Thoughts and Memories of Cap'n Pete

wherever you go in life you leave a little of yourself and take a little with you. when i left memphis i took the world of music with me,largely through wevl and its many reaches. cap'n pete and the music he brought us was a powerful portion of my music world,so much that when my four year old son was born he would listen to pete with me and has developed quite an appreciation for this music. i am deeply saddened by his death, however,the blues are alive and well and pete will not be forgotten in this family.
09/11/2008 07:56 AM - lone wolf, oklahoma

great music! makes you grateful to be alive.
09/11/2008 06:23 AM - pritchard paul

I left Memphis in March 2008 after 35 years to return to the land of my birth, Lebanon, TN. But thanks to the marvels of online streaming, I didn't lose Cap'n Pete. Until now. Thanks for so many great years, thanks for keeping the blues alive and thanks for the archived shows. My thoughts and prayers are with all the family and friends of this wonderful soul.
09/09/2008 03:20 PM - Greg Butler, Lebanon, TN

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD CAP'N PETE'S VOICE WAS ON THE DAY OF THE RECORD SNOW FALL FOR MEMPHIS IN OVER 75 YEARS!! IT WAS THE DAY I WAS BORN. MY FATHER, (THE GREAT STORY/HISTORIAN HE WAS) OFTEN TOLD ME OF THE SNOW, THE SWEAT, AND JUST HOW MUCH WORK IT TOOK JUST TO HAVE (MOM) WALK IN THE HOUSE WITH THEIR NEW BUNDLE OF (ME)!!!! I WAS NAMED AFTER MY DAD, AND WITHOUT A DOUBT, HAVE ALL THE SAME INTEREST, HOBBIES, AND MORALS MY DAY HAD THAT GOD BLESSED ME WITH THROUGH BASIC DNA!!!!

I WOULD CRY EVERYTIME HE WENT FISHING BECAUSE I WAS A GIRL AND SHOULD'NT HAVE THOSE INTEREST, SO I WAS'T ALLOWED TO GO. HE GOT SO TIRED OF ME BEING UP A 4 AM. JUST TO CRY!!! THAT HE JUST GAVE IN AFTER ABOUT 5 YEARS AND SAID, "PUT YO SHOES ON AND YOU BETTER NOT ASK ME TO TAKE YOU HOME!!! WELL, I STARTED CRYING AGAIN BECAUSE WE HAD CAUGHT OUR LIMIT OF CRAPPIE FOR THE DAY AND HAD TO LEAVE. I REMEMBER HIM SAYING, "YOU GOT THE BLUES GIRL, CAUSE YOU CRY WHEN YOU CAN'T GO FISHIN, AND WHEN YOU GOT TO STOP FISHIN!!

HE CREATED A FEMALE FISHING MONSTER, AND WE BOTH ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR (LITTLE CAP'N PETE, MY ONLY SON!! (SEE NY TIMES ARTICLE)

I AM SO GLAD I SPENT SO MUCH TIME WITH MY DAD. WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK, I WOULD ALWAYS BE AROUND THE OLD FOLKS ASKING QUESTIONS AND OFTEN TOLD TO (GO PLAY GIRL) WHEN I WOULD TRY TO CORRECT THEIR SPEECH!!

MY DAD AND I WOULD SPEND HOURS WATCHING THE HISTORY CHANNEL (ON THE PHONE) AND TALKING ABOUT EVERY FACT PRESENTED FOR THAT SHOW. I MISS HIS YA'LL!! I WANT TO HOLD, TALK, AND KISS MY DAD JUST ONE MORE TIME!!!!

I NOW FIND MYSELF WRITING DOWN EVERY MEMORY, STORY, AND EXPERIENCE HE HAS EVERY SHARED WITH ME SINCE MY CHILDHOOD. THESE STORIES AND MEMORIES SEEMS TO NEVER END!!!!! MY HUSBAND SAID TO ME THE OTHER DAY, "HAVE YOU COUNTED THE PAGES YOU HAVE WRITTEN SINCE (POP) DIED? WELL, I'LL JUST SAY 2 BINDERS ARE FULL AND OFFICE DEPOT IS A MUST GO TODAY!!!

08/25/2008 11:47 PM - BONNIE HENDERSON

On a lighter note:

Cap'n Pete was so unpretentious that you had to be a little bit careful about ad libbing on the air or onstage. A few days before one of the first couple of Blues on the Bluffs, I picked up a nice captain's hat for Cap'n Pete, thinking he'd look better in pictures of the event if he had a hat to match his name. Right before we went onstage, I gave him the hat and explained to Cap'n Pete that I would get everyone's attention, then bring him onstage, we'd talk about WEVL and the event for a minute, and then he would introduce the band.

Everything went great until I got carried away with myself and asked "Cap'n Pete, where'd you get that cool hat?"

I thought Cap'n Pete would take the opportunity to make some comment about the Blues Cruise, Bo Bean's T-shirt art, being on the river, or something along those lines, but he just looked at me incredulously and said "Why Barry, you just gave me this hat right before we came out here!"

08/25/2008 09:53 AM - Barry Bean

Dee Cap-n-Pete was my father,for whom I truly
miss, he instilled in me righteousness,to be hono-rable,not to give up, and to be yourself. I Love
and miss you "Pop",
Your Oldest Son,Greg.
08/23/2008 08:04 PM - Greg A. Henderson

When I talked with Cap'n Pete, he knew about the Blues. This was because of where he had been and what he had done. He never guessed about what he played. His show flowed from song to song like a movie, and he was telling a story. He knew the music, and he told me "Bobby Rush, I appreciate you bringing me good music". He was a good guy, and I will miss his dedication to playing not only the music that he loved, but music that his audience loved because of his passion to the Blues. I respected that about him.
08/09/2008 03:18 PM - Bobby Rush

Captain Pete was one of the finest gentlemen that a person would meet anywhere,and it is a sad commentary on society in general when something as heinous as what happened to him did happen. I am nearing 60 now, and cried when I found this out. Even though I live out of state now, I know he is irreplaceable, and many will miss him. i know I will.
08/07/2008 08:29 AM - Harry Carney

To the WEVL family. Yes I have lost a friend as well. I live in Memphis but have a house that is located west of Hernando, MS high on the top of the Miss delta. One of my pleasures was to go down in late fall or early winter on a late Friday. I say fall and winter because that is when I can pick up wevl best. Anyway I always look forward to getting ready for his show by getting a fire going, pop a bottle of something, crack the window, listen to the trains howling in the Miss delta and listen to Cap'n Pete take me to a bygone time and place with his love of the blues and the great stories that he would tell. If he played a "howlin wolf" tune I died and went to heaven. As I still miss my mother's South Carlolina sweet voice after almost two years after her death, I will miss the Pete's beautiful vanishing dialect of the miss. delta for a long time. Take Care.
08/03/2008 07:23 AM - Ricahrd Larrimore

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W H Auden

08/01/2008 08:23 PM - ron buck