Blind Willie McTell

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.
==Links to Peel==
Peel played some of McTell's music and understood the blues musician's influence over a wide variety of artists whom he played on his shows, including the Allman Brothers Band, who were among the many who covered his best-known song "Statesboro Blues". Bob Dylan paid tribute to him in his 1983 song "Blind Willie McTell", the refrain of which is "And I know no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell", and Ralph McTell adopted the surname McTell as part of his stage name. Other artists influenced by McTell that Peel played included Taj Mahal, Jack White, and the White Stripes.
==Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1968
*26 June 1968: Statesboro' Blues
;1969
*23 July 1969: Travelin' Blues (v/a LP - The Story Of The Blues) CBS (Peel mentions Paul Oliver's book of the same name, to which this double LP is a companion)
;1976
*Where It's At: Statesboro Blues
;1984
*18 June 1984: Statesboro Blues (LP - The Early Years 1927-1933) Yazoo
;1986
*01 April 1986: Broke Down Engine
*02 April 1986: Three Women Blues
*04 November 1986: Kill It Kid (v/a LP - Maple Leaf Rag: Ragtime In Rural America) New World
;1991
*19 January 1991: Broke Down Engine Blues (album - Atlanta Twelve String) Atlantic
;1992
*21 August 1992: Travelin' Blues
;1999
*20 July 1999: Statesboro' Blues (Peelenium 1928)
*27 July 1999: 'Experience Blues' (Peelenium 1931)
;2001
*21 August 2001: Travelin' Blues (LP - A Handful Of Riffs: Blues Guitar Pioneers) Catfish
;2004
*05 May 2004: Statesboro Blues (LP - Statesboro Blues) Bluebird/BMG
*01 July 2004: 'Three Women Blues (LP-Statesboro Blues)' (BMG/Heritage)
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists