Willie McTell was born in Thompson, Georgia on May 5, 1901.  He learnt guitar from his mother around 1914 and had his debut recording in 1927.  Before his first recording he worked on the street as a singer and medicine-show minstrel.  He recorded forty-eight sides over a nine your period for for different companies under four different names.  He sometimes teamed up with his wife, Kate McTell, a deft guitarist.  He died in Milledgeville, Georgia on August 19, 1959.