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A thens' Neal Pattman, a revered harmonica player and
vocalist who specialized in the countrier side of blues
music, passed away on Thursday, May 5. Pattman had long
struggled with cancer which, following recent hip replacement
surgery, doctors discovered had reemerged. He was 79 years old.
A long-time fixture of the Athens music community, Neal
Pattman grew up near Athens in neighboring Madison
County. It was there that a young Neal learned to
handle adversity early on. At age nine, his right arm
was mangled by a wagon wheel and had to be ampu
tated. Never did this handicap sway Pattman's
interest in music, performing or much of anything
else for that matter.
“Neal had the aspect of an iron wall and was as
solid and strong a man as one might ever meet,"
remembers Tim Duffy, head of the Music Maker Relief
Fund. Music Maker is a North Carolina grassroots orga
nization which released Pattman's recorded work and
booked many of his live appearances. "Having one
arm did not slow Neal down. He was proud to tell you
that he could chop more wood, fight more men and
pick more cotton than most men with two arms. And
you knew he was not lying."
P attman learned about the blues from his
father on a Georgia cotton farm and began
playing harmonica as a youngster. He would
go on to develop a powerful playing style and a
singing voice which, though booming and upfront,
usually came across tender and clear rather than raspy
and menacing. In return, Pattman passed his love of
the blues down a generation to nephew Jackie Payne.
Payne later became known on the Texas and California
blues circuits and toured for many years as R&B great
Johnny Otis' guitarist.
"Neal's blues harp style was very unique and
directly related to the era he came up in," notes
Vibratones guitarist Jim Kautz, who played for 25
years alongside Pattman. "You might even call it 'the
Piedmont Style,' as Neal frequently referenced 'the
Piedmont Blues' He could be anywhere, pull out that
harp and people would gather 'round. He had such
huge charisma. At a lot of shows we did, people
would arrive early and start gathering around just to
see NeaL He definitely had a great spirit Muddy
Waters had that too and that was a big part of his
success. I think Neal had that same sort of
charisma—the ability to just draw people into what
he was doing."
As was the case with Muddy Waters and so many other elder
bluesmen, Neal Pattman experienced a real career upswing in his
later years. During this time, he maintained a consistent perfor
mance schedule throughout the Southeast and abroad. Pattman's
brand of footstompin' blues was also well-received in the U.K. where
his Jay Hawkins-styie pompadour, steely glare and down-home
showmanship earned him the lasting nickname "Big Daddy."
“I
've got this message on my answering machine that's been
there for a number of months," says Kautz. "Neal would
oftentimes call me and I knew he wasn't much of a conver
sationalist over the phone because when he would leave a message,
he'd just say 'Big Daddy,' that's all, and I'd know to call him back.
Well, on this particular message, the machine picks up, then there's
about three minutes worth of harp playing and singing. It really
touched my heart that someone would take the time to sit there and
sing me a song over the answering machine. Then he just said 'Big
Daddy 7 and hung up."
Pattman's affiliation with the Music Maker organization led to a
string of memorable late '90s performances alongside blues legend
Taj MahaL The Taj & the Music Makers project featured a revolving
cast of regional greats including South Carolina gospel blues singer
Cootie Stark (who passed away earlier this April three weeks before
his dear friend Pattman), Atlanta's Beveriy "Guitar" Watkins and fin-
gerpicker Guitar Gabriel The flattering press generated by the tour
exposed Pattman to a whole generation of blues fans who'd never
have heard his music otherwise.
"I traveled a great deal with Neal and Cootie Stark
throughout the United States and Europe," says Duffy.
"Fll never forget the day Neal saved Cootie's life. The
train we were riding had stopped in Paris and the
doors opened, but not in front of a platform. Cootie,
who was blind, just walked out the door and started
to fell underneath the train. Neal instinctively jumped
down and caught Cootie's hand in his as Cootie was
disappearing under the train. It was an unbelievable
sight. As I joined them, a guy ran into me. He pro
ceeded to rifle through my pockets, grab my camera
and then began to shake down Cootie. Neal raised his
one hand and the thief ran away. You could not travel
with a better man."
P attman also released several fine CDs during
this period, including 1999's Prison Blues
(featuring Mahal and Stark) and the import-
only It Seemed Like o Dream, an intimate collabora
tion with Australian guitarist Peter Gelling. Though
new to the element of recording, Pattman's album
tracks, like his exhilarating live shows, demonstrated
a natural versatility with most any type of blues: be it
the sparse, haunting variety, gospel testimonials or
hot ensemble playing.
Pattman continued to perform well into his 70s
despite declining health. In 2001, he won the
Flagpole Athens Music Award for Best Blues Artist and
graciously accepted with wife Deborah at his side. In
2004, thanks to a Peter Jennings newsbyte on Music
Maker, Pattman and Stark were invited to join young
blues guitarist Kenny Wayne ShephercJ, as well as
members of Stevie Ray Vaughan's band Double
Trouble, in North Carolina to record the upcoming CD
and DVD 10 Days Out: Blues From the Backroods. The
project also paited Shepherd with Pinetop Perkins,
Bob Margolin, Lazy Lester and Jimmie D. Lane, among
many other elder blues statesmen. These rousing
cross-generational performances were the last to fea
ture Pattman and Stark together. Fortunately, they
were recorded for posterity and the finished product is
scheduled for reLease later this year.
When all's said and done, it doesn't matter that
"Big Dadoy" never reached the iconic status of Muddy, Wolf or the
Hook. Neal Pattman's contribution to Southern blues, fiery charisma
and good-natured personality will be long remembered by those who
knew him and enjoyed his music. Wherever he is right now, you can
bet there's some good old-feshioned shakin' going on.
Michael Andrews
Neal “Big Daddy” Pattman, 1926-2005
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26 FLAGPOLE.COM • MAY 18, 2005