Robert Petway

Robert Petway was an African-American blues singer and guitarist. Very little is known about Petway. His birthplace is speculated to have been at or near J.F. Sligh Farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi, birthplace of his close friend and fellow bluesman Tommy McClennan. (Both he and McClennan recorded for Bluebird Records, an RCA Victor subsidiary which featured the earliest forms of what would later develop into rhythm and blues.) His birthdate is guessed at 1908, and the date and even the occurrence of his death is unknown. Like many bluesmen from the Mississippi Delta, Petway traveled around as a musician, playing at parties, roadhouses, and other venues available. Petway and McClennan often traveled and performed together. After McClennan had been in Chicago for a few years, Petway travelled north to join him and cut records, as did Georgia's Frank Edwards who met them in MS. There is only one known picture of Petway, a publicity photo from 1941. In it he's playing a National steel-bodied guitar, a hallmark of many of the Bluebird artists and also of bluesmen from the Mississippi Delta.. He only recorded 16 songs, but his influences, by some accounts, include John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix. His song, "Catfish Blues," recorded in 1941, contained virtually the same lyrics as were later recorded by Muddy Waters in his "Rolling Stone." Whether the song was a Petway original composition is a matter for debate. His full discography can be found at Wikipedia.com.