Bob Brozman:
Charley Patton is absolutely the most important Mississippi Delta blues guy. Without him, none of those guys would exist. I feel that his music is by far the most emotionally and rhythmically intense. It's as far back as you can go in recorded history, almost all the way back to Africa. Robert Johnson, who gets a lot of attention, is sort of a musical grandson to Charley Patton, even though he recorded only a few years later. Patton is a little more challenging for people to listen to: the records are a little scratchy, the music a little more syncopated. But it's got a
lot more depth, subtlety, and interaction between guitar and voice. It's really worth spending some time with. Even if the listener can't really understand every word, if you want to really understand blues, put Charley Patton's music on in the background of your life for several months and let his vocal phrases and timing and melodies wash over you until you start feeling him internally. If you're going to be involved with Mississippi blues, Charley Patton is the man. You must start there. I say that emphatically.