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Summary
Summary
Like Abbeville's Country: The Music and the Musicians, Nothing but the Blues is an illustrated, comprehensive history of music and musicians, also covering promoters, producers and others who have shaped this powerful and enduringly popular American musical art form. A guide to the best discography is included at the back of the book which will appeal to blues fans and record collectors.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this extensively illustrated, comprehensive volume, Grammy-winning CD producer Cohn provides an elegant pictoral and intellectual history. In the first of 11 essays, Samuel Charters writes on the roots of the blues; in others, David Evans digs into Texas and Deep South blues and Mark A. Humphrey examines the gospel and urban traditions of the blues. Bruce Basti, Jim O'Neal and Mary Katherine Aldin are among the writers covering such topics as white country blues, the 1960s blues revival and the blues today. Richard K. Spottswood offers an excellent essay on women and the blues. The 325 illustrations include Leadbelly's NYPD rap sheet, recording contracts and rare historic photos of blues performers making their music. Cohen does full justice to this rich and vibrant chapter of American musical history. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
This handsome, well-illustrated, and finely written history of the blues begins in West Africa with the songs of the griots and follows the forced transplantation of African musical traditions to American soil, where they evolved into one of our most vibrant and influential art forms. Blues historian Lawrence Cohn and his ten distinguished contributors trace the metamorphosis of the blues from its African roots and the "hollers," work songs, and party music of the rural south to the feistier rhythms of urban blues and on to R & B and blues rock. This multifaceted study discusses the social crucible in which the blues was forged while analyzing the "persistent longing" and humor of blues lyrics. Blues styles associated with specific regions are described, such as the down-home blues of the Mississippi Delta, which made its way to Chicago where it has flourished for decades. One chapter covers women blues artists such as "Ma" Rainey and Memphis Minnie, while another focuses on white country blues. Other topics include the impact of radio and recording technology on the popularity of the blues, the link between gospel and blues, and the blues revival of the 1960s. As B.B. King says in his foreword, the story of the blues is the story of many different people, "some are colorful, some are mysterious, all are interesting." The authors recount the careers of numerous musicians, including big names such as Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon as well as lesser-known masters such as Eddie Taylor. This volume is a cut above most blues books with its wealth of illustrations (325 to be exact) and penetrating commentary. ~--Donna Seaman
Choice Review
It would be easy at first glance to regard this as another slickly produced volume on the blues, but it is more. The lucid writing offers new, provocative biographical insights and new syntheses on the subject and its environments. The most relevant photographs and other illustrations are very numerous; most are from private collections and have not been seen before. There are some misspellings of names, but there is a richness of contextual biographical significance. The discography and bibliography are practical rather than comprehensive, but both could well serve a specialist's acquisition and reference interests. The blues, explored chronologically from its Senegalese ancestry through its use for television theme songs and commercials, might well prove this century's most influential idiom. After all, though significant in its own right, it was one of the parents of Anglo country music, of jazz, of rock, of pop and soul, and of gospel music. It has been a major medium for radio and recordings, and its history is that of the big cities and rural communities. It is the central story of black American musical life, yet it has become an international phenomenon. Cohn, a major producer for Sony/CBS (which company discovered the blues in the '20s), is alert to the panorama involved and, turned anthologist, solicited 11 chapters from other researchers and subject specialists, including Samuel Charters and Charles Wolfe. Regardless of the level of inquiry, one should not overlook this valuable resource. D. -R. de Lerma; Lawrence University
Library Journal Review
This compilation of 11 articles, edited by Grammy Award-winning blues producer Cohn, examines the beginnings and progress of the blues. The book starts with a penetrating essay by noted blues writer Samuel Chaters, who investigates the origins of the blues. It follows with chapters that clearly, extensively, and intelligently describe early blues in the Deep South and Texas, women and the blues, urban blues, the Sixties blues revival, and such often-neglected aspects of the blues tradition as gospel, Piedmont regional blues, white country blues, and the role of music researchers like John and Alan Lomax. Only chapters about the current blues scene and rhythm and blues offer disappointingly superficial treatment. Lavishly illustrated, well researched, and written in a lively style, this book should become a standard on the topic for both the general public and scholars. Recommended for most collections. The publisher is releasing a limited edition of this work that includes a compact disc.--Ed.-- David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Foreword by B. B. King I first met Larry Cohn in 1969, after having read a most favorable article he wrote about me and my career as it was at that time. It wasnt too hard to see that not only was he interested in my music, he was interested in the blues, period. Well, lots of time has passed since that meeting. Many nights have been spent on the road touring. Ive made lots and lots of records, had--like everyone else--high points and low points, but what has always stayed the same has been the blues. The thrill may be gone for other things, but not for the blues. It has been a long haul. From Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton to Son House and Robert Johnson, from Lightnin Hopkins and Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter, to Robert Cray and the many other blues players and singers. Some recorded, some never did. Some traveled and performed, some stayed at home. But whatever the way, the tradition has carried on. In many cases, it had to take a European detour before some Americans would recognize their own music, but I feel that it is now firmly entrenched in the consciousness not only of Americans, but of music lovers throughout the world. This book will take the reader on an adventure--an adventure through the "houses of the blues," where many different individuals will be encountered. Some are colorful, some are mysterious, all are interesting. So, read on, knowing full well that the blues is alive and well and will be so when you finish this lovingly presented portrait of the music and the musicians. Excerpted from Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
