A “gate” is 1920s slang for a fellow, a guy. In the original version of “Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer”, composed by Wesley Wilson, the line was “Send me, daddy,” but when Bessie Smith recorded it in 1933, she sang:
“Just at the break of day you can hear old Hannah say / “Gimme a pigfoot and a bottle of beer / Send me, gate.”
Gate might be an abbreviation of gatemouthed, which means gator-faced, and Gatemouth came to mean a jazz musician or any hip male. Louis Armstrong reportedly claimed to have been the first to have used gatemouth this way.
The most famous gatemouth in the blues is Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, the virtuoso multi-instrumentalist who played some of the most fiery and musically sophisticated blues around until his passing in 2005 at age 81. Born in Louisiana and raised in Texas, Gatemouth Brown freely mixed the blues with bluegrass, country, swing, funk, and zydeco. Brown’s brothers were nicknamed Widemouth and Gapmouth, by the way.
Brown could play guitar, violin, harmonica, mandolin, viola, and even the drums. “In the forties, it was Gatemouth Brown and T. Bone Walker,” Texas blues artist Jimmie Vaughan told me, adding: “They were great rivals. Gatemouth Brown was like the Jimi Hendrix of that time.”
“What a great resource, as fascinating as it is informative. Debra’s passion for the blues shines through.” – Bonnie Raitt
“Debra’s book will teach you what you really need to know about blues history and where the blues are coming from.” – Joe Bonamassa
“Finally one can understand the mechanics behind the overwhelming viscera of the Blues. Debra Devi’s work is a true guide book to the soul.” – Al Jourgensen (Ministry)
“This book is fascinating! Take it to the bathroom and don’t come out until you’re done reading it.” – Jimmy Vivino
“This is a beautiful book. Upon receiving The Language of the Blues I discovered my knowledge only scratched the surface. Debra Devi has written an invaluable reference book. And it’s also great fun to read.” – Hal Willner
“Don’t think that The Language of the Blues might read like a dictionary or reference book. There’s no plot, but you can open it up at random and fall into the world of your favorite blues songs, and find out more about the lyrics than you would be guessing from context. I learned a lot more about the blues music I already loved.” – Bob Margolin
