Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the author toured his home state of Mississippi. Illustrated with his photographs of the musicians and their communities, this book features more than twenty interviews relating dramatic and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South.

Contains three companion sets of trading cards - Heroes of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats, and Pioneers of Country Music - in book form. This work provides the biography of each musician, along with a full colour original illustration.

Examines the artists and songs from the golden age of the Blues.

Covering everything from choosing a plectrum to executing the most accomplished finger roll this side of the Mississippi, this guide takes you through the complexities of the blues. It offers a thorough breakdown of the styles, including John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson and Howling Wolf.

The Groundhogs' classic years.

An illustrated study based on the seven-part PBS-TV series furnishes an impressionistic portrait of the blues and its influence on American music and culture as viewed by seven famous directors, in a collection of photographs, historical and personal essays, and interviews. Reprint. 35,000 first pr

Examines blues as literature, music, personal expression, and cultural product. This title contains pieces on Ella Fitzgerald, Son House, and Robert Johnson; on the styles of vaudeville, solo guitar, and zydeco; on a comparison of blues and African music; on blues nicknames; and on lyric themes of disillusionment.

Bobby Womack's is the story of R&B and soul itself, a crucial link between the gospel of the 1950s and the greatest soul and rock of the 1960s and 1970s. In a turbulent life, Womack was one of the last to see his friend Janis Joplin shortly before she died and was one of the key witnesses to the mysterious shooting of Sam Cooke.

R and B singer, talented actress, and emergent soul diva - by the age of 22, Aaliyah had accomplished more than most dream of, and seemed destined for the heights of super-stardom. August 24th 2001, the unthinkable happened Aaliyah died in a plane crash. Since than, death has bought Aaliyah the mainstream attention she deserved in life, and has established her as a black icon for the fans who had

Combines three influential and much-quoted books on African-American music.

A comprehensive study of the impact of the railroads on 19th and early 20th Century African American society and the many and varied references to this phenomenon in early blues lyrics.

Born to shell-shocked parents in shell-shocked London shortly after the end of World War II, Paul 'Sailor' Vernon came into his own during the 1960s when spotty teenage herberts with bad haircuts began discovering The Blues. This illustrated autobiography charts the many twists and turns in his roller-coaster adventure of a life.

Better known as Dr. Demento on nationally syndicated radio, Hansen traces the history of blues music and its social and cultural mores and profiles its legendary players. Published in cooperation with Rhino Records. 200 color and B&W photos.

Takes a comprehensive look at one of the greatest and most popular bluesmen of all time, Jimmy Reed. From The Hell Hole of the Delta , where he was born and raised, to Death Valley , a part of South Chicago where he worked the iron mills, his growth as a person and professional musician is chronicled.

A comprehensive A-to-Z guide to the blues. In more than 450 entries, it brings together various aspects of the musical genre, serving as a useful resource for music lovers everywhere, as well as those interested in the historical roots of an American legacy.

A study of the First Lady of Neo Soul.

William Ferris, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, has written a book as deep as the blues: rich in conversation, reference, history, and firsthand experience with blues musicians and the culture that informs the music. The poetry, games, house parties, religious and secular traditions of black life in the Delta are explored in living prose

The biography of Muddy Waters, the man who invented electric blues and laid the foundation for rock and roll. Leaving the cotton fields of Mississippi for Chicago's South Side, he went on to international stardom - through scores of women, hits, bottles of booze, and moments of divine grace.