Robert Pete Williams

Robert Pete Williams' unusual melodies and maverick tunings made him one of the most appreciated folk-blues performers of the post-war period in America. Discovered in a Louisiana prison by intrepid folk aficionados, Williams eventually gained his freedom and went on to wow audiences around the country with the down-home, authentic blues sound that was all the rage in the early 1960s. While he definitely cashed in on a folk trend, Williams' playing had been with him since he first strung up a cigar box as a teenager. Even today the blues man's guitar playing sounds fresh and unusual, while his voice seems to arise from some elemental place that's as timeless as it is fundamentally human.