Birth name Charles Pertum Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter Years active 1929–1937 Albums Weak-Eyed Blues | Genres Country blues Instruments Vocals Genre Country blues | |
Also known as Charles "Speck" Pertum
"Black Patch" McFadden Born April 24, 1895
Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, United States ( 1895-04-24 ) Died 15 November 1966, St. Louis, Missouri, United States Record labels Paramount Records, Decca Records, Okeh Records, Bluebird Records Similar James "Stump" Johnson, Teddy Darby, Walter Davis, Walter Roland, Clifford Gibson | ||
Charlie specks mcfadden don t bite that thing 1929
Charles Pertum known professionally as Charlie "Specks" McFadden (April 24, 1895 – November 15, 1966), was an American country blues singer and songwriter. On his relatively limited number of recordings, McFadden was accompanied by Roosevelt Sykes and Lonnie Johnson amongst others. His recordings spanned the years from 1929 to 1937. His most notable title was the self-penned "Groceries on the Shelf (Piggly Wiggly)", which was initially recorded in Grafton, Wisconsin, circa February 1930.
Contents
There is limited information concerning life outside of his recordings.
Biography
Charles Pertum was born in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, United States. He was the son of Maggie Pertum. He used Charles "Speck" Pertum as his name on a couple of his earliest recordings, and also used the nickname "Black Patch", in both cases a reference to his reported "weak eyes". On most of his recordings he opted to use his stepfather's name, McFadden.
McFadden moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1921. He was considered to be one of the top blues singers in the city, and waxed his first recordings in 1929. He made friends with the blues pianist, Roosevelt Sykes, and Sykes played on twelve of the 20 tracks which are preserved for posterity. McFadden's most notable number was "Groceries on the Shelf (Piggly Wiggly)", which he wrote himself. He recorded three separate versions of the song, which was covered by Lucille Bogan. Piggly Wiggly is the name of a successful American supermarket chain, operating in the Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States, which first opened in 1916. Another of his tracks was "Gambler's Blues", the title of which he may have been well versed to expound. McFadden was arrested on 13 separate occasions between 1929 and 1935, with ten of those charges being for gambling. Little is known of his existence otherwise.
McFadden died in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 15, 1966, aged 71.
Discography
The following compilation album contains all of his recordings, except for four titles that have not been found.
Songs
Friendless Man
Don't Bite That Thing
Groceries On The Shelf