The Blues: A Very Short Introduction by UCLA) Wald, Elijah (teaches blues history, teaches blues history

The Blues: A Very Short Introduction Reviews

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  jfpessoa

  I have loved the blues ever since I discovered them when I was a kid in the Fifties reissues of Bessie Smith's recordings were among the very first LPs I bought. Since then I have read many books on the blues music and the singers, and even now I have fifteen on my bookshelves. Wald's "introduction" is really than that, it is a re exploration of the whole genre and he does a superb job. It is a fascinating and entertaining read.
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  Mr. R. McLoughlin

  This little book is very readable (I read it over 2 days) and the author packs a lot of information in its pages; despite pages 21 and 22 coming adrift as soon they were turned, this book is recommended.
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  Elisabete Mano

  Was a birthday gift to my husband and he said it was a good and interesting one as he is addicted to the blues I trust it must be really good!
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  goodreads Customer

  A very good price
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  Mick Gold

  The blues have been a subject of huge fascination for many years – certainly since the blues reached a large, white audience in the 1960s. The last fifty years have seen intense study and fascinating re issues, but also a great deal of misinformation and strange myths about the blues. It has been asserted that the real blues arose in the Mississippi Delta, and then were watered down by showbiz and vaudeville performers. Elijah Wald guides us through the blues, arguing it makes no sense to separate the blues from black pop music in the 1910s and 1920, just as it makes no sense to separate the blues from swing and jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. Wald points out that Count Basie and Leroy Carr were selling large quantities of blues records, when Robert Johnson and Charley Patton were selling very few. Wald is very good at putting Robert Johnson in perspective. (He has written about this enigmatic artists at greater length in his book Leaving The Delta.) In 120 pages Wald sets out a lot of information succinctly. His theme is that the blues keep changing and the idea of authenticity is a mirage, always receding. Looking back to 19th century minstrels, and forward to 21st century rappers, Wald is a great guide to the blues.