Bertha Lee Pate Patton Joiner (1902–1975)

January 25, 2017 
/ Contributed By: Euell A. Dixon

Bertha Lee Patton|

Bertha Lee Patton

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Bertha Lee Pate Patton was an African American blues singer from the Mississippi Delta who came to prominence during the 1920s and 1930s. She was born to Ella Johnson and Nels Pate on June 17, 1902, in Flora, Madison County, Mississippi, and moved with her family to Lula, Mississippi, when she was a child. Lula was a hot spot for blues activity in the 1920s and 1930s and was part of the Mississippi Delta musical scene that nurtured numerous artists from Robert Johnson during that period to B.B. King, who rose to prominence in the 1950s.

Young Bertha Lee Pate, like many aspiring blues singers, held a regular day job as a cook for local white families. At the age of sixteen, she met Charlie Patton who by that point (1918) was already a legendary blues singer in the region. They met at a club where Patton was performing, began an intense courtship, and soon the two were married. They settled in nearby Holly Ridge, Mississippi, and both began performing together in local clubs.

By this point, Bertha Lee and Charlie had developed a volatile relationship. Although Charlie Patton was a womanizer, she remained faithful to him despite their often violent arguments about his infidelity. On one occasion, the couple was held overnight in a Mississippi jailhouse after their argument turned violent. On another occasion, a friend recalled a fight in which Bertha Lee pinned Charlie to the ground and beat him with her fists repetitively. It is reported, but never confirmed, that the scar on Charlie Patton’s neck was from being slit with a razor by Bertha Lee.

In 1934 the couple made the long journey by bus and train to New York City to record together for the first time at the Paramount Records recording studio. For Charlie Patton, however, this would be his last recording session. Bertha Lee Patton’s recordings with her husband are the only documents left of her voice. She sang on twelve of his records, including the album, Masters of the Delta Blues: The Friends of Charlie Patton. As a consequence of the success of that album, Patton recorded three songs as a solo artist, “Yellow Bee,” “Dog Train Blues,” and “Mind Reader Blues.”

Bertha Lee remained Patton’s wife until his death due to a heart condition on April 24, 1934. Shortly after they completed their last recording together, Patton died lying across his wife’s lap. Bertha Lee Patton later met a man named Joiner and took her new husband’s last name. They moved to an undisclosed suburb in Cook County, Illinois, outside of Chicago in 1949 where she worked in a used clothing store. She never sang in public again. Joiner died on May 10, 1975, in her home near Chicago.

About the Author

Author Profile

Multiple business owner Euell Dixon (formerly Nielsen) was born on November 3, 1973, in Sewell, New Jersey. The youngest daughter of scientist and author Eustace A. Dixon II and Travel Agent Eleanor Forman, Euell was an early reader and began tutoring at The Verbena Ferguson Tutoring Center for Adults at the age of 13. She has owned and operated five different companies in the past 20 years including Show and Touch, Stitch This, Get Twisted, Dimaje Photography, and Island Treazures.

Euell is a Veteran of the U.S. Army (Reserves) and a member of the Order of Eastern Star, House of Zeresh #103. She is also the 3rd Historian for First African Presbyterian Church, the nation’s oldest African American Presbyterian church, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Euell is also a photographer, storyteller, fiber artist, and a historical re-enactor, portraying the lives of Patriot Hannah Till, Elizabeth Gloucester, and Henrietta Duterte. Euell has been writing for Blackpast.org since 2014 and was given an award from the site in 2016 for being the only African American female who had almost 100 entries at the time. Since then, she has written over 300 entries. Euell currently lives in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Dixon, E. (2017, January 25). Bertha Lee Pate Patton Joiner (1902–1975). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/joiner-bertha-lee-pate-patton-1902-1975/

Source of the Author's Information:

Frank Morales, “Morning Music: Bertha Lee Pate,” Franklycurious.com,
January, 2016, http://franklycurious.com/wp/2016/01/04/bertha-lee-pate/;
Richard V. Gilbert, “Bertha Lee and Charlie Patton: A Turbulent and
Volatile Relationship Which Created A Lot Of Great Music, Fishbellyblues.com, November 2, 2014,
https://fishbellyblues.com/page/2/; Ben Wynne, In Tune, Charley Patton,
Jimmie Rodgers and the Roots of American Music,
(Louisiana State
University Press, Baton Rouge, 2014).

Further Reading