Rufus Payne

• Name — Rufus Payne • Alias — Tee Tot • Born — February 4, 1883 • Birthplace — Greenville, Alabama, US • Died — 17 March 1939 (aged 56) • Place of death — Montgomery, Alabama, US • Origin — Montgomery, Alabama, US • Instrument — Vocals, guitar • Genre — Blues, gospel, country • Occupation — Singer-songwriter, musician

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 state 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. Rufus Payne met Hank Williams when Hank was eight years old, and legend has it that 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.

• Illustration — Rufus Payne was buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama. This is the marker placed near his final resting place. Payne died at a charity hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1939, at the age of 56. He is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Montgomery; as the exact location of his gravesite is unknown, a memorial to him stands near the entrance to the cemetery, paid for by Hank Williams Jr. and other members of the Grand Ole Opry.