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Biography
Papa Charlie Jackson (November 10, 1887 – May 7, 1938) was an American bluesman and songster who accompanied himself with a banjo guitar, a guitar, or a ukulele. His recording career began in 1924. Much of his life remains a mystery, but his draft card lists his birthplace as New Orleans, Louisiana, and his death certificate states that he died in Chicago, Illinois, on May 7, 1938.
Born William Henry Jackson, he originally performed in minstrel and medicine shows. From the early 1920s into the 1930s, he played frequent club dates in Chicago and was noted for busking at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market. In August 1924, he recorded the commercially successful "Airy Man Blues" and "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" for Paramount Records. One of his sunsequent tracks, "Salty Dog Blues", became his most famous song. Among his recordings are several in which he accompanied classic female blues singers, such as Ida Cox, Hattie McDaniel, and Ma Rainey.