Recently I pulled the excellent book entitled King Of The Delta Blues: The Life And Music Of Charlie Patton from my bookstack, and have been again pouring through it.  The authors, Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow, meticulously present the most minute of details while profiling the life of one of the blues’ most important and influential figures.  The book was first published in 1988, and remains a classic of blues literature.

The name Willie Brown comes up often in the Patton book as someone who accompanied Patton, and is referenced as someone who was also was an early blues recording artist.  If you are a seasoned blues fan, you are likely to be aware of Brown’s most notable recordings, including “M & O Blues,” “Make Me A Pallet On The Floor,” and “Future Blues.”  But just who was Willie Brown?

Hailing from Clarksdale, Mississippi in August, 1900, Brown, like many early blues guitarists, picked up the rudiments of the instrument while still in his early teen years.  The early residential locations of Brown have been suggested by various researchers to be Drew, Mississippi and Robinsonville, Mississippi, but it does seem clearer that by 1935 he resided in Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. 

Brown was not a “front man”; rather, he came to be considered the prototypical accompanist of his period, with his most prominent work in such a capacity being with Delta blues legends Charlie Patton and Son House, though he also joined forces with a young Memphis Minnie, as well. 

In reality, Brown was also a moving vocalist and an exceptional guitarist, but still, he seemed most comfortable, and was very successful in, a supporting capacity.  His ability to provide superb accompaniment gained him valued notoriety amongst his blues colleagues.

None other than preeminent Delta blues giant Robert Johnson counted Brown as someone of extraordinary talent, even famously mentioning Brown in his “Cross Road Blues” where he sings, “…my friend Willie Brown.”  It should be stated here that Brown also played together with Johnson.

But Brown’s most tenured association with any Delta blues artist was with Patton, seeing him record and perform with him during the period 1929-1934.  While Patton was both loved and despised for his “clowning” with the guitar when he had been drinking, and for being more than a bit surly of nature, Brown was said to be a man who was more sedate, someone who was appreciably more agreeable as both a performer and person than Patton.

In 1930, a session for Paramount Records yielded Brown’s aforementioned “M & O Blues and “Future Blues,” while also finding Brown working with the blues pianist Louise Johnson, herself known for her bold and lustful barrelhouse style.  It should be mentioned that Brown recorded a total of six sides for Paramount Records.

When the esteemed blues researcher Alan Lomax visited Mississippi in 1941, he recorded Brown for a project he was working upon for both The Library Of Congress and Fisk University.  Recordings were made during Lomax’s visit by musical group that was comprised of Brown, Son House, Leroy Williams, and Fiddlin’ Joe Martin.  Accounts indicate that the four bluesmen recorded three songs, with Brown providing accompaniment on them, with Brown in a solo capacity recording his previously-mentioned “Make Me A Pallet On The Floor.” 

There also remains on blues mystery in relation to Brown that has yet to be definitively resolved, and it involves a 1929 cut entitled “Rowdy Blues.”  The selection has been attributed to Kid Baily, another Mississippi bluesman; however, certain blues researchers believe that the performer may actually be Brown recording under a feigned name.  Yet other blues researchers contend that Brown provided accompaniment to Bailey on the song, as was his expertise.

Into the 1940s, Brown seemed to fade from the blues music scene, and he made the move to Rochester, New York in 1952 to live with Son House.  But he did not stay long in Rochester, and in December, 1952 he passed away in Tunica, Mississippi.

Brown remains something of a shadowy figure in the lore of early Delta blues, but his excellent known solo sides, and his reputation as one of the best accompanists of his time assure him a distinguished place in blues history.

The great Document Records label offers the recorded output of Willie Brown on a couple of CD compilations.  The link to Brown’s work on the Document Records label is presented below.  Document is to be applauded for its compilation of the blues’ pre-war artists.

Document Records (document-records.com)

If Document Records does not have the above CDs in stock, below is a link to Discogs where you can also search for Brown’s recorded output.

 Willie Brown (2) Discography at Discogs: Compilations – Appearances