Statesboro Blues

"Statesboro Blues"
Single by Blind Willie McTell
A-side"Three Women Blues"
PublishedJune 3, 1929 (1929-06-03) Southern Music Publishing Co., Inc., New York[1]
ReleasedJanuary 1929 (1929-01)
RecordedOctober 17, 1928[2]
StudioAtlanta, Georgia
GenrePiedmont blues
Length2:30
LabelVictor Victor 38001
Songwriter(s)Willie McTell
Official audio
"Statesboro Blues" (Remastered 2002) on YouTube

"Statesboro Blues" is a Piedmont blues song written by Blind Willie McTell, who recorded it in 1928. The title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. In 1968, Taj Mahal recorded a popular blues rock adaptation of the song with a prominent slide guitar part by Jesse Ed Davis. His rendition inspired a recording by the Allman Brothers Band, which is ranked number nine on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".[3] In 2005, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranked "Statesboro Blues" number 57 on its list of "100 Songs of the South".[4]

  1. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1929). Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1929 Music For the Year 1929 New Series Vol 24 Part 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. ^ "Victor matrix BVE-47187. Statesboro blues / Blind Willie McTell - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  3. ^ Brandon (30 May 2008). "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  4. ^ Perry, Bryan (producer); Harrison, Shane; Murray, Sonia; Marino, Nick; and Ellison, Soyia. 100 Songs of the South Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-11.