Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell in November 1940, during a recording session in a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia, for John and Alan Lomax.
Background information
Birth name	William Samuel McTell
Born	May 5, 1901 Thomson, Georgia
Died	August 15, 1959 (aged 51) Milledgeville, Georgia
Genre(s)	Blues
Instrument(s)	Singer-guitarist
Years active	1927–1955
Label(s)	Victor, Columbia, Okeh, Vocalion, Decca, Library of Congress, Atlantic, Regal

Blind Willie McTell (May 5, 1908–August 15, 1959), born William Samuel McTell, was an influential American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 553 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (636 × 690 pixel, file size: 142 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Date November 1940 Author John and Alan Lomax Collection Permission File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... link titleThomson is a city in McDuffie County, Georgia, United States. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Milledgeville is a city in Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that most often follows a twelve-bar structure. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A singer is a musician who uses his or her voice to produce music. ... the very definition of a guitarist is cody allen and taylor hines because of there un ending guitar skills and awsomnes. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Victor Talking Machine Company (1901 - 1929) was a United States corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. ... Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918; from the late 1920s on was a subsidiary of Columbia Records. ... 1921 Vocalion label Vocalion Records was a record label historically active in the United States and in the United Kingdom. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. ... Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label, and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Second USA Regal Records, c. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that most often follows a twelve-bar structure. ... A singer is a musician who uses his or her voice to produce music. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

He was a twelve-string finger picking guitarist, and recorded from 1927 to 1955. One of his most famous songs, "Statesboro Blues", has been covered by artists such as Taj Mahal and The Allman Brothers Band. Jack White of The White Stripes considers McTell an influence (their 2000 album "De Stijl" was dedicated to him and featured a cover of his song "Your Southern Can Is Mine"), as did Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Bob Dylan has paid tribute to McTell on two occasions: first in a specially-written song about the bluesman (recorded in 1983, released on a rarities compilation in 1991), then with a cover of McTell's "Broke Down Engine" on his 1993 album World Gone Wrong. (Redirected from 12 string guitar) The twelve string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with twelve strings, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six string guitar. ... Fingerpicking is playing the guitar using the fingertips or fingernails, rather than with a plectrum (or pick). It is usually used in Classical guitar styles, and some other acoustic styles, but it has found its way into other genres as well, including rock and roll, although its use in such... Statesboro Blues is a blues song written by Blind Willie McTell; the title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. ... Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, better known by the stage name Taj Mahal (born May 17, 1942), is an American blues musician. ... The Allman Brothers Band is a band from Macon, Georgia, labeled by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the principal architects of Southern rock. ... Jack White (occasionally Jack III White or Jack White III), born John Anthony Gillis on July 9, 1975 in Detroit, Michigan is a Grammy-winning rock musician, singer, and music producer. ... The White Stripes are a Grammy Award-winning American rock music duo from Detroit, Michigan consisting of Jack White (principal songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). ... De Stijl redirects here. ... Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. ... Nirvana was an American rock band that formed in Aberdeen, Washington. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... Blind Willie McTell is a song by Bob Dylan, titled after the blues singer Blind Willie McTell. ... World Gone Wrong is the twenty-ninth studio album (according to the list below)by Bob Dylan, released in 1993 by Columbia Records. ...

Born in Thomson, Georgia, blind in one eye, McTell had lost his remaining vision by late childhood, but became an adept reader of Braille. He showed an inherent proficiency in music from an early age and learned to play the six-string guitar as soon as he could. His father left the family when McTell was still young, so when his mother died in the 1920s, he left his hometown and became a wandering busker. He began his recording career in 1927 for Victor Records in Atlanta. link titleThomson is a city in McDuffie County, Georgia, United States. ... Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or psychological factors. ... Braille code where the word (, French for first) can be read. ... Busking is the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people, usually to solicit donations and tips. ... The Victor Talking Machine Company (1901 - 1929) was a United States corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. ... Hotlanta redirects here. ...

In the years before World War II, he traveled and performed widely, recording for a number of labels under a variety of names. His style was singular: a form of country blues, bridging the gap between the raw blues of the Mississippi Delta and the more refined East Coast sound. The style is well documented on John Lomax's 1940 recordings of McTell for the Library of Congress. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The shared flood plain of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. ... John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 - January 26, 1948) was a pioneering musicologist and folklorist. ... The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. ...

In 1934, he married his first wife Ruth Kate Williams^[1] (now better known as Kate McTell).^[2] She accompanied him on stage and on several recordings, before becoming a nurse in 1939. Most of their marriage from 1942 until his death was spent apart, with her living in Fort Gordon near Augusta, and him working around Atlanta. Kate McTell (born Ruthy Kate Williams [1] on August 22, 1911[2] in Savannah, Georgia[3], died Kate Seabrooks October 3, 1991 in Georgia[4]) was an American blues musician and nurse from Jefferson County, Georgia known primarily as the former wife of legendary blues musician Blind Willie McTell, whom... Fort Gordon (formerly known as Camp Gordon) is a United States Army Installation and the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps and Signal Center and was once the home of The Provost Marshal General School (Military Police). ...

Post-war, he recorded for Atlantic Records and for Regal Records, but these recordings met with less commercial success than his previous works. He continued to perform live in Atlanta, but his continued career was cut short by ill health, predominantly diabetes. Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label, and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Second USA Regal Records, c. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

A record store manager, Ed Rhoades, met McTell in 1956 and captured a few final performances on a tape recorder. These were later released on Prestige/Bluesville Records as Blind Willie McTell's Last Session.^[3] Bluesville Records is a subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in the 1960s with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience. ...

McTell died in Milledgeville, Georgia of a stroke in 1959. Milledgeville is a city in Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. ...

A blues festival in McTell's honor is held annually in his birthplace, Thomson, Georgia.

Partial sessionography

• October 18, 1927 - Atlanta, Georgia
  • "Writing Paper Blues"
  • "Stole Rider Blues"
  • "Mama, Tain't Long fo' Day"
  • "Mr. McTell Got the Blues" (Take 1)
  • "Mr. McTell Got the Blues" (Take 2)

• October 17, 1928 - Atlanta, Georgia
  • "Three Women Blues"
  • "Dark Night Blues"
  • "Statesboro Blues"
  • "Loving Talking Blues"

• October 30–[October 31]] 1929 - Atlanta, Georgia
  • "Atlanta Strut"
  • "Travelin' Blues"
  • "Come on Around to My House Mama"
  • "Kind Mama"

• November 26, 1929 - Atlanta, Georgia
  • "Drive away Blues"

• November 29, 1929 - Atlanta, Georgia
  • "Love Changing Blues"

is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Statesboro Blues is a blues song written by Blind Willie McTell; the title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 29 is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Discography

• The Definitive Blind Willie McTell 1927–1935 on Catfish Records (KATCD229) - Presents the complete recordings (including pseudonymous works) from the period 1927–1935.
• The Classic Years 1927–1940 on JSP Records (JSP7711) omits some recordings found on the previous set but adds his 1940 session for the Library of Congress.
• The Definitive Blind Willie McTell on SonyLegacy Recordings (C2K-53234) includes several previously unissued takes and has extensive liner notes by David Evans. It does, however, omit "Statesboro Blues," probably McTell's most definitive song.
• Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Vol. 1 - Document Records (Austria) DOCD-5006.
• Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Vol. 2 - Document Records (Austria) DOCD-5007.
• Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Vol. 3 - Document Records (Austria) DOCD-5008.
• These three discs, covering 1927-1933, were also issued in a box set as Statesboro Blues (DOCD-5677)
• 1940: Complete Library of Congress Recordings - RST Records (Austria) BDCD-6001.
• Blind Willie McTell & Curley Weaver: The Post-War Years 1949-1950 - RST Records (Austria) BDCD-6014.
• The Best of Blind Willie McTell on Yazoo - selections of 1920s and 1930s recordings - Yazoo-2071

JSP Records is a record label which obtains public domain jazz and blues recordings and releases remastered versions of them on CD. Their release of Louis Armstrongs Hot Fives and Sevens recordings is often considered to be one of the most essential jazz releases available. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $68. ... Legacy Recordings is Sony BMG Music Entertainments catalog division. ... James Curley Weaver (March 25, 1906 - September 20, 1962) was an American blues musician known as the Georgia Guitar Wizard. // He was born in Covington, Georgia and raised on a farm near Porterdale. ... Black Patti label Belzona Records label Yazoo Records is a record label setup in the late 1960s by Nick Perls. ...

References

Charters, Samuel Sweet as the Showers of Rain (Oak Publications) pp 120–131

1. ^ http://www.iowrock.net/vapourtrails/pages/artists/getArtists.asp?ArtistID=86&Search=M
2. ^ http://bluesnet.hub.org/readings/mctell.html
3. ^ Blind Willie McTell. bluesnet. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ...

External links

• Blind Willie 's Gravesite
• "Statesboro Blues" MP3 file on the Internet Archive
• New Georgia Encyclopedia - Blind Willie McTell article
• David Fulmer author "Blind Willie's Blues - Atlanta Strut" broadcast on Public Broadcasting Atlanta in May, 2007