Charles Henry Tate, known as Baby Tate, b. January 28, 1916 in Elberton, GA (or 1920[?] in Magnolia Township, Abbeville County, GA), d. August 17, 1972 in Columbia, SC, Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning five decades worked with the guitarists Blind Boy Fuller and Pink Anderson and the harmonica player Peg Leg Sam. His playing style was influenced by Blind Blake, Buddy Moss, Blind Boy Fuller, Josh White, Willie Walker, and to some extent Lightnin' Hopkins.
Tate was born in Elberton, Georgia, and was raised in Greenville, South Carolina. As an adolescent, he started performing locally, after seeing Blind Blake in Elberton. Tate later formed a trio with Joe Walker (the brother of Willie Walker) and Roosevelt "Baby" Brooks and, up to 1932, played locally. As the Carolina Blackbirds, they performed on radio station WFBC, broadcasting from the Jack Tar Hotel. For the rest of the 1930s he worked other jobs, mainly as a mason. Tate served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II in the south of England. He returned to the Spartanburg-Greenville club circuit in 1946. He claimed to have recorded several unreleased tracks for Kapp Records in 1950. Relocating to Spartanburg, South Carolina, he performed solo before forming an occasional duo with Pink Anderson, a working relationship that endured until the 1970s, when Anderson was disabled by a stroke. Tate released his only album, Blues of Baby Tate: See What You Done Done, in 1962, and twelve months later appeared in Samuel Charters's documentary film The Blues. Throughout the 1960s he performed irregularly across the United States. With the harmonica player Peg Leg Sam or the guitarists Baby Brooks or McKinley Ellis, he recorded nearly sixty tracks in 1970 and 1971 for Peter B. Lowry, but the proposed album remained unreleased after Tate died unexpectedly in the summer of 1972. He appeared at a concert at the State University of New York at New Paltz, as a result of Lowry's efforts, in the spring of 1972.
Tate died of effects of a heart attack, in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, in August 1972, at the age of 52.
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By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
In the course of his nearly 50-year career, guitarist Baby Tate recorded only a handful of sessions. The bulk of his life was spent as a sideman, playing with musicians like Blind Boy Fuller, Pink Anderson, and Peg Leg Sam.
Born Charles Henry Tate, he was born in Elberton, GA, but raised in Greenville, SC. When he was 14 years old, Tate taught himself how to play guitar. Shortly afterward, he began playing with Blind Boy Fuller, who taught Tate the fundamentals of blues guitar. When he was in his late teens, Baby began playing with Joe Walker and Roosevelt Brooks; the trio played clubs throughout the Greenville area. In 1932, Tate stopped working with Walker and Brooks, hooking up with Carolina Blackbirds. The duo played a number of shows for the radio station WFBC. For most of the '30s, Baby played music as a hobby, performing at local parties, celebrations, and medicine shows. Tate served in the U.S. Army in the late '30s and early '40s. While he was stationed in Europe, he played local taverns and dances. In 1942, he returned to Greenville, SC, where he earned a living doing odd jobs around the town. Tate picked up music again in 1946, setting out on the local blues club circuit. In 1950, he cut several sessions for the Atlanta-based Kapp label. In the early '50s, Baby moved to Spartanburg, SC, where he performed both as a solo act and as a duo with Pink Anderson. Tate and Anderson performed as duo into the '70s. In 1962, Tate recorded his first album, See What You Done. The following year, he was featured in the documentary film, The Blues. For the rest of the decade, Baby Tate played various gigs, concerts, and festivals across America. With the assistance of harmonica player Peg Leg Sam, Baby Tate recorded another set of sessions in 1972. Later that year, Tate suffered a fatal heart attack. He died on August 17, 1972.