Classic Blues songs: In this new series, JazzBlues.EU’s historian Olivia Peevas takes us on a journey through the origins of blues classics.
Songs we all know, from Dust my broom to The Thrill is gone. This week, Statesboro Blues. Want to read more about the history of the blues? Check out our “Blues History” page.
Blind Willie McTell (1898 – 1959), from Thomson, Georgia, pioneered a fluid, fingerpicking guitar technique that defined the ragtime-influenced Piedmont blues style that developed in the 1920s. His best-known song, “Statesboro Blues,” was recorded in Atlanta Georgia on October 17, 1928 for the Victor label. The title refers to the city of Statesboro, Georgia.
It was the B-side of “Three Woman Blues,” but became more popular as the years went by, helped by cover versions by Tom Rush and Taj Mahal in the 1960s and an iconic song by the Southern rock band The Allman Brothers Band from their 1970 album, The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East.
In 1967, Taj Mahal recorded a “beautifully modernized version” of “Statesboro Blues” for his 1968 debut album of the same name. He had previously recorded the song as a member of the group Rising Sons in 1965 or 1966. His 1967 rendition reached a wide audience because it was included on the best-selling Columbia/CBS sampler album The Rock Machine Turns You On. Taj Mahal’s arrangement inspired the Allman Brothers Band. According to Pete Carr, who was a member of Hour Glass with brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, a performance by Mahal made a big impression on Duane.
The Piedmont blues is a soft and melodic blues style originating in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, particularly from the Carolinas and Virginia to Tennessee, as practiced by such luminaries as Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Blake, and the Reverend Gary Davis. Piedmont players favor a particular alternating thumb and fingerpicking guitar style that is rooted in ragtime, a music that preceded and heavily influenced the blues.
