However, researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc conclude, on the basis of a 1920 census entry, that Rachell was probably born in 1903.

[5] "She Caught the Katy," which he wrote with Taj Mahal, is considered a blues standard.

[4] He appeared in the 1985 documentary film Louie Bluie (directed by Terry Zwigoff), about the musician Howard Armstrong.

[6] By the mid-1990s, Rachell and Henry Townsend were the only blues musicians still active whose careers started in the 1920s.

[7] Late in his life Rachell suffered from arthritis, which shortened his playing sessions, but he recorded an album just before his death, Too Hot for the Devil.