''Pee-Wee Get My Gun'' is the debut album by the American musician T-Model Ford, released in 1997. Ford was 75 years old when the album was released. He supported it by touring with labelmate

R. L. Burnside R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005) was an American Hill country blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He played music for most of his life but received little recognition until 1995 when Burnside recorded and toured with ...

; the dates represented the first time Ford had performed outside of Mississippi.

Production

Ford wrote all of the album's songs, although he was not shy about lifting ideas from other songwriters. He was backed by his drummer, Tommy Lee "Spam" Miles.

Frank Frost Frank Otis Frost (April 15, 1936 or 1938 – October 12, 1999) was one of the foremost United States, American Delta blues harmonica players of his generation. Life and career Most sources state that Frost was born in 1936 in Auvergne, Jackson ...

played keyboards on some of the tracks, despite the fact that he did not get along with Ford and had to be goaded by coproducer Matthew Johnson to participate in the recording sessions. The producers decided to keep Ford's mistakes, which included bad tunings and coughing fits. Many of the songs reference the violent acts that Ford had both administered and received.

Critical reception

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' opined that "T-Model's ravaged voice and harrowing guitar attack are quite literally stunning." ''

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'' praised the "demented songs of love and violence and human endurance." ''

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'' concluded that "this is the timeless blues, so alive and mysterious that it could have been recorded 60 years ago or 60 minutes ago." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' listed ''Pee-Wee Get My Gun'' as the third best blues album of 1997. ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

'' listed it as the fifth best album of the year. ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' also considered the album to be among the best of 1997, writing that "there's little fancy fretwork in 76-year-old Ford's debut album, but that doesn't dilute the potency of his primitive grooves." '' The Rocket'' noted the "grind-in-the-grease, down-in-the-dirt jamming."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said that the music "can be hypnotic or tedious, depending upon your taste." In 1999, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' deemed ''Pee-Wee Get My Gun'' "a creditable batch of backwoods grooves."

Track listing

#"Cut You Loose" #"T-Model Theme Song" #"Been a Long Time" #"Turkey and the Rabbit" #"Can't Be Touched" #"Nobody Gets Me Down" #"I'm Insane" #"Where You Been" #"Feels So Bad" #"Sugar Farm" #"Let Me In"

References

{{authority control 1997 debut albums Fat Possum Records albums