Kate McTell
Encyclopedia
Kate McTell was an American blues musician and nurse from Jefferson County
, Georgia. She is known primarily as the former wife of fellow blues musician, Blind Willie McTell
, whom she accompanied vocally on several recordings. She sometimes appeared as Ruby Glaze, although there is some uncertainty as to whether McTell and Glaze were the same person, despite the fact that McTell herself claimed to be Glaze.
in 1933 when she was noticed by McTell, who regularly performed in the area. In an interview conducted by musicologist David Evans
and his family, McTell claimed that her and Willie met during a Christmas concert at her school in 1931. She went on to explain that Willie invited her to record with him, that they did so in Atlanta over the course of a week, and that she then returned to Augusta to continue schooling at Paine College. According to Gray
, that week of recording would have been in February of 1932. The McTells were married on January 11, 1934. For the next six years she often accompanied Willie on stage, singing or dancing, in places that included Chicago and Atlanta, and in the company of artists such as Louis Armstrong
and Bessie Smith
. The two were invited to record for Decca Records
by executive Mayo Williams in 1935 but these sessions had extremely limited releases. In late June 1936, they recorded 12 blues songs with Piano Red
for Vocalion Records
.
In 1939, she obtained a nursing certificate from Grady Hospital in Atlanta, and from 1942 until 1971 she was an army nurse at Fort Gordon
hospital, near Augusta. As Willie lived in Atlanta for his career, the two rarely saw each other and drifted apart. Much of what is known now about her husband comes from the interview she gave with the Evans family, which was published in Blues Unlimited
magazine in 1977.
gives the year of their meeting as 1931, at McTell's graduation from Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. He goes on to explain that immediately afterward she went on to Washington High in the city of Atlanta, which is where and when Willie recorded with Glaze. Bastin also notes the similarities between Glaze's spoken parts in "Searching the Desert for the Blues" and the ones in the McTells' recording of "Ticket Agent Blues
" from 1935. As mentioned above, McTell told musicologist David Evans and his family that she had met Willie in late 1931 and that they recorded soon afterwards over the course of a week. Gray gives the timing of this recording as during February of 1932. Some sources claim outright that McTell and Glaze are one and the same person, while others claim that they are not.
Jefferson County, Georgia
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 20, 1796. As of 2000, the population was 17,266. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 16,454...
, Georgia. She is known primarily as the former wife of fellow blues musician, Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
, whom she accompanied vocally on several recordings. She sometimes appeared as Ruby Glaze, although there is some uncertainty as to whether McTell and Glaze were the same person, despite the fact that McTell herself claimed to be Glaze.
Marriage to Blind Willie McTell
Ruthy (later changed to Ruth) Kate Williams (also sometimes billed as Ruby Glaze) was singing for a high school ceremony in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
in 1933 when she was noticed by McTell, who regularly performed in the area. In an interview conducted by musicologist David Evans
David Evans (musicologist)
David Evans is a musicologist and director of the Ethnomusicology/Regional Studies program at the University of Memphis.He has written or edited a number of books on the blues, and also performs. He won a Grammy in 2003 for "Best Album Notes" for the CD Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues - The...
and his family, McTell claimed that her and Willie met during a Christmas concert at her school in 1931. She went on to explain that Willie invited her to record with him, that they did so in Atlanta over the course of a week, and that she then returned to Augusta to continue schooling at Paine College. According to Gray
Michael Gray (author)
Michael Gray is a British author who has written extensively about popular music.Gray grew up on Merseyside, attended Birkenhead School, and read History and English Literature at the University of York. Gray subsequently lived and worked in North Devon, Birmingham, West Malvern, London and North...
, that week of recording would have been in February of 1932. The McTells were married on January 11, 1934. For the next six years she often accompanied Willie on stage, singing or dancing, in places that included Chicago and Atlanta, and in the company of artists such as Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
. The two were invited to record for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
by executive Mayo Williams in 1935 but these sessions had extremely limited releases. In late June 1936, they recorded 12 blues songs with Piano Red
Piano Red
William "Willie" Lee Perryman , usually known professionally as Piano Red and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an American blues musician, the first to hit the pop music charts. He was a self-taught pianist who played in the barrelhouse blues style...
for Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
.
In 1939, she obtained a nursing certificate from Grady Hospital in Atlanta, and from 1942 until 1971 she was an army nurse at Fort Gordon
Fort Gordon
Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established in 1917. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps and Signal Center and was once the home of "The Provost Marshal General School" . The fort is located in Richmond, Jefferson, McDuffie,...
hospital, near Augusta. As Willie lived in Atlanta for his career, the two rarely saw each other and drifted apart. Much of what is known now about her husband comes from the interview she gave with the Evans family, which was published in Blues Unlimited
Blues Unlimited
Blues Unlimited was a British monthly music magazine dealing with all aspects of blues music. Co-founded in 1963 by Simon A...
magazine in 1977.
After his death
After her husband's death in 1959, she remarried to Johnny E. Seabrooks, who was in the military, and had two children: April and Earnest. She retired from the hospital in 1971. After Seabrooks' death in 1976, she lived a fairly private life, except for a couple of interviews she gave in 1977 and 1981 about McTell. She died on October 3, 1991.As Ruby Glaze
There is some uncertainty as to whether Ruby Glaze, a singer with whom Willie McTell recorded in 1932, is the same person as Kate McTell. McTell herself, in an interview conducted in the 1970s, claimed that she was Glaze. The uncertainty stems from confusion over when she first met Willie and whether or not this was after he had recorded with Glaze. BastinBruce Bastin
Bruce Bastin is a folklorist and a leading expert on the blues styles of the South Eastern states of America ....
gives the year of their meeting as 1931, at McTell's graduation from Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. He goes on to explain that immediately afterward she went on to Washington High in the city of Atlanta, which is where and when Willie recorded with Glaze. Bastin also notes the similarities between Glaze's spoken parts in "Searching the Desert for the Blues" and the ones in the McTells' recording of "Ticket Agent Blues
Lord, Send Me an Angel
"Lord, Send Me an Angel" is a song by Blind Willie McTell of which two versions were recorded on September 19, 1933 in New York. Accompanied by his wife, Kate, McTell re-recorded it as "Ticket Agent Blues" in 1935, albeit with some alternate verses. This was used as the B-side to his single "Bell...
" from 1935. As mentioned above, McTell told musicologist David Evans and his family that she had met Willie in late 1931 and that they recorded soon afterwards over the course of a week. Gray gives the timing of this recording as during February of 1932. Some sources claim outright that McTell and Glaze are one and the same person, while others claim that they are not.
Discography
Kate McTell appears on a small number of albums, generally accompanying her husband on vocals.- Blind Willie McTell 1927-1949 (Willie McTell)
- Mississippi-Memphis-Chicago Blues (various)
- The Essential (Willie McTell)
- Gospel, Vol. 3: Guitar Evangelists and Bluesmen 1927-1944 (various)
- Le Gospel 1939-1952 (various) — contains a solo track, "Dying Gambler"
Trivia
- She is referred to in a blues song, "Blind Willie" by Hans TheessinkHans TheessinkHans Theessink is a Dutch guitarist, singer and songwriter, living in Vienna, Austria. He performs blues and roots music, particularly in a Delta blues style. Theessink has released 20 albums, a songbook, a blues-guitar instruction video and a DVD.-External links:* official website* myspace...
, in the lyric "Ruthy Kate leading Willie by the hand".
Printed publications
- "Ramblin' Rhodes: Blind Willie had a soulmate", by Don Rhodes, Augusta Chronicle, 12 May 2000 http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/051200/app_rhodescol.shtml
- Jill Read, “Kate McTell Remembers: One Travelin’ Man and the Blues,” The Athens Observer, 29 January 1981 http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:9QWuj1VdgRwJ:getd.galib.uga.edu/public/ellerbee_jason_l_200408_mhp/ellerbee_jason_l_200408_mhp.pdf+%22kate+mctell%22+1911&hl=fr&ct=clnk&cd=6
- Evans, David. "Kate McTell." Blues Unlimited 125 (July/August 1977): 8–16; 127 (November/December 1977): 20–22. http://facstaff.unca.edu/sinclair/piedmontblues/mctell.html