The Devil's Son-In-Law: The Peetie Wheatstraw Story

"Don't tell all your woman what Peetie Wheatstraw can do
That will cause them to be suspicious and you know they will try him too

I am Peetie Wheatstraw the High Sheriff from Hell
The way I strut my stuff- well now you never can tell"

 Peetie Wheatstraw was a hugely popular musician during the 1930s who often publicized himself with the colorful moniker "The Devil's Son-In-Law" or the "High Sheriff of Hell." Pianist Peetie Wheatstraw recorded over 160 songs between 1930 and 1941 and his signature vocal phrase "Oh well well" was imitated by many bluesman including Muddy Waters.

 Born William Bunch in Ripley, Tennessee, on December 21, 1902 his family relocated to Cotton Plant, Arkansas soon after his birth. Little if anything is known of his early life, other than he took up playing both the piano and guitar at a young age. After a period working the Arkansas sawmill towns he arrived in East St. Louis around 1929. Upon arriving in town he renamed himself Peetie Wheatstraw which he took from an old African-American folk tale. Wheatstraw established himself in the thriving St. Louis scene playing in the red-light district along the Third Avenue sector of town. He also played regularly in Louisville, Indianapolis and as far south as Texas.

 Inspired by the popularity of the guitar/piano duets of pianist Leroy Carr and guitar player Scrapper Blackwell he set out to find guitarists to collaborate with. There was no shortage of able guitarists in St. Louis and during his career he frequently worked with top guitarists such as Kokomo Arnold, Charley Jordan, Charlie McCoy, Bumble Bee Slim, Casey Bill Weldon and Lonnie Johnson. Wheatstraw recorded with all these artists throughout the 30's.

 Wheatstraw drew enough attention that he was asked to come to Chicago in 1930 to lay down recordings. Over the following decade, he would make several such treks, recording sides for the Vocalion, Decca and Bluebird labels. While Wheatstraw did play guitar almost all of his recorded pieces featured him on the piano, rarely performing as a guitarist at these sessions.

 Peetie Wheatstraw, though perhaps only a mediocre instrumentalist at best, was quite an adept vocalist and songwriter playing very much in the popular urban blues style of the day. He was known for his heavy, laid-back vocal approach and his often topical subject matter. Songs like "Working On The Project", "Shack Bully Stomp" and "Third Street's Going Down" obviously resonated with his working class audience.

 Some of Wheatstraw's best material featured slide guitarist Kokomo Arnold who he cut sessions with between 1936-1937 and guitar innovator Lonnie Johnson who he cut sides with between 1938-1939. In the late 30's Wheatstraw recorded a number of blues/jazz items featuring Jonah Jones on trumpet and Sid Catlett on drums.

 Peetie Wheatstraw was killed at the height of his popularity in 1941 when the vehicle he was driving in East St. Louis was struck by an oncoming train at a railroad crossing. His distinctive vocal phrasing lived on in the music of everyone from Big Bill Broonzy, Champion Jack Dupree, Johnny Shines and to this day in the singing of R.L. Burnside.

Essential Listening

The Blues (Fremeaux): This 2-CD, 36 song French import is the most comprehensive single collection available of Wheatstraw's music. Collects an excellent cross section of his music spanning 1931 to 1941. Includes signature songs like "Peetie Wheatstraw", "Devil's Son In Law" plus gems like "Beggar Man Blues" and the jazzy "Throw Me In The Alley."

The Last Straw (Catfish): A fine single disc set with some duplication of the above set. Includes some of his best songs like the jazzy "Gangster Blues", topical numbers like "Working On The Project" and "Trucking Thru Traffic" with Lonnie Johnson.