Album Notes

Broke & Hungry Records – the label responsible for some of the most harrowing rural blues of recent years – delivers another slab of deep Delta blues in the form of His Father’s Son, the debut CD by Pat Thomas.

Pat recently came to the attention of the wider blues world through his appearance in the critically acclaimed documentary M For Mississippi: A Road Trip Through The Birthplace Of The Blues. Yet his appearance in the film only hints at the full depth of his talents.

At 49, Pat could hardly be described as a young man. But in the world of rural bluesmen, where the median age is closer to 70, he’s practically a kid. Yet his music hearkens back to a much earlier time – an era when juke joints, house parties and free-flowing moonshine were more than a cultural artifact; they were a way of life. This is the music Pat grew up with; the music he learned at the feet of his father, the late great James “Son” Thomas.

The elder Thomas was one of the Delta’s most celebrated blues artists during the last several decades of the 20th century. He recorded numerous times for a wide variety of labels, and he played major festivals both at home and abroad.

Pat has followed closely in his father’s footsteps. Most of the songs in his repertoire are those he heard his father play. And although Son Thomas has been dead for more than 15 years, he is never far from Pat’s thoughts. Pat can often be found sitting by his father’s grave in Leland, Mississippi, playing his father’s songs on a battered guitar.

As evidenced by the 12 tracks on His Father’s Son, Pat Thomas belongs to a very small club of truly traditional bluesmen. Although he’s heard playing an electric guitar on two tracks and is joined by drummer Lee Williams on a few more, most of the CD features just Pat on an old acoustic guitar, playing songs of an earlier age, many of which were old when his father began performing them a half century ago.

Recorded over two days in August 2008, Pat’s debut CD offers strong proof that the old traditions die hard. Fans of down-home blues won’t want to miss this one. And those who know and love the music of James “Son” Thomas will find that Pat truly is his father’s son.