Pony Blues
Encyclopedia
"Pony Blues" is a Delta blues
song composed by Charley Patton. With the help of record store owner, H. C. Speir
, Patton's first recording session occurred on June 14, 1929, cut six sides, included "Pony Blues" (vocal and guitar), for Paramount Records
. The song later became a Delta staple and was part of every young guitarist's repertoire. Patton had a repertoire of his own compositions which he recorded at the session, included "Banty Rooster Blues," "Down the Dirt Road" and his version of "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues."
Delta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
song composed by Charley Patton. With the help of record store owner, H. C. Speir
H. C. Speir
H. C. Speir was an American "talent broker" and record store owner from Jackson, Mississippi. He was responsible for launching the recording careers of most of the greatest Mississippi blues musicians in the 1920s and 1930s. It has been said that, “Speir was the godfather of Delta Blues" and was...
, Patton's first recording session occurred on June 14, 1929, cut six sides, included "Pony Blues" (vocal and guitar), for Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. The song later became a Delta staple and was part of every young guitarist's repertoire. Patton had a repertoire of his own compositions which he recorded at the session, included "Banty Rooster Blues," "Down the Dirt Road" and his version of "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues."
Notable cover versions
- Canned HeatCanned HeatCanned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
(Living the BluesLiving the BluesLiving the Blues is the third album by Canned Heat, a double album released in 1968. It was one of the first double albums to place well on album charts. It features Canned Heat's signature song, "Going Up the Country," which would later be used in the Woodstock film. John Mayall appears on...
(1968)) - Son HouseSon HouseEddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
(The Great Bluesmen at Newport (1976)) - Big Joe WilliamsBig Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
(Classic Delta Blues (1966, recorded in 1964)) - Cassandra WilsonCassandra WilsonCassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
(as "Saddle Up My Pony" on Silver PonySilver PonySilver Pony is an album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, released in November 2010 on Blue Note Records. A mixture of live and studio-recorded tracks, it was produced by Wilson and John Fischbach. It includes jazz, blues and pop standards, as well as original music by Wilson and her band...
(2010)