Charles "Papa Charlie" McCoy (May 26, 1909 or 1911 – July 26, 1950) was an American
Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
musician and songwriter.
Career
McCoy was born in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
. He was best known by his nickname, Papa Charlie. As a guitarist and
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
player, he was one of the major blues accompanists of his time.
He played in the Mississippi area with his band, the Mississippi Hot Footers. As a
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
ist, he recorded under the name Tampa Kid, releasing "Keep on Trying". He and his older brother
Kansas Joe McCoy
Wilbur "Kansas Joe" McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was an American Delta blues singer, musician and songwriter.
Career
McCoy performed under various stage names but is best known as Kansas Joe McCoy. Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he ...
performed together in the 1930s and 1940s and recorded as the McCoy Brothers.
McCoy and
Bo Carter
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 in concerts and on a few of their recordings. He also ...
recorded several sides as the Mississippi Mud Steppers, including two variations of
Cow Cow Davenport
Charles Edward "Cow Cow" Davenport (April 23, 1894 – December 3, 1955) was an American boogie-woogie and piano blues player as well as a vaudeville entertainer. He also played the organ and sang.
Davenport, who also made recordings under the ...
's "Cow Cow Blues": the first, an
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
, was released as "The Jackson Stomp", and the second, with lyrics and vocals by McCoy, as "The Lonesome Train, That Took My Girl from Town". They also wrote and recorded "The Vicksburg Stomp" (a version of which was recorded by the mandolinists
Mike Compton and
David Long in 2006).
McCoy moved to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, where he organized two bands, both with his brother Kansas Joe—Papa Charlie's Boys and the
Harlem Hamfats
The Harlem Hamfats was a Chicago jazz band formed in 1936. Initially, they mainly provided backup music for jazz and blues singers, such as Johnny Temple, Rosetta Howard, and Frankie Jaxon, for Decca Records. Their first record, "Oh! Red", be ...
—which performed and recorded in the late 1930s.
McCoy's career was cut short by his service with the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In poor health after the war, he never returned to music. He died in Chicago in 1950 from "paralytic brain disease",
only a few months after his brother died. Both are buried in the
Restvale Cemetery
Restvale Cemetery open 1927 is located at 11700 S. Laramie Ave. in Alsip, Illinois, United States, a suburb southwest of the city of Chicago. A number of Chicago blues musicians, educators, and notable people are buried here.
Restvale and Burr Oa ...
, in
Alsip, Illinois
Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank Al ...
.
Several cover versions of McCoy's composition "Too Long" have been released.
See also
*
List of blues musicians
Blues musicians are musical artists who are primarily recognized as writing, performing, and recording blues music. They come from different eras and include styles such as ragtime-vaudeville, Delta and country blues, and urban styles from Chicag ...
*
List of Delta blues musicians
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from north to south between Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and from east to west be ...
*
List of people from Mississippi
This list contains people who were born or lived in the U.S. state of Mississippi.
Activists and advocates
* Ruby Bridges (born 1954), first African-American child to attend an all-white school in the South ( Tylertown)
* Will D. Campbell ...
References
External links
Bio of Charlie McCoy with photo*
Allmusic biography
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
*
Birthplaces of Mississippi Blues Artists (maps)McCoy Brothers Tribute website*
Charlie McCoy recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Papa Charlie
Delta blues musicians
Country blues musicians
African-American guitarists
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
United States Army personnel of World War II
Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi
1909 births
1950 deaths
American blues mandolinists
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Chicago
Guitarists from Mississippi
American mandolinists
20th-century American male musicians
Harlem Hamfats members
20th-century African-American musicians
Burials at Restvale Cemetery