His mother remarried (to a brother of Arthur Crudup's) in the early 1940s,[2] when Quattlebaum was aged fourteen, and the family moved to Philadelphia.
[4] He toured playing guitar accompaniment for several gospel groups, and reckoned he first recorded with the Bells of Joy in Texas.
[5] The recording was not a success, and Quattlebaum fell into obscurity, but by 1961 he was back, playing accompaniment for the Ward Singers.
[3] In June the same year, he was "rediscovered" playing popular and blues songs through the public address system of his Mister Softee ice cream van.
[3] Quattlebaum wrote a number of his own compositions, but the collection contained his versions of songs previously recorded by others, including "So Sweet" (Fuller), "Mama Don't Allow Me to Stay Out All Night Long" (Crudup), "Trouble in Mind" (Richard M. Jones), "Whiskey Headed Woman" (Lightnin' Hopkins), "You Is One Black Rat" (Little Son Joe and Memphis Minnie), "Big Leg Woman" (Johnny Temple), "Black Night Is Falling" (Roy Brown), and "Baby, Take a Chance with Me" (Jazz Gillum).