Rufus Payne (1884 - 1939) - Find A Grave Memorial

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Rufus Payne

Birth:	c. 1884 Macedonia (Lowndes County) Lowndes County Alabama, USA
Death:	Mar. 17, 1939 Montgomery Montgomery County Alabama, USA
Musician. Tee-Tot Payne was a Black street musician who taught a teenaged Hank Williams to play the guitar during the 1930's. He also mentored Williams on performing, advising him, "Keep the crowd's attention. When they start to slip, you're in trouble". Tee-Tot got his nickname - jokingly derived from "teetotaler" - from the mixture of tea and alcohol he always carried with him. He was a private person who didn't like his picture taken, and would give Hank his lessons under the high front porch of the Williams' family home. Tee-Tot was usually paid in food. He died in a Montgomery charity hospital at about age 55, and was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in an indigent's grave for which the records no longer exist. A monument was later erected for him, though his actual gravesite remains unknown. (bio by: Chuck Kearns) Search Amazon for Rufus Payne Inscription:

Burial: Lincoln Cemetery Montgomery Montgomery County Alabama, USA
Maintained by: Find A Grave Originally Created by: Wayne Steele Record added: Aug 08, 2006 Find A Grave Memorial# 15185820