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However, we are getting ahead of ourselves - by the time of his earliest recordings
he had become fast friends with Curley Weaver and Buddy Moss, both of whom he

recorded with in the 1930s - especially Curley Weaver.

After the limited

success of his first
records he recorded in
1929 for Columbia.
Still being under

contract to Victor, he
used the name Blind
Sammie, although it is

unlikely that Columbia
did not know who he
Curley Weaver and Buddy Moss really was. The Victor
recordings had been

down home blues, but Columbia thought they would get him to record a broader
range of music. He recorded six tracks, of which four were issued - the two fine ‘A’
sides being ‘Travellin’ Blues’ and ‘Atlanta Strut’. Sales were again moderately good,

but American was by this time deep in the Depression, so record sales in general
were way off what they had been.

In 1930 and 1931 Willie flitted between Victor and Columbia, in his two guises, one

of those recordings being a song he returned to a number of times at future sessions
- ‘Talking to Myself’, a fast two-line blues on the border of ragtime. The other side
(‘Razor Ball’)is pure ragtime!

In spite of the difficult economic times he was still called upon to record, and even
worked for the Okeh label (under the same ownership as Columbia) using the name
Georgia Bill.

One of the songs he recorded for Columbia at this time was ‘Broke Down Engine’, a
lowdown blues that was one of Willie’s finest recordings.

Name confusion occurs again in 1932, when Willie recorded for Victor as Hot Shot
Willie, in the company of female singer Ruby Glaze; which four recordings didn’t
sell especially well, in spite of staying in the catalogue for some years.

During the Depression years a number of record companies combined, to form the
American Record Company, and it is for this label that Willie recorded 23 titles in
the space of 8 days at a studio in New York, and under the name Blind Willie. Most

of these recordings featured Curley Weaver on second guitar, who also recorded
seven songs of his own. Buddy Moss was also at the sessions, recording a further

13 titles.