| Kate McTell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ruthy Kate Williams |
| Also known as | Ruby Glaze |
| Born | August 22, 1911 Savannah, Georgia, United States |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Died | October 3, 1991 (aged 80) Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Blues, gospel |
| Occupations | Musician, nurse |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1932–1940 |
| Labels | Decca, Vocalion |
| Associated acts | Blind Willie McTell |
Kate McTell (born Ruthy Kate Williams on August 22, 1911 in Savannah, Georgia, United States, died Kate Seabrooks, October 3, 1991 in Georgia[1][2][3]) 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.
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Ruthy (later changed to Ruth) Kate Williams (also sometimes billed as Ruby Glaze) was singing for a high school ceremony in Augusta, Georgia in 1933 when she was noticed by McTell, who regularly performed in the area.[2][4] 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.[5] 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 1932.[5] 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.[2] 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.[2] As Willie lived in Atlanta for his career, the two rarely saw each other and drifted apart.[2][6] 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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[6] She died on October 3, 1991.[2]
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.[7] McTell herself, in an interview conducted in the 1970s, claimed that she was Glaze.[8] The uncertainty stems from confusion over when she first met Willie and whether or not this was after he had recorded with Glaze. Bastin gives the year of their meeting as 1931,[9] 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 1932.[5] Some sources claim outright that McTell and Glaze are one and the same person,[10][11][12] while others claim that they are not.[4]
Kate McTell appears on a small number of albums, generally accompanying her husband on vocals.[13]