Atlanta Twelve String - Blind Willie McTell (1949)

Ideated from: a Black History Month reminder that black artists largely built the modern world of music

McTell (1901-1959) was a towering figure of the pre-war blues. While there are quite a few recordings from the late 1920s through the 1930s, they suffer from recording and archiving technologies being pretty poor in that era. He very well could have ended up like Charley Patton, Robert Johnson or Blind Willie Johnson as artists whose work isn’t well documented on record, filling in the blanks based on oral tradition and a few scratchy wax recordings. So thanks very much to Atlantic Records, who convinced McTell to record a proper studio session in 1949 with much higher quality recording equipment. They didn’t actually release the whole thing until decades later in 1975, but we can be grateful they did.

McTell’s soaring tenor voice isn’t what it used to be by 1949, but it’s still smooth as butter. The runs and arpeggios on the acoustic twelve-string are really something to listen to. There’s more harmonic complexity to these songs, partly because of the twelve-string, but also because of some jazzy chord structures he chooses, especially on Dying Crapshooter’s Blues.

Another thing to note is that McTell was a songwriter. All but one of the tracks here are originals. While lots of his contemporaries were doing traditional tunes and ones they’d picked up from others, you can hear a definite method to what McTell is doing.

Tracks I Liked

Broke Down Engine - This was the first time I encountered McTell, on a comp of Atlantic blues. It’s stuck with me ever since. A stunning track.

Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie - If you were wondering whether he had any chops as a guitarist, check out a transcription of a boogie woogie piano piece. He does a great job of recreating the “heavy left hand” of the style’s walking bassline.

Blues Around Midnight - a thoroughly modern tune, with a great chorus. My favorite part is when he seems to introduce the guitarist (himself) for the solo at the end.

On The Cooling Board - one of the best vocal performances here, where you get to hear the detail he could bring to a song with his voice.