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35-446: Dixon's "Spoonful" is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton . Earlier related songs include "All I Want Is a Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson (1925) and " Cocaine Blues " by Luke Jordan (1927). The lyrics relate men's sometimes violent search to satisfy their cravings, with "a spoonful" used mostly as a metaphor for pleasures, which have been interpreted as sex, love, and drugs: It could be

70-642: A "jack-of all-trades bluesman", who played "deep blues, white hillbilly songs, nineteenth-century ballads, and other varieties of black and white country dance music with equal facility". He was popular across the southern United States and performed annually in Chicago; in 1934, he performed in New York City. Unlike most blues musicians of his time, who were often itinerant performers, Patton played scheduled engagements at plantations and taverns. He gained popularity for his showmanship, sometimes playing with

105-427: A Cherokee grandmother; however, it is also widely asserted by historians that he was between one-quarter and one-half Choctaw . In 1897, his family moved 100 miles (160 km) north to the 10,000-acre (40 km ) Dockery Plantation , a cotton farm and sawmill near Ruleville, Mississippi . There, Patton developed his musical style, influenced by Henry Sloan , who had a new, unusual style of playing music, which

140-808: A bluesman and his importance in the development of the blues in Mississippi. It placed another historic marker at the site where the Peavine Railroad intersects Highway 446 in Boyle, Mississippi , designating it as a second site related to Patton on the Mississippi Blues Trail . The marker commemorates the lyrics of Patton's "Peavine Blues", which refer to the branch of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad which ran south from Dockery Plantation to Boyle. The marker notes that riding on

175-471: A database engineer, Vladimir Bogdanov , to design the All Music Guide framework, and recruited his nephew, writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine , to develop editorial content. In 1993, Chris Woodstra joined the staff as an engineer. A "record geek" who had written for alternative weeklies and fanzines, his main qualification was an "encyclopedic knowledge of music". 1,400 subgenres of music were created,

210-471: A feature that became central to the site's utility. In a 2016 article in Tedium , Ernie Smith wrote: "AllMusic may have been one of the most ambitious sites of the early-internet era—and it's one that is fundamental to our understanding of pop culture. Because, the thing is, it doesn't just track reviews or albums. It tracks styles, genres, and subgenres, along with the tone of the music and the platforms on which

245-590: A spoonful of coffee It could be a spoonful of tea But one little spoon of your precious love Is good enough for me Men lies about that spoonful Some of them dies about that spoonful Some of them cries about that spoonful But everybody fight about that spoonful "Spoonful" has a one-chord, modal blues structure found in other songs Dixon wrote for Howlin' Wolf, such as " Wang Dang Doodle " and " Back Door Man ", and in Wolf's own " Smokestack Lightning ". It uses eight-bar vocal sections with twelve-bar choruses and

280-548: A strong feeling that the music of Patton and his peers reflected the local geography, and I was struck by the extent to which that belief was already shared by people who were living in the Delta back then, when it was a center of musical innovation. Listening to interviews with H. C. Speir , who owned a furniture store in Jackson in the 1920s and was responsible for virtually all the recordings of early Delta blues, he clearly linked

315-413: Is now considered an early form of the blues. Patton performed at Dockery and nearby plantations and began an association with Willie Brown . Tommy Johnson , Fiddlin' Joe Martin , Robert Johnson , and Chester Burnett (who went on to gain fame in Chicago as Howlin' Wolf ) also lived and performed in the area, and Patton served as a mentor to these younger performers. Robert Palmer described Patton as

350-564: Is performed at a medium blues tempo in the key of E. Music critic Bill Janovitz describes it as "brutal, powerful Wolf bellowing in his raspy style. There are few recordings that equal the powerful force of 'Spoonful,' or, for that matter, any other Wolf/Dixon Chess side." Backing Wolf on vocals are longtime accompanist Hubert Sumlin on guitar, relative newcomer Freddie Robinson on second guitar, and Chess recording veterans Otis Spann on piano, Fred Below on drums, and Dixon on double-bass. It has been suggested that Freddie King contributed

385-526: The Mississippi Sheiks . Biographer John Fahey described Patton as having "light skin and Caucasian features." Patton was considered African-American, but because of his light complexion there has been much speculation about his ancestry over the years. One theory endorsed by blues musician Howlin' Wolf was that Patton was Mexican or Cherokee . It is generally agreed that Patton was of Black , White, and Native heritage. Some believe he had

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420-738: The National Recording Preservation Board in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2006. The board annually selects recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2017, Patton's story was told in the award-winning documentary series American Epic . The film featured unseen film footage of Patton's contemporaries and radically improved restorations of his 1920s and 1930s recordings. Director Bernard MacMahon observed that "we had

455-494: The "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". It is ranked number 154 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", up from number 221 on its 2004 list. In 2010, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame "Classics of Blues Recordings" category. In a statement by the foundation, it was noted that " Otis Rush has stated that Dixon presented 'Spoonful' to him, but

490-489: The "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American music and inspired most Delta blues musicians. The musicologist Robert Palmer considered him one of the most important American musicians of the twentieth century. Patton (who was well educated by the standards of his time) spelled his name Charlie , but many sources, including record labels and his gravestone, use the spelling Charley . Patton

525-636: The Heathman-Dedham plantation, near Indianola , on April 28, 1934, and is buried in Holly Ridge (both towns are located in Sunflower County). His death certificate states that he died of a mitral valve disorder. The death certificate does not mention Bertha Lee; the only informant listed is one Willie Calvin. Patton's death was not reported in the newspapers. A memorial headstone was erected on Patton's grave (the location of which

560-476: The database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne . AllMusic was launched as All-Music Guide by Michael Erlewine , a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as

595-508: The dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard . After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan , he founded All Music Guide with a goal to create an open-access database that included every recording "since Enrico Caruso gave

630-589: The guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. Patton was a small man, about 5 feet 5 inches tall (1.65m), but his gravelly voice was reputed to have been loud enough to carry 500 yards without amplification; a singing style which particularly influenced Howlin' Wolf (even though Jimmie Rodgers , the "singing brakeman", has to be cited there primarily). Patton settled in Holly Ridge, Mississippi , with his common-law wife and recording partner, Bertha Lee , in 1933. His relationship with Bertha Lee

665-572: The guitar worship of heavy metal." For the American release of Fresh Cream , " I Feel Free " was substituted for "Spoonful". Atco Records released the song in the US later in 1967 as a two-sided single (with some pressings misspelled as "Spoonfull"), but it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 record chart. To fit the 6:30 album track on a 45 rpm record, side one fades out at the beginning of

700-640: The industry its first big boost". The first All Music Guide , published in 1992, was a 1,200-page reference book, packaged with a CD-ROM, titled All Music Guide: The Best CDs, Albums & Tapes: The Expert's Guide to the Best Releases from Thousands of Artists in All Types of Music . Its first online version, in 1994, was a text-based Gopher site. It moved to the World Wide Web as web browsers became more user-friendly. Erlewine hired

735-519: The instrumental break (at 2:25) and side two begins just before the third verse (lasting 2:28). The unedited studio version made its US album debut on the Best of Cream compilation in 1969. Cream frequently played "Spoonful" in concert, and the song evolved beyond the blues-rock form of the 1966 recording into a vehicle for extended improvised soloing influenced by the San Francisco music scene of

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770-575: The late 1960s. One such rendering, lasting nearly seventeen minutes, is included on their 1968 album Wheels of Fire . Although the album notes indicate "Live at the Fillmore", "Spoonful" was actually recorded at the Winterland Ballroom . Charley Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton , was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be

805-566: The music is sold. It then connects that data together, in a way that can intelligently tell you about an entire type of music, whether a massive genre like classical, or a tiny one like sadcore ." In 1996, seeking to further develop its web-based businesses, Alliance Entertainment Corp. bought All Music from Erlewine for a reported $ 3.5 million. He left the company after its sale. Alliance filed for bankruptcy in 1999, and its assets were acquired by Ron Burkle 's Yucaipa Equity Fund. In 1999, All Music relocated from Big Rapids to Ann Arbor , where

840-495: The music to its surroundings." Patton's story was profiled in the accompanying book, American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself . In May, 2021, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posthumously inducted Patton into the 2021 class as an Early Influence. The Mississippi Blues Trail placed its first historical marker at the cemetery where Patton's grave is in Holly Ridge, Mississippi , in recognition of his legendary status as

875-511: The railroad was a common theme of blues songs and was seen as a metaphor for travel and escape. ≠ Vocals and guitar by Patton, with Henry "Son" Sims on fiddle. Willie Brown on accompanying guitar ‡ Vocal duet with Bertha Lee AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG ) is an American online music database . It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands . Initiated in 1991,

910-532: The sale, and as Rovi from 2009 until 2016). In 2012, AllMusic removed all of Bryan Adams ' info from the site per a request from the artist. In 2015, AllMusic was purchased by BlinkX, later known as RhythmOne . The AllMusic database is powered by a combination of MySQL and MongoDB . The All Media Network produced the All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide (at first released as The Experts' Guide ), which includes

945-506: The second guitar on "Spoonful", but both Sumlin and Robinson insist it was Robinson. In 1962, the song was included on Wolf's second compilation album for Chess, Howlin' Wolf . In 1968, Wolf reluctantly re-recorded "Spoonful", along with several of his blues classics in Marshall Chess 's attempt at updating Wolf's sound for the burgeoning rock market. Unlike his 1971 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Chess LP-60008), on which he

980-413: The song didn't suit Rush's tastes and so it ended up with Wolf, and soon thereafter with Etta James ". James' recording with Harvey Fuqua as "Etta & Harvey" reached number 12 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number 78 on its Hot 100 singles chart. However, Wolf’s original "was the one that inspired so many blues and rock bands in the years to come". Chris Whitley covered

1015-522: The song on his 2000 album Perfect Day (Chris Whitley album) The British rock group Cream recorded "Spoonful" for their 1966 UK debut album, Fresh Cream . They were part of a trend in the mid-1960s by rock artists to record a Willie Dixon song for their debut albums. In an album review for AllMusic , Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Cream's rendition as "where the swirling instrumental interplay, echo, fuzz tones, and overwhelming volume constitute true psychedelic music, and also points strongly toward

1050-407: The staff expanded from 12 to 100 people. By February of that year, 350,000 albums and two million tracks had been cataloged. All Music had published biographies of 30,000 artists, 120,000 record reviews and 300 essays written by "a hybrid of historians, critics and passionate collectors". In late 2007, AllMusic was purchased for $ 72 million by TiVo Corporation (known as Macrovision at the time of

1085-424: Was a turbulent one. In early 1934, both of them were incarcerated in a Belzoni, Mississippi , jailhouse after a particularly harsh fight. W. R. Calaway from Vocalion Records bailed the pair out of jail, and escorted them to New York City , for what would be Patton's final recording sessions (on January 30 and February 1). They later returned to Holly Ridge and Lee saw Patton out in his final days. He died on

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1120-519: Was backed by several rock stars, including Eric Clapton , Steve Winwood , Bill Wyman , and Charlie Watts , here he was backed by relatively unknown studio session players. The resulting album, The Howlin' Wolf Album , with its "comically bombastic" arrangements and instrumentation, was a musical and commercial failure. Wolf offered his assessment in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine: "Man ... that stuff's dogshit". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful" as one of

1155-784: Was born in Hinds County, Mississippi , near the town of Edwards , and lived most of his life in Sunflower County , in the Mississippi Delta . Most sources say he was born in April 1891, but the years 1881, 1885 and 1887 have also been suggested. Patton's parentage and race also are uncertain. His parents were Bill and Annie Patton, but locally he was regarded as having been fathered by former slave Henderson Chatmon, several of whose children became popular Delta musicians, as solo performers and as members of groups such as

1190-567: Was identified by the cemetery caretaker, C. Howard, who claimed to have been present at the burial), paid for by musician John Fogerty through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund in July 1990. The spelling of Patton's name was dictated by Jim O'Neal , who also composed the epitaph. Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton , a boxed set collecting Patton's recorded works,

1225-400: Was released in 2001. It also features recordings by many of his friends and associates. The set won three Grammy Awards in 2003, for Best Historical Album, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, and Best Album Notes. Another collection of Patton recordings, The Definitive Charley Patton , was released by Catfish Records in 2001. Patton's song " Pony Blues " (1929) was included by

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