Robert Petway was an African-American blues singer and guitarist.
Very little is known about Robert Petway. His birthplace is speculated to have been at Gee's Bend, Alabama.
There is only one known picture of Petway, a publicity photo from 1941. He only recorded 16 songs, but he is said to have been an influence on many notable blues and rock musicians, including John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix.
Like many bluesmen from the Mississippi Delta, Petway traveled around as a musician, playing at parties, roadhouses, and other venues available. Petway and McClennan often travelled and performed together. After McClennan had been in Chicago for a few years, Petway travelled north to join him and cut records, as did Georgia's Frank Edwards who met them in Mississippi.
There is no record, official or unofficial, of Petway's death. As such, he may still be alive, though he would be roughly 103 years old. The last record of his public life is a quote from Honeyboy Edwards: "nobody I know heard what become of him."Blues researcher Jason Rewald has suggested, on the basis of social security records, that Petway may in fact have been born in Gee's Bend, Alabama on October 18, 1907, and died in Chicago on May 30, 1978.
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