Robert Petway (born c. 1903, date of death unknown)[1][2] was an American blues singer and guitarist.

He recorded only 16 songs, but it has been said that he was an influence on many notable blues and rock musicians, including John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix.

Sligh Farm, near Yazoo City, Mississippi, the birthplace of his close friend and fellow bluesman Tommy McClennan.

[3] Researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that he was born a few miles away in Itta Bena, Leflore County, Mississippi, in about 1902.

[6] Alternatively, research by Jason Rewald has suggested that Petway may have been born at Gee's Bend, Alabama, in 1907, married in Chicago and died there in 1978.

After McClennan had been in Chicago for a few years, Petway travelled north to join him and cut records, as did Georgia's Frank Edwards, who had met them in Mississippi.