Happy Birthday, Blind Willie!
Blind Willie McTell was born William Samuel Mctier, in Thomson, Ga on May 5, 1898. He learned to play the guitar in his teens and became a street performer in several Georgia cities, including Atlanta and Augusta. While he never produced a hit record, he had a prolific recording career, and influenced a wide variety of artists over an extended period of time.
Bob Dylan's song "Blind Willie McTell" was recorded in 1983 and released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3, the refrain of which is "And I know no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell".
A 1997 bio-pic called “Blind Willie's Blues” was produced by David Fulmer. The 54 minutes film is available in its entirety on YouTube and gives great insight to McTell’s influence.
One of McTell's most famous songs, "Statesboro Blues", was frequently performed by the Allman Brothers Band.
Personally. My favorite tune of his is “Little Delia.”
For a deeper dive into Blind Willie McTell’s music catalog, an excellent place to start is the Last Session. McTell plays through 30+ years of songs, some his, some from others. Recorded in 1956, Blind Willie could't have been more laid back telling stories to these classic songs.
McTell died of a stroke in Milledgeville, Georgia, in 1959. He was buried at Jones Grove Church, near Thomson, Georgia, his birthplace. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1990.
To learn more about McTell, click over to this article written by local historian and McDuffie Museum Director, Lewis Smith.