Post Description

Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) was a Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, 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 voice types employed by Delta bluesmen, such as Charley Patton. McTell embodied a variety of musical styles, including blues, ragtime, religious music and hokum.

Born in the town of Thomson, Georgia, McTell learned how to play guitar in his early teens. He soon became a street performer around several Georgia cities including Atlanta and Augusta, and first recorded in 1927 for Victor Records. Although he never produced a major hit record, McTell’s recording career was prolific, recording for different labels under different names throughout the 1920s and 30s. In 1940, he was recorded by folklorist John A. Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax for the Library of Congress’s folk song archive. He would remain active throughout the 1940s and 50s, playing on the streets of Atlanta, often with his longtime associate, Curley Weaver. Twice more he recorded professionally. McTell’s last recordings originated during an impromptu session recorded by an Atlanta record store owner in 1956.

Style: Piedmont Blues


Tracklist:

  Disc A: October 1927 - October 1931: Atlanta
1-1  –Blind Willie McTell  Writin' Paper Blues  3:12
1-2  –Blind Willie McTell  Stole Rider Blues  3:09
1-3  –Blind Willie McTell  Mama, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day  2:58
1-4  –Blind Willie McTell  Mr. McTell Got The Blues  2:21
1-5  –Blind Willie McTell  Mr. McTell Got The Blues  2:25
1-6  –Blind Willie McTell  Three Women Blues  2:44
1-7  –Blind Willie McTell  Dark Night Blues  2:52
1-8  –Blind Willie McTell  Statesboro Blues  2:31
1-9  –Blind Willie McTell  Loving Talking Blues  2:37
1-10  –Blind Sammie  Atlanta Strut  3:10
1-11  –Blind Sammie  Travelin' Blues  3:15
1-12  –Blind Sammie  Come On Around To My House Mama  3:03
1-13  –Blind Sammie  Kind Mama  2:58
1-14  –Blind Willie McTell  Teasing Brown  2:42
1-15  –Blind Willie McTell  Drive Away Blues  3:15
1-16  –Blind Willie McTell  This Is Not The Stove To Brown Your Bread  2:33
1-17  –Blind Willie McTell  Love Changing Blues  3:10
1-18  –Blind Sammie  Talkin' To Myself  3:12
1-19  –Blind Sammie  Razor Ball  3:17
1-20  –Blind Sammie  Southern Can Is Mine  3:15
1-21  –Blind Sammie  Broke Down Engine Blues  3:09
1-22  –Georgia Bill  Stomp Down Rider  3:08
1-23  –Georgia Bill  Scarey Day Blues  3:02

  Disc B: October 1931 - September 1933: Atlanta, New York City
2-1  –Ruth (Mary) Willis  Rough Alley Blues  3:19
2-2  –Ruth (Mary) Willis  Experience Blues  3:13
2-3  –Ruth (Mary) Willis  Painful Blues  2:54
2-4  –Blind Willie McTell  Low Rider's Blues  3:19
2-5  –Blind Willie McTell  Georgia Rag  3:06
2-6  –Ruth (Mary) Willis Low Down Blues  3:14
2-7  –Blind Willie McTell, Ruby Glaze  Rollin' Mama Blues  3:06
2-8  –Blind Willie McTell, Ruby Glaze  Lonesome Day Blues  3:17
2-9  –Blind Willie McTell, Ruby Glaze  Mama, Let Me Scoop For You  3:10
2-10  –Blind Willie McTell, Ruby Glaze  Searching The Desert For The Blues  3:10
2-11  –Blind Willie McTell  Warm It Up To Me  2:57
2-12  –Blind Willie McTell  It's Your Time To Worry  3:04
2-13  –Blind Willie McTell  It's A Good Little Thing  2:52
2-14  –Blind Willie McTell  You Was Born To Die  2:51
2-15  –Blind Willie McTell  Lord Have Mercy If You Please  2:59
2-16  –Blind Willie McTell  Don't You See How This World Made A Change  2:55
2-17  –Blind Willie McTell  Savannah Mama  3:17
2-18  –Blind Willie McTell  Broke Down Engine  3:14
2-19  –Blind Willie McTell  Broke Down Engine No. 2  2:54
2-20  –Blind Willie McTell  My Baby's Gone  2:59
2-21  –Blind Willie McTell  Love-Makin' Mama  2:56
2-22  –Blind Willie McTell  Death Room Blues  2:59
2-23  –Blind Willie McTell  Death Cell Blues  3:10
2-24  –Blind Willie McTell  Lord, Send Me An Angel  2:53

  Disc C: September 1933 - April 1935: New York, Chicago
3-1  –Blind Willie McTell  B And O Blues No. 2  3:03
3-2  –Blind Willie McTell  B And O Blues No. 2  2:50
3-3  –Blind Willie McTell  Weary Hearted Blues  3:03
3-4  –Blind Willie McTell  Bell Street Lightnin'  2:54
3-5  –Blind Willie McTell  Southern Can Mama  2:57
3-6  –Blind Willie McTell  Runnin' Me Crazy  3:07
3-7  –Blind Willie McTell  East St. Louis Blues (Fare You Well)  2:54
3-8  –Blind Willie McTell  Ain't It Grand To Be A Christian  3:10
3-9  –Blind Willie McTell  We Got To Meet Death One Day  3:00
3-10  –Blind Willie McTell  We Got To Meet Death One Day  2:53
3-11  –Blind Willie McTell  Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around  2:46
3-12  –Blind Willie McTell  I Got Religion, I'm So Glad  3:13
3-13  –Blind Willie McTell  Dying Gambler  3:01
3-14  –Blind Willie McTell  God Don't Like It  2:47
3-15  –Blind Willie McTell  Bell Street Blues  2:51
3-16  –Blind Willie McTell  Let Me Play With Yo' Yo-Yo  3:05
3-17  –Blind Willie McTell  Lay Some Flowers On My Grave  3:24
3-18  –Blind Willie McTell  Ticket Agent Blues  3:18
3-19  –Blind Willie McTell  Cold Winter Day  3:10
3-20  –Blind Willie McTell  Your Time To Worry  2:39
3-21  –Blind Willie McTell  Cooling Board Blues  3:18
3-22  –Blind Willie McTell  Hillbilly Willie's Blues  2:45

  Disc D: November 1940: Atlanta
4-1  –Blind Willie McTell  Just As Well Get Ready, You Got To Die; Climbing High Mountains; Tryin' To Get Home  2:57
4-2  –Blind Willie McTell  Monologue On Accidents  1:56
4-3  –Blind Willie McTell  Boll Weevil  1:58
4-4  –Blind Willie McTell  Delia  2:34
4-5  –Blind Willie McTell  Dying Crapshooter's Blues  3:12
4-6  –Blind Willie McTell  Will Fox  1:39
4-7  –Blind Willie McTell  I Got To Cross The River Jordan  4:39
4-8  –Blind Willie McTell  Monologue On Old Songs; Old Time Religion; Amen  3:08
4-9  –Blind Willie McTell  Amazing Grace  1:22
4-10  –Blind Willie McTell  Monologues On: The History Of The Blues; Life As Maker Of Records; On Himself  5:45
4-11  –Blind Willie McTell  King Edward Blues  1:50
4-12  –Blind Willie McTell  Murderer's Home Blues  3:06
4-13  –Blind Willie McTell  Kill-It-Kid Rag  2:44
4-14  –Blind Willie McTell  Chainey  2:50
4-15  –Blind Willie McTell  I Got To Cross The River Of Jordan  1:51


Veel plezier met deze 4 cd's  (voor kenners en liefhebbers)