am tired, ooo-well-well
Of the other man kicking in my stall
(harmonica & instrumental)
You can't stop me from talkin'
To the brown walk-ups down the street
You can't stop from from talkin'
To the brown that walk up an down the street
Because you are chasing these peppers
Hoo-well, like a policeman on his beat
You can't stop me from drinkin'
Whenev' I feel so blue
You can't stop me from drinkin'
Whenev' I feel so blue
If you ever have been mistreated
Woo-well-well, you would be drinkin', too.
~
In 'You Can't Stop Me From Drinking', Peetie Wheatstraw angrily and sarcastically dismisses any attempt to stop his drinking and other vices. He claims that the reason he drinks is because of the way he has been treated, suggesting that his actions are a form of rebellion against his oppressor. Despite the singer's seeming defiance, the repetition of the line 'You can't stop me' suggests a deep-seated insecurity and desire for control or freedom. The song also touches on themes of infidelity and jealousy, with the singer asserting his right to 'run around' and enjoy himself as he sees fit, even if it may hurt his partner. The inclusion of the harmonica and instrumental segments adds to the overall defiant tone of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
You can't stop me from drinkin'
I will drink no matter what you try to do to stop me
It ain't no use to try
Your attempts to stop me from drinking are futile
Because the way you treated me
I drink because of the way you treat me
Hoo-hoo-well-well, I'm gonna drink until I die
I will continue to drink until the day I die
You can't stop me from runnin' around
You cannot control my actions of going out and having fun
Also from having my ball
You cannot stop me from living my life the way I choose to
Because I am tired, ooo-well-well
I am tired of being restricted by someone else's rules
Of the other man kicking in my stall
I am tired of someone else trying to control my life
You can't stop me from talkin'
You cannot prevent me from speaking to other people
To the brown walk-ups down the street
Specifically, I will speak to the brown-skinned women walking around
Because you are chasing these peppers
I am doing this because I know it bothers or annoys you
Hoo-well, like a policeman on his beat
I am doing this deliberately and with pleasure because it bothers you
Whenev' I feel so blue
I will drink whenever I feel sad or unhappy
If you ever have been mistreated
I drink because I have been mistreated myself
Woo-well-well, you would be drinkin', too.
If you had experienced what I have, you would also turn to drinking
Contributed by Kayla K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.