Peetie Wheatstraw - Sugar Mama

Recorded on October 18, 1938. William Bunch of Ripley TN arrived in St. Louis in 1929 hoping to make it as a singer. He adopted the character of ‘Peetie Wheatstraw’- a figure from African American folklore- ‘Peetie’ being the evil twin of ‘Stingeroo’. William Bunch told the tale that he had sold his soul to the Dark Prince at the crossroads at midnight in return for success as a musician. He called himself ‘The Devil’s Son-in Law’ and ‘The High Sheriff of Hell’, but the figure behind the mask was joking and self-mocking rather than threatening. Supernaturally assisted or not, Peetie succeeded in recording over 160 tracks in an eleven year career.