Neal Pattman (January 10, 1926 – May 4, 2005) was an American

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Sometimes billed as Big Daddy Pattman, he is best known for his self-penned tracks, "Prison Blues" and "Goin' Back To Georgia". In the latter, and most notable stages of his long career, Pattman worked with

Cootie Stark Johnny Miller (December 27, 1927 – April 14, 2005), known as Cootie Stark, was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His best remembered recordings were "Metal Bottoms" and "Sandyland." Stark was known as the "King of ...

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, Guitar Gabriel, and

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Biography

Pattman was born in

Madison County, Georgia Madison County is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,120. The county seat is Danielsvill ...

, United States, one of fourteen children. He learned harmonica playing from his father, after an accident involving a wagon wheel at the age of nine left him with only his left arm. Inspired by

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...

's playing and distinctive whoops and hollers, Pattman played on the street corners of nearby

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. He found regular employment in the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

's kitchens, and gained further experience and local adoration for his regular live performances at various

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

and

festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

. However, his more general renown was minimal until 1989, when he performed at the

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

in New York City. A meeting in 1991 with Tim Duffy, of the Music Maker Relief Foundation, led to Pattman playing with

, supporting

, on a nationwide Blues Revival Tour. Playing with the British blues guitarist,

, led to Pattman releasing three albums between 1995 and 2001. He also contributed to

's album and DVD, '' 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads'', which was released in 2007. However, Pattman had already died of

bone cancer A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...

in May 2005, in

, aged 79.

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pattman, Neal 1926 births 2005 deaths American blues harmonica players American blues singers Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) Electric blues musicians People from Madison County, Georgia Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links