Papa Charlie Jackson

Papa Charlie Jackson was the first self-accompanied male blues artist to record, predating the more famous Delta blues musicians by several years. His 1924 recording of 'Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues' for Paramount Records was a milestone in blues history. He played a hybrid banjo-guitar (a six-string banjo) and performed in a vaudeville-influenced style that reflected the minstrel show and medicine show traditions. He recorded over 60 sides for Paramount and Okeh between 1924 and 1934, and his recordings bridge the gap between the older songster/minstrel tradition and the newer blues idiom.