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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Davis, music critic for the Atlantic, treats the history of the blues with an emphasis on his own involvement with this music. He believes that attempts to discover the origins of the blues, often based on simplistic theories about slavery and Africa, are inconclusive, and he stresses that the interaction between recordings and the actual music makes it difficult to follow the music's internal development. He touches on the issue of white involvement with the blues and concludes with an elaborate "Blues Timeline" showing how significant dates in blues history relate to developments in jazz, pop, theater and literature as well as to important events in American history, arts, sciences and technology. His impressionistic text rambles at times, but numerous passages on individual performers such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly and others are engaging, as are accounts of his trips to Memphis and Mississippi to see where it all began. Selected discography. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Since its origin in Mississippi before the turn of the century, the blues has been pronounced dead many times. Davis (music critic of the Atlantic) assures us that it "rises up like Lazarus every ten years or so." This book, published in advance of a three-part PBS companion series scheduled to air in the fall of 1995, is a great starting place in understanding the continued appeal of this uniquely American music. Moving from its roots in field hollers, work songs, spirituals, country reels, and Anglo-Scottish ballads to its present-day uses selling diet soda and laxatives, Davis profiles the major artists and the developmental changes of the music. An extensive discography and bibliography give ample resources for future exploration, while a "Blues Timeline" offers an at-a-glance overview of blues milestones in relation to corresponding events in art and history. This fine introduction to the blues is recommended for most libraries.
Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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