Bo Carter

The unequivocal master of the sexual innuendo, Bo Carter was a strange character from the history of the blues. Born Armenter Chatmon, he adopted the nickname of Bo Carter for his performances. I originally downloaded his material when I was trying to bolster my knowledge of the blues by way of grabbing as much as blues greats as I might find and spent hours listening to them. Save for the legendary Robert Johnson, none left such a prominent memory in my mind as Carter. The two collections of his work are from the 30s and in that context it makes much more sense as to why a man would think double entendres were so necessary. Maybe really like to sing about sex but the popular culture of his time only allowed it in hidden verse. Although many of his songs are like this, he does have more traditional blues themes in others. An interesting note is that his brothers sometimes played with him. Gives me the image of full emersion in blues from all around him. Certainly something fun to play for friends, but I even find him gratifying alone. There is more of his music to be found, these are just what I've got on hand.

To be had here:




Twist It Babe (1931-1940)










Banana In Your Fruit Basket (1931-1936)