Name: 1940 - The Legendary Library of Congress Session
Brand: Blind Willie McTell

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

MELOD7323

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-08-04

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Scorpio

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

Total Cap

Black LP

Artist

Blind Willie McTell

Genre GB

Blues / Gospel

Label GB

Melodeon

Blind Willie McTell was a prolific 12-string blues guitarist and vocalist born on May 05, 1898 in Thomson, GA, United States. He recorded numerous 78s for various labels during the 1920s and '30s, often using different names. In 1940, he was discovered by field recordist John A. Lomax while performing as a street musician in Atlanta, Georgia. McTell's career had a brief revival in 1949 when he recorded sessions for Atlantic and Regal labels. However, he never regained the level of fame he once enjoyed during the era of "race records." Sadly, Blind Willie McTell passed away from a stroke on August 19, 1959 in Milledgeville, GA.

Throughout his career, Blind Willie McTell's unique sound influenced many other artists such as *Son House*, *Blind Boy Fuller*, *Skip James*, and *Charley Patton*. His style resonated with audiences and his music continues to inspire musicians today.

If you enjoy the works of *Son House*, *Mississippi John Hurt*, or *Rev. Gary Davis*, then Blind Willie McTell's music is sure to captivate you with its soulful melodies and powerful lyrics.

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By the time Georgia native William Samuel "Blind Willie" McTell earned ten dollars by sitting down in a hotel room in Atlanta on November 5, 1940, to preserve his artistry on 15 transcription platters for the Library of Congress, he had achieved a degree of fame by having recorded some 85 sides for multiple labels during the years 1927-1936. McTell was a skilled 12-string guitarist, an expressive vocalist, and a well-versed interpreter of ragtime, spirituals, blues, and a wide range of rural folk forms. He performed well for the Library of Congress, sometimes narrating and explaining the social background for his music while fielding John Lomax's rather careless and insensitive questions. What you get here is an excellent spectrum of McTell's stylistic range and repertoire. His slide manoeuvres on "Amazing Grace" are strikingly reminiscent of Blind Willie Johnson's technique. The overall content of this hotel room recital points directly to McTell's Atlantic session of November 1949.

A1   Chainey   (2:46) A2   Murderer's Home Blues   (3:03) A3   Kill-It-Kid Rag   (2:40) A4   I Got To Cross De River O' Jordan   (1:53) A5   Monologue On History Of The Blues; Monologue On Life As Maker Of Records: Monologue On Himself   (5:37) A6   Monologue On Old Songs; Old Time Religion; Amen   (3:00) B1   Will Fox   (1:34) B2   Dying Crapshooter's Blues   (3:07) B3   Amazing Grace   (1:20) B4   Monologue On Accidents   (1:50) B5   Just As Well Get Ready, You Got To Die: Climbin' High Mountains, Tryin' To Get Home   (2:49) B6   King Edward Blues   (1:45) B7   Delia   (2:38) B8   Boll Weevil   (1:54) B9   I Got To Cross The River Jordan   (4:31)

1940 - The Legendary Library of Congress Session

Music GB