Armenter (or Armentia) Chatmon (March 21, 1893 or January 1894 – September 21, 1964), known as Bo Carter, was an early
American blues musician. He was a member of the
Mississippi Sheiks
The Mississippi Sheiks were a popular and influential American guitar and fiddle group of the 1930s. They were notable mostly for playing country blues but were adept at many styles of popular music of the time. They recorded around 70 tracks, ...
in
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
s and on a few of their
recordings. He also managed that group, which included his brothers Lonnie Chatmon on
fiddle and, occasionally,
Sam Chatmon
Sam Chatmon (born Vivian Chatmon; January 10, 1897 – February 2, 1983) was a Delta blues guitarist and singer. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks. He may have been Charley Patton's half-brother.
Life and career
Chatmon was born in B ...
on
bass, and their friend
Walter Vinson
Walter Vinson (February 2, 1901 – April 22, 1975) was an American Memphis blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks, worked with Bo Chatmon and his brothers, and co-wrote the blues standard "Sitting o ...
on
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
and
lead vocal
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
s.
Career
Since the 1960s, Carter has become best known for his
bawdy
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
songs, such as "Let Me Roll Your Lemon", "Banana in Your Fruit Basket", "Pin in Your Cushion", "Your Biscuits Are Big Enough for Me", "Please Warm My Wiener" and "My Pencil Won't Write No More".
However, his output was not limited to
dirty blues
Dirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with socially taboo and obscene subjects, often referring to sexual acts and drug use. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on ...
.
In 1928, he recorded the original version of "
Corrine, Corrina
"Corrine, Corrina" (sometimes "Corrina, Corrina") is a 12-bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Carter ( Brunswick 7080, December 1928). However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Armenter "Bo Car ...
", which later became a
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
for
Big Joe Turner and has become a
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
in various musical genres.
Carter and his brothers (including the
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
Harry Chatmon, who also made recordings) first learned music from their father, the
fiddler Henderson Chatmon, a former slave, at their home on a plantation between Bolton and
Edwards, Mississippi
Edwards is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,034 at the 2010 census, down from 1,347 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Edwards is named for Dick Edwards, ...
. Their mother, Eliza, also sang and played the
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
.
Carter made his recording debut in 1928, backing Alec Johnson, and was soon was recording as a
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
musician. He became one of the dominant blues recording acts of the 1930s, recording 110
sides.
He also played with and managed the family group, the Mississippi Sheiks, and several other acts in the area. He and the Sheiks often performed for
whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
, playing the
pop hits of the day and white-oriented
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...
, as well as for
blacks
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
, playing a bluesier repertoire.
Carter went partly blind during the 1930s.
He settled in
Glen Allan, Mississippi Glen Allan is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located in far southern Washington County, Mississippi. It is situated immediately east of Lake Washington's southern shore.
it has a post office, with the ZIP code 38744.
It ...
,
and despite his vision problems did some farming but also continued to play music and perform, sometimes with his brothers.
He moved to
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and worked outside the
music industry in the 1940s.
Carter had
strokes and died of a
cerebral hemorrhage at Shelby County Hospital, in Memphis, on September 21, 1964. He is buried in Nitta Yuma Cemetery,
Sharkey County, Mississippi
Sharkey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Part of the western border is formed by the Yazoo River. According to the 2010 census, the population was 4,916, making it the second-least populous county in Mississippi. ...
.
Compilations
*''Greatest Hits 1930-1940'' (Yazoo, 1969)
*''Twist It Babe 1931-1940'' (Yazoo, 1973)
*''Banana In Your Fruit Basket'' (Yazoo, 1980)
*''The Best of Bo Carter Vol. 1 1928-1940'' (Earl Archives, 1982)
*''Bo Carter 1931-1940'' (Old Tramp, 1987)
*''Bo Carter 1928-1938'' (Document, 1988)
*''The Rarest Bo Carter Vol. 2 1930-1938 (Earl Archives, 1989)
*''Bo Carter Vol. 1-5'' (Document, 1991)
*''Bo Carter's Advice'' (Catfish, 2000)
*''The Essential Bo Carter'' (Document, 2003)
*''The Country Farm Blues'' (P-Vine, 2011)
*''Bo Carter & The Mississippi Sheiks'' (JSP, 2012)
Selected songs
*"
Corrine, Corrina
"Corrine, Corrina" (sometimes "Corrina, Corrina") is a 12-bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Carter ( Brunswick 7080, December 1928). However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Armenter "Bo Car ...
", 1928 (
Brunswick)
*"All Around Man", 1931 (
Bluebird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
...
)
*"Your Biscuits Are Big Enough for Me", 1936
*"Old Devil", 1938 (Bluebird)
Influence
Carter's style of playing the guitar and his songwriting have won him fans long after he died. One of the most notable examples is the Irish
blues rock guitarist
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...
, who performed several of Carter's songs, including "All Around Man."
Carter was not related to former Southwest and
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
assistant commissioner Sam T. (Bo) Carter.
References
External links
Bo Carter biographyat the
emusic
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York C ...
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...
Bo Carter discography
*
Bo Carter recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Bo
Delta blues musicians
Dirty blues musicians
Country blues musicians
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Country blues singers
American folk musicians
Blind musicians
Bluebird Records artists
1964 deaths
People from Bolton, Mississippi
20th-century American guitarists
African-American guitarists