Bo Carter, born Armenter Chatmon in 1892, was, along with his brothers Sam and Lonnie and their friend Walter Vincson, a member of the highly influential African-American string band, the Mississippi Sheiks. Carter was also highly successful as a solo act, recording well over 100 songs, most in the double-entendre vein. “Pencil” was recorded in 1931 for the OKeh label — an homage to impotence in the pre-Viagra era.
