Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne (February 4, 1883 – March 17, 1939) was an early-20th-century African-American blues musician from Greenville, Alabama, who was more widely known by his nickname Tee Tot.
Rufus Payne
Rufus Payne was buried in Lincoln Cemetery located in Montgomery, Alabama. This is the marker placed near his final resting place.
Payne's nickname of "Tee Tot" is an ironic pun for "teetotaler". It is said that Payne received his nickname because he usually carried a homemade mixture of alcohol and tea wherever he went.[1]
According to Alabama historian Alice Harp, Payne was born in 1883 on the Payne Plantation in Sandy Ridge, Lowndes County, Alabama.[2]
Career and influenceedit
Some say Tee Tot played the blues alone[who?]; others state that he led a little combo that played pop songs and hokum numbers and was a street musician.
Tee Tot is best known for being a mentor to Hank Williams. Rufus Payne met Hank Williams when Hank was eight years old, and legend has it that he would come around and play Hank's guitar, showing Hank how to improvise chords. His influence in exposing Williams to blues and other African American influences helped Williams successfully fuse hillbilly, folk and blues into his own unique style, which in turn expanded and exposed both white and black audiences to the differing sounds.
Deathedit
Payne died at a charity hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1939, at the age of 56.[3] He is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Montgomery; as the exact location of his gravesite is unknown, a memorial to him stands near the entrance to the cemetery, paid for by Hank Williams Jr. and other members of the Grand Ole Opry.[4]
^"Hank Williams: The Biography Book Excerpt". Cmt.com. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
^"Rufus Payne's(Tee Tot's) Memorial- He was Hank Williams First Music Teacher". Joeb-tallyho.blogspot.com. April 1, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
^Berry, Chad (January 4, 2003). "Hank's History". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1D. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
^Escott, Colin (August 10, 2005). "Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues". PBS. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^"Rex Ingram, the Actor, Dies in Hollywood at 73; His Portrayal of De Lawd in 'Green Pastures' Hailed-Medical School Graduate". New York Times. September 20, 1969. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
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rufus, payne, rufus, payne, february, 1883, march, 1939, early, 20th, century, african, american, blues, musician, from, greenville, alabama, more, widely, known, nickname, buried, lincoln, cemetery, located, montgomery, alabama, this, marker, placed, near, fi. Rufus Tee Tot Payne February 4 1883 March 17 1939 was an early 20th century African American blues musician from Greenville Alabama who was more widely known by his nickname Tee Tot Rufus PayneRufus Payne was buried in Lincoln Cemetery located in Montgomery Alabama This is the marker placed near his final resting place Background informationBirth nameRufus PayneAlso known asTee TotBornFebruary 4 1883Greenville Alabama USOriginMontgomery Alabama USDied 1939 03 17 March 17 1939 aged 56 Montgomery Alabama USGenresBlues gospel countryOccupation s Singer songwriter musicianInstrument s Vocals guitar Payne s nickname of Tee Tot is an ironic pun for teetotaler It is said that Payne received his nickname because he usually carried a homemade mixture of alcohol and tea wherever he went 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career and influence 3 Death 4 Tributes 5 ReferencesEarly life editAccording to Alabama historian Alice Harp Payne was born in 1883 on the Payne Plantation in Sandy Ridge Lowndes County Alabama 2 Career and influence editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rufus Payne news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Some say Tee Tot played the blues alone who others state that he led a little combo that played pop songs and hokum numbers and was a street musician Tee Tot is best known for being a mentor to Hank Williams Rufus Payne met Hank Williams when Hank was eight years old and legend has it that he would come around and play Hank s guitar showing Hank how to improvise chords His influence in exposing Williams to blues and other African American influences helped Williams successfully fuse hillbilly folk and blues into his own unique style which in turn expanded and exposed both white and black audiences to the differing sounds Death editPayne died at a charity hospital in Montgomery Alabama on March 17 1939 at the age of 56 3 He is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Montgomery as the exact location of his gravesite is unknown a memorial to him stands near the entrance to the cemetery paid for by Hank Williams Jr and other members of the Grand Ole Opry 4 Tributes editHank Williams Jr paid tribute to Tee Tot s influence on his father through The Tee Tot Song on his Almeria Club album 5 6 He was portrayed by actor Rex Ingram in the 1964 Hank Williams biopic Your Cheatin Heart 7 References edit That Nashville Sound The Impact On Country Music By Rufus Payne Thenashvillesound blogspot com February 19 2010 Retrieved May 16 2018 The9513 com Archived February 23 2010 at the Wayback Machine Hank Williams The Biography Book Excerpt Cmt com Retrieved May 16 2018 Rufus Payne s Tee Tot s Memorial He was Hank Williams First Music Teacher Joeb tallyho blogspot com April 1 2010 Retrieved May 16 2018 Berry Chad January 4 2003 Hank s History The Tuscaloosa News p 1D Retrieved May 16 2018 Escott Colin August 10 2005 Hank Williams Honky Tonk Blues PBS Retrieved July 7 2020 Rex Ingram the Actor Dies in Hollywood at 73 His Portrayal of De Lawd in Green Pastures Hailed Medical School Graduate New York Times September 20 1969 Retrieved July 7 2020 nbsp nbsp nbsp This article about an American musician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rufus Payne amp oldid 1218447366, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
