Charles Henry Tate,known asBaby Tate(January 28, 1916 – August 17, 1972)[2]was an AmericanPiedmont bluesguitarist,who in a sporadic career spanning five decades worked with the guitaristsBlind Boy FullerandPink Andersonand the harmonica playerPeg Leg Sam.[1]His playing style was influenced byBlind Blake,Buddy Moss,Blind Boy Fuller,Josh White,Willie Walker,and to some extentLightnin' Hopkins.[3]
Baby Tate | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charles Henry Tate |
| Born | January 28, 1916 Elberton, Georgia,United States |
| Died | August 17, 1972(aged 56) Columbia, South Carolina,United States |
| Genres | Piedmont blues,country blues[1] |
| Occupation | Guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar,vocals |
| Years active | 1929–1972 |
| Labels | Kapp,Prestige,Trix |
Biography
editTate was born inElberton, Georgia,[4]and was raised inGreenville, South Carolina.As an adolescent, he started performing locally, after seeingBlind Blakein Elberton. Tate later formed atriowith Joe Walker (the brother of Willie Walker) and Roosevelt "Baby" Brooks and, up to 1932, played locally. As the Carolina Blackbirds, they performed on radio stationWFBC,broadcasting from the Jack Tar Hotel.[5]For the rest of the 1930s he worked other jobs, mainly as a mason.[1]
Tate served in theU.S. Armyinfantry duringWorld War IIin the south of England. He returned to the Spartanburg-Greenvilleclubcircuit in 1946. He claimed to haverecordedseveral unreleased tracks forKapp Recordsin 1950. Relocating toSpartanburg, South Carolina,he performed solo before forming an occasionalduowithPink Anderson,a working relationship that endured until the 1970s, when Anderson was disabled by a stroke.[1]
Tate released his onlyalbum,Blues of Baby Tate: See What You Done Done,in 1962, and twelve months later appeared inSamuel Charters'sdocumentary filmThe Blues.Throughout the 1960s he performed irregularly across the United States.[1]With the harmonica playerPeg Leg Samor the guitarists Baby Brooks or McKinley Ellis, he recorded nearly sixty tracks in 1970 and 1971 forPeter B. Lowry,but the proposed album remained unreleased after Tate died unexpectedly in the summer of 1972.[6]He appeared at a concert at theState University of New York at New Paltz,as a result of Lowry's efforts, in the spring of 1972.
Tate died of effects of aheart attack,in theVeterans Administration HospitalinColumbia, South Carolina,in August 1972, at the age of 56.[1]
In January 2011, Tate was nominated for the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the category Blues Song, for "See What You Done Done".[7]His recording of the song is included on thecompilation albumClassic Appalachian Blues,released bySmithsonian Folkwaysin 2010.[8]
Discography
editAlbums
edit- Blues of Baby Tate: See What You Done Done(1962,Prestige/Bluesville;1995, CD reissue, Origin Blues Classics)[9]
Singles
edit- "See What You Done Done" backed with "Late in the Evening", recorded 1970 (1974,Trix Records)[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdefErlewine, Stephen Thomas."Baby Tate: Biography".Allmusic.com.RetrievedFebruary 12,2010.
- ^Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013).Blues: A Regional Experience.Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 289.ISBN978-0313344237.
- ^Herzhaft, Gérard (1997).Encyclopedia of the Blues(2nd ed.). Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. p.62.ISBN1-55728-452-0.
- ^Doc Rock."The 1970s".TheDeadRockStarsClub.com.Retrieved2014-01-25.
- ^Bastin, Bruce (1995).Red River Blues.Champaign: University of Illinois Press. p.177.ISBN0-252-01213-5.
- ^ab"Baby Tate Discography".Wirz.de.Retrieved2014-01-24.
- ^"Baby Tate (Classic Appalachian Blues)".Independentmusicawards.com.Retrieved2011-12-30.
- ^"Shore Fire Media".Shorefire.com.Retrieved2014-01-25.
- ^Owens, Thom."Baby Tate,Blues of Baby Tate: See What You Done Done: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards ".AllMusic.com.Retrieved2014-01-25.