The Echoes of Blind Willie McTell: A Tribute to the 12-String Blues Maestro
Mar 03, 2024
Harriet
Embark on a soulful journey through the life of Blind Willie McTell, a virtuoso of the 12-string guitar who left an indelible mark on the blues. Step into the world of a music legend who transformed his visual impairment into a lens that focused his other senses on the intricate textures of sound. In our latest episode, we celebrate McTell's extraordinary talent and resilience, tracing his path from a tumultuous childhood to becoming a pivotal figure in the Piedmont and East Coast blues scenes. We'll unravel the enigma of his origins and lift the veil on the challenges that failed to silence his iconic voice.
Strap in for an exploration of Blind Willie McTell's storied career, highlighting his fall from the recording studios to the streets and his serendipitous rediscovery that rekindled his musical flame. Learn about his notable collaborations, his profound influence on fellow musicians, and how his music found new life long after the curtains closed on his own. We pay tribute to a musician whose posthumous acclaim, including tributes by the likes of the Allman Brothers Band and his Blues Hall of Fame induction, is a testament to the perpetual resonance of the blues. Join us in honoring Blind Willie McTell, a man whose legacy is a poignant reminder that true artistry never fades.
Embark on a soulful journey through the life of Blind Willie McTell, a virtuoso of the 12-string guitar who left an indelible mark on the blues. Step into the world of a music legend who transformed his visual impairment into a lens that focused his other senses on the intricate textures of sound. In our latest episode, we celebrate McTell's extraordinary talent and resilience, tracing his path from a tumultuous childhood to becoming a pivotal figure in the Piedmont and East Coast blues scenes. We'll unravel the enigma of his origins and lift the veil on the challenges that failed to silence his iconic voice.
Strap in for an exploration of Blind Willie McTell's storied career, highlighting his fall from the recording studios to the streets and his serendipitous rediscovery that rekindled his musical flame. Learn about his notable collaborations, his profound influence on fellow musicians, and how his music found new life long after the curtains closed on his own. We pay tribute to a musician whose posthumous acclaim, including tributes by the likes of the Allman Brothers Band and his Blues Hall of Fame induction, is a testament to the perpetual resonance of the blues. Join us in honoring Blind Willie McTell, a man whose legacy is a poignant reminder that true artistry never fades.
Sound care, sound care, sound care, sound care, sound care, sound stripe, sound stripe, sound stripe, sound evening. So before I get started into the episode number nine, I wanted to remind everybody to check out the more wine and music dot com website where I have I still I have my t-shirt, we have t-shirts, and also I have a tote bag Hope everybody can see it. Very nice tote bag with the more wine and music podcast logo on there. Hope everybody can see it. Very nice. It's all available on the website, as well as the coffee mugs Now in the tote bags and in the t-shirt it comes in. The t-shirt comes in a white and black with the more wine and music podcast logo and the tote bag comes in the black which I just showed you in a kind of a beige canvas. So either one would go great and I, you know, hope you support it and you know you can this is a cute little bag or you can put little items in. So go ahead and check out the website that is on the screen.
Speaker 1:
Okay, with that, all the way, let's start into episode number nine of the more wine and music podcast, and this week we are going to be talking about the biography of one, of another blind musician artist. His name was Blind Willie McTale. I don't know if anybody is familiar with him. After researching in Reno Bottom he was quite popular and I think he was probably one of the ones that kind of lived longer than most of them, most of the early blues artists. So I mean he, you know, he lived longer than most of them. So Blind Willie McTale was a blues and ragtime musician whose music career thrived between the 20s and the 30s. His music fell upon the acoustic blues, the Piedmont blues, the East Coast blues genre, so he had that type of style. If anybody is familiar with those type of style of blues, he kind of falls into that category. He was born William Samuel.
Speaker 1:
Now, this is a controversy. It was either McTier. That was the controversy, you know. Once again, these artists, their early years, their birth information has been is, you know, predominantly screwed up. So, but it was believed that his actual name was a McTeer but he changed it to McTell and he was born in 1898 in Thompson, georgia.
Speaker 1:
He was either born partially blind or he was. That's still another controversy whether he was born partially blind or he was born, you know, fully blind at birth, or whether he lost his eyesight in early childhood years. That's still a mystery, you know. The information is so, you know, controversial. Nobody knows. It was said that he was born out of wetlock. His mother was 14 years old when she had him and the father, ray, I think. His name is Ray McTeal or McTeer. He was married but he wasn't in too much, he wasn't so much into Little Willie's life, probably for obvious reasons. He was married.
Speaker 1:
But anyway, despite Willie being blind, I mean he had a strong sense of touch and hearing, which is, you know, pretty common for those who are, you know, don't have blind sight. There their strong points are kind of compensates for the hearing and the smell, and the touch is usually the senses are stronger, you know, to compensate what was lacking in eyesight. And he was adept in listening and you know he had a keen ear to listen, you know, to music and with everything that's around him. So he honed that craft, honed that ability with different sounds, his family, mom and his rest of his siblings, I think he had. Maybe, I'm not sure. I think he came from a large family, wasn't sure, but I thought I read where he came from, a large family. And eventually, leaving out of Thompson, georgia. He decided to. His mom decided to move into another area of Georgia, which was Statesboro, where she saw employment in the lumber industry. Like I said, his father has since abandoned them, leaving him under the care of his mother. He intended he was able to attend various events, but he didn't have the ability to attend various blind schools, so he learned how to read and write in Braille. So that was something, you know, that was a very you know plus for him to able to continue education. Even though he was blind. He was able to go to blind school and be able to learn to read and proficiently write, which you know he helped him because he was able to write his own music.
Speaker 1:
Um MacTail developed an interest in playing in music at an early age. His first instrument of what he played was the harmonica and the accordion. After that he began learning to play the guitar. His family he came from a rich family heritage which was a significant source of inspiration in this music's career. His mother was instrumental in teaching him how to play the guitar. So his mom was a guitar player, which is interesting because most females other than they can know how to sing in the church and everything like that, but being able to play an instrument and a teacher child to play the guitar, that was something a little different. In the mid-20s he adopted his signature 12 string guitar that he used throughout his musical career, which is, again, unique because most of the artists they only played in a 6 string. Using 6 string guitar Blind Willie Mattel he perfected and learned how to play the 12 strings, which gave really a more richer sound in tone when you play the music, obviously, because more strings give you more tone, give you more sound. So he was able to do that, which was something unusual. Back then In his teenage years he started to perform, entertain people by playing at carnivals and shows. His mom, I believe, I think she died when he was around 12 or 13 years old. So he was an adolescent going into teenage years when he lost his mom. After his mom's death he moved from Statesboro and into Atlanta area in Macon and other cities like that, and he joined the traveling medicine shows in Carnivores and carnivals. He also performed in churches and trained school functions. He played on the streets, street corners, as most of them did early in the early days, and everywhere where there was an audience. So he played wherever there was an audience he would play. In 1920, he had already become a renowned, sensational performer in Atlanta where he got many performing gigs in hotels, house parties and public events.
Speaker 1:
Mattel began his music career actually in 1927 in Atlanta. His first record label was Victor Labels, where he records singles such as writing papers blues, mama Train, long 4 Day. Mr Mattel got the blues and stole writer blues. These songs were recorded under the stage named Blind Willie Mattel. His first recording showed his exemplary music ability to play his 12 string guitar. So again he was able to showcase his ability of bringing in that richness of sound through using a 12 string instead of the normal usual 6 string that most of them used. He also recorded under different names, pseudo names such as Blind Sammy.
Speaker 1:
While working under the Columbia record, blind Willie McTale was under the Victor records in OK, which is OKEH. That was another popular label back then. On that label he recorded under the name of Georgia Bill Blind Willie under Vocalian, among the others. He had a lot of different stage names and he recorded under different stage names. He would record in different stage simultaneously. He would record for this label under this name, this label under that name. He was doing all of that simultaneously, which is I don't know how he did that because, who knows, he could have recorded under a label and used in the wrong pseudo name that he had wanted to use for another label. So how he got it all together, who knows, maybe he had ability to keep everything separate but working at the same time, so that's what you call multitasking.
Speaker 1:
Now, as far as his marriage life, in 1934, he married Ruth Kate Williams, who later became Kate Mattel. She had a career as an Army nurse that she pursued while she traveled all over the performance. So she had her own profession. She was a nurse and an Army nurse. Kate Mattel and her husband differences in career paths were never as stumbling block as they both practiced their craft concurrently. So, like I said, while he was performing, playing music, she was in the Army, I guess as an Army nurse, so that didn't seem to clash between them. She pursued that career for 37 years, while he remained a performing artist until he died.
Speaker 1:
Mattel's music career was packed with a wrath of a defiant spirit, as he conducted his activities with unpopular perspectives. His approach to the blues was subtle from different stage names and signing multiple records. Again, you know, with him using all these pseudo names and recording from all these different record labels. I mean, after a while, you would think after a while, it became kind of cumbersome. So eventually a lot of the record labels dropped him, which caused his music journey to you know to kind of slow down and he wasn't getting the gigs and the you know the invites to a lot of the venues that he was before. So he had to go back to what he knows and which was performing in the streets. He was able to work with some of the artists including Curly Waver, ruby Glades and Buddy Moss, before World War II Blind William Mattel, performing various joints around the eastern seaboard.
Speaker 1:
He became a renowned performer at the Pigeon Whistle. At the Pigeon Whistle restaurant where he performed for tips at the restaurant's parking lot, which is kind of you know that's kind of degrading. You know you got to walk up and down the parking lot playing performing at a restaurant parking lot for tips. I wouldn't call that high class performing at all, but I mean he did it. This spot was significant for him as he earned one of the last recording sessions in his music career after Regal Records Regal records, fred Middleson notice him, so I guess he got noticed by doing that. But still I mean, I don't know Again, I'm looking at things from today's perspective, but back then I mean these artists did what they had to do and you know it got him some notarottery. You know he got noticed from doing that. So from this Fred recording producer he noticed him and he was able to record some more songs based on, you know, him playing for tips in a restaurant parking lot.
Speaker 1:
One of the most memorable songs in his music journey was a popular song called State Spurl Blues, which is his hometown and that was recorded in 1928. The song became an inspiration to many musicians who adopted it and did various covers in its rendition. For instance, the Almond Brothers Band did a rendition of the song ranked in the hundred greatest song of all time by the Rolling Stones Magazine. Other music bands that did a cover of the song include Taj Mahaj. That was in 1967. And the song has since reached millions of people following the rendition of that song, state Spurl Blues.
Speaker 1:
His impact on the blues genre earned him recognition in the history of the blues music. He was inducted into the Blues Wall of Fame in 1981 to contribute to the growth of the music genre. He became the second musician from State Spurl, georgia, to be inducted into the State Spurl Legends after Emma Kelly, popularly known as the Lady of Six Thousand Songs. He was recognized for his contribution as a guitar, guitar artist, a singer and a recorded artist whose music talent was felt among several music genres.
Speaker 1:
Even though he was very popular, he did not earn high amounts of money. He didn't enjoy the commercial success as he should have based on his talent. Most, again, most of his performances and the audience that he performed were in front of you know local venues. I mean they weren't you know high class venues at all. They were in the streets of where he was, you know Atlanta, in the Georgia area. I think he made it up to Chicago or New York, but again, he didn't. It wasn't like he was in larger audience venues. He would play in these local bars or you know restaurants or whatever, and because of the, I mean he become despondent because of that. So I mean again, not being able to make it and make the money that he so deserved, he had to revert back to what he knows and that was working. You know, in the corner of the streets for nickels and dimes, you know which is. You know, to me is sad.
Speaker 1:
From 1957, blindwood Mattel became religious, which is another interesting note. When you when most of these artists, they feel that they failed in making the money that they, you know, thought they should have made or could have made in these honky-tonks or these big venues, then they revert back to what they know, which is going back to church. And then, I guess from that point, he decided to sing exclusively gospel songs. He felt that he was about to get into the horizon of a music career, prompting his style from being a drunkard which he again, that's part of the blues set of being a drunkard, you know, whiskey, wine and blues he wanted to let that lifestyle go to be a religious person. He even became a preacher. So another preacher, another blues artist, termed preacher at the Mount Zion Baptist Church, where he actually remained until his death.
Speaker 1:
He died in 1959 at the age of 61 due to a cerebral hemorrhage condition. He died in Villageville State Hospital in Georgia and he was buried in Jones Grove Church in Thompson, Georgia, which is his hometown. Well, home county. However, his death went unnoticed. I mean, it went so much unnoticed that people thought he was still alive in the 60s. He died in 59, but I mean that's how much his.
Speaker 1:
You know he was basically unnoticed and it's usually interesting because a lot of them who died early or died they really haven't, their music really wasn't appreciated and recognized until after their dead and gone, and it was like decades later. Like, excuse me, robert Johnson, you know he died at 27 in 1938. Pretty much unknown locally. But it wasn't until, you know, decades and decades later that you know people started to look, go back into the vault and see some of these old artists and what they've contributed and you know it became appreciated. His life and journey, willie's life and journey, remain relatively unknown. During his lifetime, however, in 1977, davis Evans, a blues lover, looked for his wife. His wife was still alive and he interviewed her to recount the lives, the life of his, of her husband. He became renowned after this interview, with musicians such as Bob Dylan playing tribute to him in a song dubbed Blind MacTale in 1983. There is now a blues bar in Atlanta named after him which often plays blues music. In addition, a blues music festival is held annually in its birthplace in Thompson, georgia, and it's called the Blind Willie MacTale Blues Festival. So that is the story of Blind Willie MacTale.
Speaker 1:
He was another trailblazer, particularly because of his way, his style of playing the guitar using six strings sorry, the 12th string instead of the 6th string. So I mean he made. I mean, like all of them, they made their, they each made their contribution to the music genre and they just didn't get their just dues, you know, like they should have. It's, you know, sad, but you know, this is why I kind of want to, you know, recognize them, even though they've been dead and gone, you know, almost 100 years now, maybe you know close to 190 plus years somewhere, you know Like over 70, but you know, their music still had an impact. I mean, they did something that most, you know, a lot of people were doing back then and they created a style of music that later on musicians tried, you know, picked up that style and tried to emulate. So if it wasn't for them, there wouldn't be, you know, musicians, blues musicians today, because of what they did in the early days. So I just wanted to make tribute to them and they're not forgotten. They didn't get their just dues when they were alive, but I wanted to make sure that people know who they were and that they get their just dues now. So that's it.
Speaker 1:
I like to reference a lot of the references that I was giving was called statesbuerlheraldcom, which is the local Statesboro's newspaper, so they had a lot of information about him, also biographycom. And let's see Bob Dylan on his website. He had about his the song, the rendition, the song about Willie McTale was on BobDilloncom. All right, so I like to thank those who are listening for this week's biography about Lyme Willie McTale.
Speaker 1:
Next week, I think I'm going to be starting to I think I might have two more I want to do and then I'm going to close this season out for the blues genre and then I'm going to go into another season and this, the next season, will be about jazz. I'm not talking about the contemporary, which I love, contemporary jazz. I'm talking about the actual original, the original style of jazz, of how it started. So that'll be season two. Okay, don't forget to check out the items that are available on the morewineandmusiccom website and if you have any comments, if you want to hear a biography about any blues artists, that you I think I'm going to do either two or three more and I'm going to close out this season for the blues genre. So if you have someone in particular that you would like to for me to talk about. Please drop a line on the website.
Speaker 1:
I think I want to do Sleepy John Estes, which you know has another connection to my history. I think my dad knew him. I've been at his old house I mean, they have it now as a museum down in Tennessee, so I might do a biography about him, all right. So thank you for tuning in and you guys stay safe and take care. And I forgot, I don't think I told you what wine I'm drinking. I am drinking white Ziffan Dill this evening, so it's a little bit of rosé color white Ziffan Dill, which I like Ziffan Dill. It's been a while since I've had Ziffan Dill. So, all right, you guys take care and talk to you next week. Bye, soundstripe. Soundstripe.