Rufus Payne

Rufus Payne
Rufus Payne was buried in Lincoln Cemetery located in Montgomery, Alabama. This is the marker placed near his final resting place.
Background information
Birth name	Rufus Payne
Also known as	Tee Tot
Born	February 4, 1883 Greenville, Alabama
Origin	Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Died	March 17, 1939(1939-03-17) (aged 56) Montgomery, Alabama
Genres	Blues, gospel, country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	Unknown
Associated acts	Hank Williams

Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne (4 February 1883 - 17 March 1939) was an early 20th-century African-American blues musician from Greenville, Alabama who was more widely known by his nickname Tee Tot.

Payne's nickname of "Tee Tot" is a pun for "teetotaler". It is said that Payne received his nickname because he usually carried a homemade mixture of alcohol and tea wherever he went.

According to Alabama historian Alice Harp, Payne was born in 1883 on the Payne Plantation in Sandy Ridge, Lowndes County, Alabama.

Some say Tee Tot played the blues alone, others say that he led a little combo that played pop songs and hokum numbers and was a street musician.

Tee Tot is best known for being a mentor to Hank Williams, Sr. Rufus Payne met Hank Williams Sr. when Hank was eight years old and legend has it he would come around and play Hank's guitar, showing Hank how to improvise chords. His influence in exposing Williams to blues and other African American influences helped Williams successfully fuse hillbilly, folk and blues into his own unique style, which in turn expanded and exposed both white and black audiences to the differing sounds.

Payne died at a charity hospital in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1939 at the age of 56. Payne is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Montgomery. His gravesite is unknown, but a memorial stands near the entrance to the cemetery, paid for by Hank Williams Jr. and other members of the Grand Ole Opry.