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Very Short Introductions #247
The Blues: A Very Short Introduction - Library Edition
Praised as "suave, soulful, ebullient" (Tom Waits) and "a meticulous researcher, a graceful writer, and a committed contrarian" (New York Times Book Review), Elijah Wald is one of the leading popular music critics of his generation. In The Blues, Wald surveys a genre at the heart of American culture.
It is not an easy thing to pin down. As Howlin' Wolf once described it, "When you ain't got no money and can't pay your house rent and can't buy you no food, you've damn sure got the blues." It has been defined by lyrical structure, or as a progression of chords, or as a set of practices reflecting West African "tonal and rhythmic approaches," using a five-note "blues scale." Wald sees blues less as a style than as a broad musical tradition within a constantly evolving pop culture. He traces its roots in work and praise songs, and shows how it was transformed by such professional performers as W. C. Handy, who first popularized the blues a century ago. He follows its evolution from Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith through Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix; identifies the impact of rural field recordings of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton and others; explores the role of blues in the development of both country music and jazz; and looks at the popular rhythm and blues trends of the 1940s and 1950s, from the uptown West Coast style of T-Bone Walker to the "down home" Chicago sound of Muddy Waters. Wald brings the story up to the present, touching on the effects of blues on American poetry, and its connection to modern styles such as rap.
As with all of Oxford's Very Short Introductions, The Blues tells you--with insight, clarity, and wit--everything you need to know to understand this quintessentially American musical genre.
It is not an easy thing to pin down. As Howlin' Wolf once described it, "When you ain't got no money and can't pay your house rent and can't buy you no food, you've damn sure got the blues." It has been defined by lyrical structure, or as a progression of chords, or as a set of practices reflecting West African "tonal and rhythmic approaches," using a five-note "blues scale." Wald sees blues less as a style than as a broad musical tradition within a constantly evolving pop culture. He traces its roots in work and praise songs, and shows how it was transformed by such professional performers as W. C. Handy, who first popularized the blues a century ago. He follows its evolution from Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith through Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix; identifies the impact of rural field recordings of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton and others; explores the role of blues in the development of both country music and jazz; and looks at the popular rhythm and blues trends of the 1940s and 1950s, from the uptown West Coast style of T-Bone Walker to the "down home" Chicago sound of Muddy Waters. Wald brings the story up to the present, touching on the effects of blues on American poetry, and its connection to modern styles such as rap.
As with all of Oxford's Very Short Introductions, The Blues tells you--with insight, clarity, and wit--everything you need to know to understand this quintessentially American musical genre.
Audio CD
First published July 1, 2010
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About the author
Elijah Wald
32 books71 followersElijah Wald is a musician and writer, with nine published books. Most are about music (blues, folk, world, and Mexican drug ballads), with one about hitchhiking.
His new book is a revisionist history of popular music, throwing out the usual critical conventions and instead looking at what mainstream pop fans were actually listening and dancing to over the years.
At readings, he also plays guitar and sings...why not?"
His new book is a revisionist history of popular music, throwing out the usual critical conventions and instead looking at what mainstream pop fans were actually listening and dancing to over the years.
At readings, he also plays guitar and sings...why not?"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 23, 2020
Elijah Wald not only writes well; he is also a knowledgeable and inspired critic of popular music. He never fails to put a genre into the context of the larger musical world, and he is also aware of the cultural influences that give music its significance and form. Wald never makes the mistake of assuming that sound recordings--particularly if they are commercial recordings--adequately reflect a genre's development: the most primitive sounds may not be the oldest, the most popular records may not be the most representative, and styles recorded almost exclusively by one race may not reflect the realities of performance. It would be hard to get so much balance and wisdom from any other brief popular introduction. Wald is clear, and concise, but he refuses to simplify.
If you don't know much about blues, this is a good place to start. If you know quite a bit, I bet Wald will still teach you something. I learned that the early "blues queens" like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were even more important than I thought, and may even have saved jazz itself from being just another musical fad, and I learned that cheap Sears mail-order guitars were very helpful in replacing the banjo as a black rural instrument, thus making possible the sustained instrumental notes vital to a vocal blues accompaniment.
Wald is very good at revealing the relationships between music and culture, and particularly well informed on the interplay between black and white music. If you read nothing else, be sure to read the last section of the book in which he discusses blues and jazz, blues and country music, and the poetry of the blues. Wald taught me many connections of which I was unaware, and my intellectual grasp of the blues genre is stronger because of it.
August 13, 2023
کتاب خوبی بود به عنوان یه مقدمه به بلوز. از دو بخش تشکیل شده بود که توی بخش اول یه تاریخچۀ مختصر از بلوز شرح داده بود و در بخش دوم به تاثیر کتمانناپذیرش بر فرهنگ آمریکا و پیوند قویای که هست بینشون پرداخته بود (مشخصا به ارتباط بلوز و جز، ارتباط بلوز و کانتری و ترانهسرایی بلوز به مثابۀ شعر.) از نگارش متن کتاب میشد فهمید که نویسنده خودش علاقهمنده به چیزی که راجع بهش مینویسه و این مطالعۀ کتاب رو جذابتر میکرد. برای منی که پیش زمینهای نداشتم بعضی وقتها اعلام و اسامی جدید بسیاری که اومده بود میترسوندم ولی خب فکر میکنم کار کتاب مقدماتی همینه که خواننده رو در معرض مطلب قرار بده و از این منظر مشکلی با این مسئله ندارم. در کل میتونم بگم اگه هدف کتاب این بود که پیشزمینه و اعتمادبهنفس کافی بده به خواننده که بتونه عمیقتر به مطالعه ادامه بده فکر میکنم توی کیس من موفق عمل کرده. خوندن این کتاب رو به کسانی که کنجکاون بیشتر دربارۀ بلوز و ریشههای موسیقی آمریکایی بدونن پیشنهاد میکنم.
February 4, 2015
This one is on the better end of the Oxford series. Enjoyed the final section of the book on blues and American culture.
Best part of the book though was that Wald quotes Charles Colcock Jones. I've literally spent the last five months reading an opus on the rise and fall of that family. Could give you the whole story of that family during the civil war, but I had no idea they would pop up in a conversation about the history of blues music.
Best part of the book though was that Wald quotes Charles Colcock Jones. I've literally spent the last five months reading an opus on the rise and fall of that family. Could give you the whole story of that family during the civil war, but I had no idea they would pop up in a conversation about the history of blues music.
March 7, 2016
Great overview of the music genre known as Blues. Like all "Very Short Introduction" books this one is light on personality and heavy on a lot of names all at once but it does a great job explaiing the evolution of the art form.
It helps to have a computer or something nearby so you can type the player's names into YouTube as you read to follow along. It's not required but it sure helped me.
It helps to have a computer or something nearby so you can type the player's names into YouTube as you read to follow along. It's not required but it sure helped me.
January 4, 2021
As the book title says, this is a very short book - you could easily finish it in one or two sittings. Despite the length, though, it’s densely written, at least the history section. One could spend a lifetime chasing down all the artists and strands mentioned in the book.
I thought it was strongest in the section on the history of the music. The story it tells is more or less familiar to music fans, but again, the level of detail is surprising for such a short book. The section on connections to jazz and country seem a bit rushed. The last section, on connections to the written word, is nearly over before it begins.
I’d like to see a longer treatment with attached CDs or an online playlist.
Hopefully, someone will make a Spotify or YouTube playlist from the songs and artists mentioned in the book. Let me know if you do. :)
I thought it was strongest in the section on the history of the music. The story it tells is more or less familiar to music fans, but again, the level of detail is surprising for such a short book. The section on connections to jazz and country seem a bit rushed. The last section, on connections to the written word, is nearly over before it begins.
I’d like to see a longer treatment with attached CDs or an online playlist.
Hopefully, someone will make a Spotify or YouTube playlist from the songs and artists mentioned in the book. Let me know if you do. :)
October 12, 2018
Wald positions blues music as the catalyst for more modern American musical forms, including jazz, rock, R&B and rap. His "very short introduction" begins with the contributions of W.C. Handy, moves through the artistry of female singers like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, and looks at the gritty songs of male innovators like Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, B.B. King and many others. It's all here: The Chicago sound. The Memphis, Texas and Piedmont blues. T-Bone Walker's unique West Coast style. Electrified blues and the subsequent British invasion. An amazing history in an compact package. (Audio book.)
January 1, 2017
Wald follows trails through US music opened up by the broadest definitions of "the Blues" and a healthy disrespect for marketing categories like "folk" and "pop," his vision aided with genuine anti-racism. I thought when I started reading this, come on, tell me something I don't know, and then, what do you know, he did.
May 9, 2021
This is a fast-paced history of the blues, with special attention to the not-very-sharp boundaries between the blues and other genres.
The book lives up to its billing — “a very short introduction.” But that’s no knock against it. I think it does exactly the job it’s meant to do — read it, and find out what paths you want to go down in greater depth with other resources. And Wald provides some great guidance in his “Further reading” suggestions at the end of the book.
All that said, there’s a lot of material here — roughly chronological accounts of three primary low branches on the tree (Piedmont, Texas, and Delta) and a good bit of discussion of how the blues relates, both historically and musically, with folk, gospel, country, jazz, R&B, rock, and even hip-hop music genres, as well as relatively brief mentions of its relationship to west African music and instruments.
Although Wald’s focus is on providing an introduction and a history, he also gives us a strong commentary on blues as a genre. He starts with some definitions — ones based on the feel of the music, the 12 bar-three line musical and lyrical pattern, and the interests of marketing. No definition is exact — blues can be happy not “blue” in feeling (think jump blues, for example), it can violate the 12 bar pattern (think John Lee Hooker), and marketing is marketing.
Wald never says it in so many words, but it’s pretty clear he thinks that marketing is the driving force in musical genre definition in general. And for the blues, especially, given its identification for so many years with “race music,” that’s especially poignant. Was Hank Williams a blues artist? Why not? Was Elvis? For that matter, is Buddy Guy a rock musician?
And there’s the pop influence. If blues reaches a popular audience, suddenly it seems to be R&B. Granted “rhythm and blues” encompasses “blues” but the marketing folks pulled some sort of twist there. And there are similar boundary-jumpings between blues and rock — Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Johnny Winter, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
These distinctions can’t be nailed down in strict musical terms. The marketers who sell the music have their say, and maybe they do speak the loudest.
One criterion I always fall back on in thinking about how valuable a book on music has been is whether or not I turn from the book and buy new music. After all, music is better listened to (or played) than read about. The first I bought after reading this was older recordings by Muddy Waters. I should have done that a long time ago, but Wald got me to scratch the itch.
Like I said, a good “very short introduction.” Once you’ve read this, you can go on, if you want, to fuller general histories, like Robert Palmer’s classic Deep Blues, or down more focused paths, including Wald’s own book on Robert Johnson, or many other sources in the “Further reading” list. I think Wald is a good guide, and, if you’re like me, you need one.
The book lives up to its billing — “a very short introduction.” But that’s no knock against it. I think it does exactly the job it’s meant to do — read it, and find out what paths you want to go down in greater depth with other resources. And Wald provides some great guidance in his “Further reading” suggestions at the end of the book.
All that said, there’s a lot of material here — roughly chronological accounts of three primary low branches on the tree (Piedmont, Texas, and Delta) and a good bit of discussion of how the blues relates, both historically and musically, with folk, gospel, country, jazz, R&B, rock, and even hip-hop music genres, as well as relatively brief mentions of its relationship to west African music and instruments.
Although Wald’s focus is on providing an introduction and a history, he also gives us a strong commentary on blues as a genre. He starts with some definitions — ones based on the feel of the music, the 12 bar-three line musical and lyrical pattern, and the interests of marketing. No definition is exact — blues can be happy not “blue” in feeling (think jump blues, for example), it can violate the 12 bar pattern (think John Lee Hooker), and marketing is marketing.
Wald never says it in so many words, but it’s pretty clear he thinks that marketing is the driving force in musical genre definition in general. And for the blues, especially, given its identification for so many years with “race music,” that’s especially poignant. Was Hank Williams a blues artist? Why not? Was Elvis? For that matter, is Buddy Guy a rock musician?
And there’s the pop influence. If blues reaches a popular audience, suddenly it seems to be R&B. Granted “rhythm and blues” encompasses “blues” but the marketing folks pulled some sort of twist there. And there are similar boundary-jumpings between blues and rock — Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Johnny Winter, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
These distinctions can’t be nailed down in strict musical terms. The marketers who sell the music have their say, and maybe they do speak the loudest.
One criterion I always fall back on in thinking about how valuable a book on music has been is whether or not I turn from the book and buy new music. After all, music is better listened to (or played) than read about. The first I bought after reading this was older recordings by Muddy Waters. I should have done that a long time ago, but Wald got me to scratch the itch.
Like I said, a good “very short introduction.” Once you’ve read this, you can go on, if you want, to fuller general histories, like Robert Palmer’s classic Deep Blues, or down more focused paths, including Wald’s own book on Robert Johnson, or many other sources in the “Further reading” list. I think Wald is a good guide, and, if you’re like me, you need one.
September 20, 2022
Of the 27 entries in the Very Short Introduction series I've so far read, this one disappoints the most. What would we want from an introduction into a style of music. Early on, this book contains the text:
'There is also a purely musical definition of blues: a progression of chords consisting of four bars of the tonic (I), two bars of the subdominant (IV), two bars of the tonic (I), a bar of the dominant seventh (V7), a bar of the subdominant (IV), and two final bars of the tonic (I). This “twelve-bar blues” is what a musician means if she calls for her bandmates to play, say, “a blues in F.”'
I had hoped for more along these lines, best of all, accompanied with clips from sheet music and links to YouTube music videos. Instead, we get never ending name dropping, telling us how this or that performer was the greatest of all time. That may appeal to the vanity of establish fans who will thrill to hear their favourite performer praised, but it's of no help to someone from outside that community who took up this book because he wanted to learn what the blues is all about.
'There is also a purely musical definition of blues: a progression of chords consisting of four bars of the tonic (I), two bars of the subdominant (IV), two bars of the tonic (I), a bar of the dominant seventh (V7), a bar of the subdominant (IV), and two final bars of the tonic (I). This “twelve-bar blues” is what a musician means if she calls for her bandmates to play, say, “a blues in F.”'
I had hoped for more along these lines, best of all, accompanied with clips from sheet music and links to YouTube music videos. Instead, we get never ending name dropping, telling us how this or that performer was the greatest of all time. That may appeal to the vanity of establish fans who will thrill to hear their favourite performer praised, but it's of no help to someone from outside that community who took up this book because he wanted to learn what the blues is all about.
August 16, 2017
A brief, but through survey of blues music from the 1920s to the present. Wald makes the point that blues performers were all-around musicians capable of playing music in a variety of styles. It was the record companies who marketed them as blues musicians in order to maximize sales.
The book's chapters on the interconnection of blues and jazz and the influence of blues on country music are particularly incitement.
Recommended for those interested in any form of blues or in roots music in general.
The book's chapters on the interconnection of blues and jazz and the influence of blues on country music are particularly incitement.
Recommended for those interested in any form of blues or in roots music in general.
June 16, 2018
He packs a lot into a little space.
I read Wald's book about Dylan at Newport and enjoyed that very much, and found a lot to like in this book, too.
Not just in the history of the blues, but about how different instruments and technologies influenced its development. Why guitars replaced banjos, and how the recording industry was driven by jukeboxes, for example.
It never feels reductionist, or high-brow, either.
I read Wald's book about Dylan at Newport and enjoyed that very much, and found a lot to like in this book, too.
Not just in the history of the blues, but about how different instruments and technologies influenced its development. Why guitars replaced banjos, and how the recording industry was driven by jukeboxes, for example.
It never feels reductionist, or high-brow, either.
January 17, 2025
Elijah Wald is the best possible writer they could have gotten for this book. I especially appreciate the way he drew out the difference between the stylistic definitions of the blues and the marketing definition and following the lines of these definitions beyond the golden era of the blues (1920s-30s) to the later incarnations and echos in jazz, country, rock, which I had less background on. A lot of new things to listen to, as well as new appreciation of the classics.
October 20, 2025
Like it says in the title.....
The first few chapters were an interesting intro to regional influences and sounds citing early pioneers. Then, the middle section of the book going into how Blues influenced and is present in other genres before getting into slightly modern artists.
Nothing comprehensive but a good starting point for discovering artists, or seeing it in artists we might know today.
The first few chapters were an interesting intro to regional influences and sounds citing early pioneers. Then, the middle section of the book going into how Blues influenced and is present in other genres before getting into slightly modern artists.
Nothing comprehensive but a good starting point for discovering artists, or seeing it in artists we might know today.
July 1, 2018
A very good "short introduction" to its topic. I would have liked more material in the later chapters, but if one's only complaint about a book of this sort is that it's too short, that's a good sign!
July 18, 2021
Concise, fun, and warm: Wald gets it, makes me want to dive deeper and hear more.
Helped to finish by listening to H. Johnson, dj on wabe.org and Blues Classics last night: Fridays, here: https://www.wabe.org/shows/blues-clas...
Highly recommended.
Helped to finish by listening to H. Johnson, dj on wabe.org and Blues Classics last night: Fridays, here: https://www.wabe.org/shows/blues-clas...
Highly recommended.
October 14, 2023
Solid. I learned a lot, mostly because what I (and probably a lot of other people) know about the Blues is very small: mostly about 12 Bar Delta Blues. This book talks at length about the other varieties out there. Ends kind of abruptly.
October 22, 2017
Made a world I had no idea about appear suddenly.
May 27, 2019
This short, concise, yet encyclopedic look at the Blues is a must for anyone interested in the history of the Blues and how it has affected other genres of popular music.
November 13, 2019
Excellent overview of the music and cultural impact of Blues. Wonderful essays at the end.
Read
May 6, 2020Ok?
March 5, 2024
Well-written. A pretty cool subject if you are into music theory at all.
June 3, 2014
This is the first book I've read on a subject dear to my heart (Chicago Blues is my thing, but I expect to be more broadminded before summer's over), so I really don't have anything to compare it to. For my purposes, this book was perfect. It takes a very complicated subject and treats it in a well-organized manner. It's written in straightforward language and sketches the complexities deftly, so that they are easily digested but not, I think, oversimplified. It's illuminating not only on the subject (roots, definitions, modern evocations) of the blues, but on jazz, country and western, hillbilly and rockabilly, bebop, western swing, and even rap. It clarified the position in this history of names I've been hearing all my life (and didn't expect to see in this book)--Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, Hank Williams--and those that I've been introduced to more recently--Robert Johnson, Son House, T-Bone Walker--and touches at many points on the role that segregation, migration, and other social issues played in the inception and reception of the blues, and on the role that professionalism and marketing came to play in how the categories of blues, jazz, etc., have been perceived over the decades. Wald also does a good job of sorting out why the blues for a significant amount of time was associated with the various "Queens of the Blues" (how Ma Rainey, Sippie Wallace, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, and others). And does an excellent job of showing the influence of changes in technology (from vaudeville to radio to records to juke boxes, amplification, electric guitars, etc.) in what kinds of audiences and venues would follow certain kinds of blues (actually this part is particularly fascinating) and the role those changes played in marketing and popularity.
Next on my reading list for the subject:
Searching for Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick
Escaping the Delta by Elijah Wald
The Fan Who Knew Too Much: Aretha Franklin, the Rise of the Soap Opera, Children of the Gospel Church, and Other Meditations by Anthony Heilbut
The Gospel Sound: Good News in Bad Times by Heilbut
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta by Robert Palmer
I want to give credit to Koko Taylor and Son Seals performing at Gabe & Walker's in Iowa City in 1977-78 for my foundational experience in the subject of the blues, especially the Chicago Blues, and to the utterly riveting article by John Jeremiah Sullivan in the NYTimes Magazine (Apr 13 2014) "The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie" that gave me a place to start in my education (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/20...).
Next on my reading list for the subject:
Searching for Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick
Escaping the Delta by Elijah Wald
The Fan Who Knew Too Much: Aretha Franklin, the Rise of the Soap Opera, Children of the Gospel Church, and Other Meditations by Anthony Heilbut
The Gospel Sound: Good News in Bad Times by Heilbut
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta by Robert Palmer
I want to give credit to Koko Taylor and Son Seals performing at Gabe & Walker's in Iowa City in 1977-78 for my foundational experience in the subject of the blues, especially the Chicago Blues, and to the utterly riveting article by John Jeremiah Sullivan in the NYTimes Magazine (Apr 13 2014) "The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie" that gave me a place to start in my education (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/20...).
November 27, 2014
As the title suggests, this book is a great little introduction to the blues. In his earlier book on the genre, Escaping the Delta, Wald made a strong argument that the blues should be considered a popular music form played predominantly by professional musicians, as opposed to widespread popular opinion that placed the blues in the folk music camp. In this survey for a broader audience, Wald wisely sidesteps such bold statements, coming down squarely in the middle of the pop/folk dichotomy. This is a satisfying approach.
As one might expect from such a short work covering such a breadth of material, Wald's text does seem to lack focus at times. This is probably a necessary evil, however, with Wald sacrificing a strong central narrative in favor of covering blues forms in a wider range of genres than might be expected, spending entire chapters on the blues in jazz and country music. Though unexpected, this choice of breadth over depth is not disappointing, and serves the purposes of the Oxford series well.
Most surprising to me is how Wald downplays the Chicago/Chess Records movement in favor of the more embryonic blues of the 1920s and '30s. As I read the book, it seemed that Wald made a good case for the more pervasive influence of earlier artists like Leroy Carr, Blind Willie McTell, and Willie Davis over their better-known musical progeny like Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Muddy Waters, citing the genealogy of blues ideas and the earlier artists' greater influence on seminal jazz and country figures. In retrospect, Wald is probably more balanced than I gave him credit for. In any case, the UCLA scholar certainly defies some commonly-held expectations, giving this study a good deal of value for longtime fans as well as newcomers to blues history and musicology.
As one might expect from such a short work covering such a breadth of material, Wald's text does seem to lack focus at times. This is probably a necessary evil, however, with Wald sacrificing a strong central narrative in favor of covering blues forms in a wider range of genres than might be expected, spending entire chapters on the blues in jazz and country music. Though unexpected, this choice of breadth over depth is not disappointing, and serves the purposes of the Oxford series well.
Most surprising to me is how Wald downplays the Chicago/Chess Records movement in favor of the more embryonic blues of the 1920s and '30s. As I read the book, it seemed that Wald made a good case for the more pervasive influence of earlier artists like Leroy Carr, Blind Willie McTell, and Willie Davis over their better-known musical progeny like Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Muddy Waters, citing the genealogy of blues ideas and the earlier artists' greater influence on seminal jazz and country figures. In retrospect, Wald is probably more balanced than I gave him credit for. In any case, the UCLA scholar certainly defies some commonly-held expectations, giving this study a good deal of value for longtime fans as well as newcomers to blues history and musicology.
October 22, 2016
The author does an outstanding job, within the 125-page limit prescribed for Oxford University Press's "Very Short Introduction" series, of presenting a thorough overview of American blues. His history stretches from West African call-and-response traditions up to the present day. Along the way he gives concise but clear and illuminating coverage to:
- The 1920s "blues queens" (notably Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ethel Waters)
- 1920s-1930s country blues (with separate sections devoted to each of the three major regional styles: Texas (Blind Lemon Jefferson), Piedmont (Blind Willie McTell, Blind Blake), and Mississippi Delta (Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson))
- Prewar "urban blues" (a mostly piano-based style associated with juke joints and the emergence of boogie-woogie; Leroy Carr, Roosevelt Sykes, Peetie Wheatstraw)
- 1940s jump blues (Louis Jordan); "West Coast" blues (T-Bone Walker, Nat King Cole); and rhythm & blues (Big Jay McNeely, Ike Turner, Little Milton)
- 1950s Chicago-style electric blues (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James)
- 1950s rock'n'roll (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley)
- The 1960s folk-blues revival (Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis), and
- 1960s blues rock (The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix)
And that's only the first half of the book. In the second half, the author devotes one chapter to the relationship between blues and jazz; one chapter to the influence of blues on country music; and a final chapter to the language and poetry of the blues.
The author's deep knowledge of and passion for the subject come across throughout the book. I can't imagine a better-constructed brief overview of blues music. And as icing on the cake, the book contains both a useful guide to further reading and a thorough index.
- The 1920s "blues queens" (notably Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ethel Waters)
- 1920s-1930s country blues (with separate sections devoted to each of the three major regional styles: Texas (Blind Lemon Jefferson), Piedmont (Blind Willie McTell, Blind Blake), and Mississippi Delta (Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson))
- Prewar "urban blues" (a mostly piano-based style associated with juke joints and the emergence of boogie-woogie; Leroy Carr, Roosevelt Sykes, Peetie Wheatstraw)
- 1940s jump blues (Louis Jordan); "West Coast" blues (T-Bone Walker, Nat King Cole); and rhythm & blues (Big Jay McNeely, Ike Turner, Little Milton)
- 1950s Chicago-style electric blues (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James)
- 1950s rock'n'roll (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley)
- The 1960s folk-blues revival (Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis), and
- 1960s blues rock (The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix)
And that's only the first half of the book. In the second half, the author devotes one chapter to the relationship between blues and jazz; one chapter to the influence of blues on country music; and a final chapter to the language and poetry of the blues.
The author's deep knowledge of and passion for the subject come across throughout the book. I can't imagine a better-constructed brief overview of blues music. And as icing on the cake, the book contains both a useful guide to further reading and a thorough index.
February 13, 2016
Wald is one of the most highly regarded music writers on the scene right now, especially in this subject area - and rightfully so. "A Short Introduction" describes the volume well. Read as an ebook, only about 65% of the book is actual writing/content/text. There is a long section in the back, "References" and "Further Reading", both of which are good sources for more on this subject.
The main text is split into 2 sections, and it is the first part that I found the most helpful. He provides a quick history of the Blues, throwing out names a mile-a-minute. Sometimes he even tells us why they are important, and names a song or two which makes them important. Thank god for Youtube - which you can go to later and there listen to some of the recordings. The second part is an essay on Blues and other music genres (Jazz, Folk, C&W) and the "poetry" of the Blues. Interesting, but at times I wondered why most of the info could not just have been included in the first part.
Growing up in the Chicago area, I know the newer Blues, and some of the Delta and Memphis performers Chicago Blues came out of. So this was a great intro for me to so many other styles and versions - Piedmont and Texas in particular.
A quick read, well worth the time, and a great stepping off place to further reading and listening on the subject. I am going to suggest Amanda Petrusich's "Don't Sell at Any Price", which is actually about collecting 78's, but is a fun, fast read that will have you jumping back to Youtube in order to hear music by the artists she comes across in her search for discs.
The main text is split into 2 sections, and it is the first part that I found the most helpful. He provides a quick history of the Blues, throwing out names a mile-a-minute. Sometimes he even tells us why they are important, and names a song or two which makes them important. Thank god for Youtube - which you can go to later and there listen to some of the recordings. The second part is an essay on Blues and other music genres (Jazz, Folk, C&W) and the "poetry" of the Blues. Interesting, but at times I wondered why most of the info could not just have been included in the first part.
Growing up in the Chicago area, I know the newer Blues, and some of the Delta and Memphis performers Chicago Blues came out of. So this was a great intro for me to so many other styles and versions - Piedmont and Texas in particular.
A quick read, well worth the time, and a great stepping off place to further reading and listening on the subject. I am going to suggest Amanda Petrusich's "Don't Sell at Any Price", which is actually about collecting 78's, but is a fun, fast read that will have you jumping back to Youtube in order to hear music by the artists she comes across in her search for discs.
December 26, 2015
Coming in to this with a fair bit of prior research in to the topic I wasn't sure I'd find out anything new, but thankfully I was wrong about that assumption. The number of artists mentioned included many I'd never heard of, and the chapters about the pre-war blues tradition and the blues as a form of poetry were the most illuminating to me. The other chapters, comparing the blues to other musical genres and showing how similar they are was refreshing, as that was something I wrote a paper on for an English class, so to see it in a book published by Oxford University Press was reassuring that I was on to something there. The main issue I've got with it is that it ends rather suddenly, without giving a summary of what has been covered, something I think the book would benefit from, so overall I give this four stars.
November 30, 2012
Pas de titre trompeur pour ce tout petit tome introductif sur "The Blues".
Vous n'y connaissez rien? Il vous donne une idée des origines, évolutions et dérivations de cette grande musique africaine américaine.
Vous avez quelques notions? Une mine d'artistes, influences, références historiques et migratoires, tendances, parallèles et associations.
Vous êtes calé? Allez, faux pas faire le snob comme ça... Testez-vous!
Une incursion claire et intéressante dans le Blues qui vous donne envie de passer au crible les dernières pages de références et lectures complémentaires.
Venez faire un tour "down to the crossroads"! (Oh le mauvais jeu de mot! Mais fallait bien trouver moyen de citer Robert Johnson, non?)
Vous n'y connaissez rien? Il vous donne une idée des origines, évolutions et dérivations de cette grande musique africaine américaine.
Vous avez quelques notions? Une mine d'artistes, influences, références historiques et migratoires, tendances, parallèles et associations.
Vous êtes calé? Allez, faux pas faire le snob comme ça... Testez-vous!
Une incursion claire et intéressante dans le Blues qui vous donne envie de passer au crible les dernières pages de références et lectures complémentaires.
Venez faire un tour "down to the crossroads"! (Oh le mauvais jeu de mot! Mais fallait bien trouver moyen de citer Robert Johnson, non?)
September 14, 2018
The Blues are not to linger over. To write a blues tome merely indicates your confusion. Wald is the writer for this format; he's got an argument -- that the blues are an idiom, that it's a commercial music, and that for those fetishists like John Fahey for whom something essential was encountered in the so-called "country blues," the blues was never something they could understand in the first place.
Let me recommend Wald's chapter on "Blues Poetry" -- the best work of its kind I've ever read.
Let me recommend Wald's chapter on "Blues Poetry" -- the best work of its kind I've ever read.
July 13, 2016
Writing these kind of intensive but short intros is difficult. Wald handles the task with aplomb and even brings some of his expected contrarian spirit to the deal. There can be no question that he has thoroughly mastered his field. While I do not agree with all of his claims, he is without a doubt my favorite current writer on American popular music in general and on the Blues specifically. Even knowledgeable fans of of The Blues would be rewarded in visiting this short tome.
FWIW, I look forward to what Jonathan Bate does with English Literature in less than 150 pages . . .
FWIW, I look forward to what Jonathan Bate does with English Literature in less than 150 pages . . .
March 3, 2013
I will definitely use this as a reference book. Complete and concise.
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