Third Man Records Reissues Blind Willie McTell’s Complete Recorded Works

“And I know no one can sing the blues, like Blind Willie McTell”
– Bob Dylan

Blind Willie McTell recording for John Lomax in 1940 Born in Thomson, Georgia in 1898, Piedmont blues singer and guitarist Blind Willie McTell is one of Middle Georgia’s treasured musicians. Many of the region’s subsequently famous artists owe much to his musical influence. Most notably, The Allman Brothers Band covered his “Statesboro Blues” regularly and it became one of their earliest signature songs.

Today brings some exciting news for Middle Georgia music lovers as Third Man Records and Document Records release the first record in their a collaboration to release & remaster vinyl of McTell’s entire discography. Also being reissued are the complete recorded works of Charley Patton and The Mississippi Sheiks, two more incredibly important blues greats.

Thank God for music lovers and historians like Jack White and the people of Document Records for preserving these seminal works that are so integral to our musical heritage and for exposing them to an entirely new audience.

Here’s a short video about the project, followed by the press release and a track from the record.

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Third Man Records is thrilled to announce the release of the first three records in our highly-anticipated Document Records reissue series.

Pre-orders are available now in our online store (with a January 29th in-store release date) for Volume 1 of The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order of Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell and The Mississippi Sheiks. The first 400 customers to purchase the bundle of all three records will receive a free 5″ x 8″ print insert of the Rob Jones Charley Patton cover image.

Subsequent volumes will be released regularly and new artists will be slotted for release from this fantastic catalog of blues greats as soon as this first series is complete.

The recordings we’ll be presenting in this reissue series are the building blocks and DNA of American culture. Blues, R&B, Elvis, teenagerism, punk rock… it all goes back to these vital, breathtaking recordings. Third Man Records is proud to present these landmark albums in conjunction with Document Records, with brand new, jaw-dropping artwork by Rob Jones and new insightful liner notes, on vinyl for the first time in decades. Every record collection should have ample room for these highly important and endlessly listenable albums.

Details

Blind Willie McTell’s Volume 1 from our highly-anticipated Document Records reissue series on black, 180-gram vinyl.

Tracklist:

Volume 1, Side 1

  1. Writin’ Paper Blues
  2. Stole Rider Blues
  3. Mama, Tain’t Long Fo’ Day
  4. Mr. McTell Got The Blues (tk. 1)
  5. Mr. McTell Got The Blues (tk 2)
  6. Three Women Blues
  7. Dark Night Blues
  8. Statesboro Blues

Volume 1, Side 2

  1. Loving Talking Blues
  2. Atlanta Strut
  3. Travelin’ Blues
  4. Come On Around To My House Mama
  5. Kind Mama
  6. Drive Away Blues
  7. Love Changing Blues