What is a good book that traces the history of the American Blues?
September 20, 2009 by
Filed under blues history
I’m very interested in music and history and am looking for a book or two that documents the history of the American Blues, from its inception to all the revivals its had in rock, jazz, and even hip-hop. Does anyone know of some good books that can tell me the thorough history of this music form?
Blues – Pictoral History of the Blues
DVD by Ken Burns and Marty Scorcessi The blues
The Devil’s Music by Giles Oakley and The American Blues Guitar by Rick Batey. and last The Blues Revolution. Sorry do not know the author at this time. They are all great books. Read them for music class.
“Blues People” by LeRoi Jones (now known as Amira Baraka)
Peter Guralnik is another writer who has published extensively on African-American music.
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta (Paperback) Robert Palmer
I don’t know of any book that covers the scope you listed. There are several great books that cover the development and popularization of the blues though. Two have already been listed by others- Le Roi Jones’ Blues People, and Robert Palmer’s Deep Blues. A couple others- Samuel Charter’s The Story Of The Blues, Robert Sheldon’s Blues Who’s Who (actually an encyclopedia but incredible nonetheless) and finally, Alan Lomax’s The Land Where The Blues Began. I reluctantly recommend the last book, not because of the book itself (which is fine), but because of the Lomax family’s history of ripping off many American musicians and songwriters.