Thursday, April 27, 2000

Blind Willie McTell

Blind Willie McTell
Thomson, Georgia, US
Country blues, Piedmont blues, ragtime, Delta blues, gospel

Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) was a Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues. Unlike his contemporaries, he came to use twelve-string guitars exclusively. McTell was also an adept slide guitarist, unusual among ragtime bluesmen. His vocal style, a smooth and often laid-back tenor, differed greatly from many of the harsher voices of Delta bluesmen such as Charley Patton. McTell performed in various musical styles, including blues, ragtime, religious music and hokum.


Last Session (1961) 1992 Rem.
Atlanta Twelve String (1972)
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1991) 1927-1931
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1991) 1931-1933
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1991) 1933-1935
"Don't Forget It" The Post~War Years (1991) 1949, with Curley Weaver
Pig 'n Whistle Red (1993) rec.1950
Tryin' to Get Home: The Complete 1940 Library of Congress Recordings (2000)