Charley Patton (c.1891-1934) was an American blues singer and guitarist, often called the father of the Delta blues. His recordings for Paramount are among the foundation stones of pre-war blues.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears through Dirt Road Blues, a title that points directly to the rough, urgent world of his surviving records.

Patton’s style was raw, rhythmic and theatrical, combining driving guitar, shouted vocals and percussive effects. His music has a bodily force that still startles through the surface noise.

He influenced generations of blues and rock musicians. Patton’s records sound less like performances than weather systems rolling across Mississippi dust.