Blind Joe Taggart
Joel ‘Blind Joe’ Taggart was second in popularity to only Blind Willie Johnson as a ‘guitar evangelist’. Like Johnson he often employed a female voice on his sessions and although he did not have Johnson's vocal range or his guitar skills, he did produce many recordings that are as effective today as when they were recorded. These range from his earlier, often unaccompanied duets with his wife Emma (some made before Johnson got to record) to his later days when his own guitar work had much improved and he was often aided by a very young Josh White. He also used the voices of his son James and daughter Bertha and had his work issued under the pseudonyms Blind Jeremiah Taylor, Blind Tim Russell and Blind Joe Donnell. It is generally accepted that the singer who recorded C and O Blues at one of his sessions in 1927 under the name of Blind Joe Amos was also Taggart disguising his involvement with the ‘devil's music’.