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McTell was a Twelve-string Finger Picking guitarist and singer who recorded from 1927 to 1955 . One of his most famous songs, " Statesboro Blues " has been covered by many artists including Taj Mahal and The Allman Brothers Band . In 1983 , Bob Dylan recorded a Tribute Song for McTell, using the folk melody of " St. James Infirmary Blues ," although the track went unreleased until 1991 . McTell had based his "Dying Crapshooter's Blues" on "St. James Infirmary". In 1993 , Dylan paid further tribute to McTell by recording McTell's song "Broke Down Engine." Blind from birth and an adept reader of Braille , McTell showed an inherent proficiency in music from an early age and learned to play the six-string guitar as soon as he could. His father left the family when McTell was still young, so when his mother died in the 1920s , he left his hometown and became a wandering Busker . He began his recording career in 1927 for Victor Records of Atlanta . In the years before and the more refined East Coast sound. The style is well documented on Alan Lomax 's 1940 recordings of McTell for the Library Of Congress . Post-war, he recorded for Atlantic Records and for Regal Records , but these recordings met with less commercial success than his previous works. He continued to perform live in Atlanta, but his continued career was cut short by ill health, predominantly Diabetes . A record store manager, Ed Rhoades, met McTell in 1956 and captured a few final performances on a tape recorder. McTell died of a stroke in 1959. A blues festival in McTell's honor is held annually in his birthplace, Thomson, Georgia. PARTIAL SESSIONOGRAPHY
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