Robert Pete Williams (March 14, 1914 – December 31, 1980) was an American Louisiana blues musician. His music characteristically employed unconventional structures and

guitar tunings Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...

, and his songs are often about the time he served in prison. His song "I've Grown So Ugly" has been covered by Captain Beefheart, on his album '' Safe as Milk'' (1967), and by

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

, on ''

Rubber Factory ''Rubber Factory'' is the third studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys. It was self-produced by the band and was released on September 7, 2004, on Fat Possum Records. The album was recorded in an abandoned tire-manufacturing factory in ...

'' (2004).

Biography

Williams was born in

Zachary Zachary is a male given name, a variant of Zechariah – the name of several Biblical characters. People *Pope Zachary (679–752), Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752 * Zachary of Vienne (died 106), bishop of Vienne (France), martyr an ...

, Louisiana, to a family of

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

. He had no formal schooling, and spent his childhood picking cotton and cutting sugar cane. In 1928, he moved to

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

and worked in a lumberyard. At the age of 20, Williams fashioned a crude guitar by attaching five copper strings to a cigar box, and soon after bought a cheap, mass-produced one. Williams was taught by Frank and Robert Metty, and was at first chiefly influenced by

Peetie Wheatstraw William Bunch (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941), known as Peetie Wheatstraw, was an American musician, an influential figure among 1930s blues singers. Early life and career William Bunch was the son of James Bunch and Mary (Burns) Bunc ...

and Blind Lemon Jefferson. He began to play for small events such as Church gatherings, fish fries, suppers, and dances. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Williams played music and continued to work in the lumberyards of Baton Rouge. He was discovered by ethnomusicologists Dr Harry Oster and Richard Allen in

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

, where he was serving a life sentence for fatally shooting a man in a nightclub in 1956, an act which he claimed was in self-defense. Oster and Allen recorded Williams performing several of his songs about prison life, and pleaded for him to be pardoned. Under pressure from Oster, the parole board issued a pardon, and commuted his sentence to 12 years. In December 1958, he was released into 'servitude parole', which required 80 hours of labor per week on a

Denham Springs Denham Springs is a city in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2010 U.S. census placed the population at 10,215, up from 8,757 at the 2000 U. S. census. At the 2020 United States census, 9,286 people lived in the city. The city is ...

farm without due compensation, and only room and board provided. This parole prevented him from working in music, though he was able to occasionally play with Butch Cage and Willie B. Thomas at Thomas's home in

. By this time, Williams' music was becoming popular, and he played at the 1964

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

. By 1965, he was able to tour the country, traveling to Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Chicago and

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. In 1966 he also toured Europe. In 1968 he settled in Maringouin, west of Baton Rouge and began to work outside of music. In 1970, Williams began to perform once again, touring blues and folk festivals throughout the United States and Europe. His music has appeared in several films notably, the ''Roots of American Music; Country and Urban Music'' (1971); ''Out of the Blacks into the Blues'' (1972) and ''Blues Under the Skin'' (1972) the last two being French-made films. His most popular recordings included "Prisoner's Talking Blues" and "Pardon Denied Again". Williams has been inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

. Williams reduced his activities by the late 1970s, and died in

Rosedale, Louisiana Rosedale is a village in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 793 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Rosedale is located in northern Iberville Parish at (30.43992 ...

on December 31, 1980.

Discography

*''Angola Prisoner's Blues'' (Louisiana Folklore Society LFS A-3, Collector JGN 1003, reissued Arhoolie 2011), recorded 1959, includes five tracks by Williams *'' Those Prison Blues'' (Folk-Lyric FL-109), recorded 1959 - reissued in 1971 (Arhoolie 2015) with altered track listing *'' Free Again'' ( Bluesville BVLP 1026), recorded 1961 *''Louisiana Blues'' (Takoma b-1011), recorded 1966 *''Robert Pete Williams'' (Ahura Mazda AMS 2002), recorded 1970 *''When I Lay My Burden Down'' (Southland SLP-4), recorded 1971 *''Sugar Farm Blues'' (Blues Beacon 1932), recorded 1972 *''Robert Pete Williams with Big Joe Williams'' (Storyville SLP 225), recorded 1972, includes three tracks with Big Joe Williams on kazoo *''Legacy of the Blues Vol. 9'' (Sonet 649), 1973 *''Santa Fe Blues'' (Paris Album DISCODIS), 1979 *''Poor Bob's Blues'' (Arhoolie 2004 ARHCD 511), recorded 1959-1980, Folk-Lyric label

References

Notes

*''Baton Rouge Blues: A Guide to the Baton Rouge Bluesmen and Their Music'' by Jimmy Beyer, 1980. Publisher: Arts and Humanities Council of Greater Baton Rouge, ASIN: B0006E5DPW

External links

Illustrated Robert Pete Williams discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert Pete 1914 births 1980 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Blues revival musicians Country blues musicians Louisiana blues musicians People from Zachary, Louisiana 20th-century American singers Blues musicians from Louisiana Prison music 20th-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Louisiana People from Maringouin, Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians Southland Records artists American male singer-songwriters