Head to the source of Delta blues—and all the blues, rock, and hip-hop it begat—and find Charley Patton, a diminutive musician of booming voice, dazzling guitar skills, and innate showmanship. While little is known about either his race or parentage, Patton was probably born in rural Mississippi in 1891. In 1897, his family moved to Dockery Farms, where Patton began performing on porches and at picnics. His Mississippi coterie included Robert Johnson and Son House, while Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters studied him intently. Although he only recorded some 50 tracks during sessions for Paramount (1929-30) and Vocalian (1934), they reflect a journeyman entertainer’s protean familiarity with country blues, hillbilly songs, balladry, ragtime, and even Tin Pan Alley pop. Tracks such as “Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues” and “Down the Dirt Road Blues” transcend their recordings’ limitations with polyrhythmic subtlety and emotional vigor. Patton’s versatility is on full display in the gospel fervor of “You’re Gonna Need Somebody When You Die” (released in 1939 under the pseudonym Elder J.J. Hadley). Patton’s range and dependability made him a popular performer until his premature coronary-related death in 1934.