Biography
Born on January 10, 1926, in Madison County, Georgia, blues harp virtuoso Neal Pattman was one of fourteen siblings. A farming mishap took his right arm at age seven. His father soon showed him the harmonica, after which Pattman drew strong influence from fellow local Sonny Terry and adopted the same signature whoops and shouts. As a teenager he busked for change on Athens street corners before taking a kitchen post on the University of Georgia campus. His fiery harp lines and heartfelt singing made him a familiar name at regional nightspots, churches, and festivals, yet the wider blues audience knew nothing of him until 1989, when a Lincoln Center appearance in New York City brought immediate offers to tour overseas.
He first met Timothy Duffy, founder of North Carolina’s Music Maker Relief Foundation, in 1991. Duffy placed him alongside other foundation artists, most prominently singer and guitarist Cootie Stark, for the forty-eight-city Blues Revival Tour supporting Taj Mahal. A 1995 London show at the 100 Club with British guitarist Dave Peabody became the basis for Pattman’s first album, Live in London. Three years afterward, Duffy’s Music Maker imprint issued the follow-up Prison Blues. Pattman succumbed to cancer on May 4, 2005, months after recording with Kenny Wayne Shepherd on 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads.
He first met Timothy Duffy, founder of North Carolina’s Music Maker Relief Foundation, in 1991. Duffy placed him alongside other foundation artists, most prominently singer and guitarist Cootie Stark, for the forty-eight-city Blues Revival Tour supporting Taj Mahal. A 1995 London show at the 100 Club with British guitarist Dave Peabody became the basis for Pattman’s first album, Live in London. Three years afterward, Duffy’s Music Maker imprint issued the follow-up Prison Blues. Pattman succumbed to cancer on May 4, 2005, months after recording with Kenny Wayne Shepherd on 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads.
Albums
