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The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Blues
Examining the changing face of the genre from its beginnings at the end of the 19th century to its international popularity today, this book traces the social climate that inspired the blues and takes a look at the unmistakable influences that blues had on 20th-century music. Includes information on performances from Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton.
266 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
About the author
David Evans
5 booksThere is more than one author with this name
David Evans has been a Professor of Music at the University of Memphis since 1978. He directs the ethnomusicology Ph.D. program, the only such program with a specific specialization in southern U.S. folk and popular music. A blues researcher, he has been honored with a 2003 Grammy Award for his album notes to Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton.
David Evans has been a Professor of Music at the University of Memphis since 1978. He directs the ethnomusicology Ph.D. program, the only such program with a specific specialization in southern U.S. folk and popular music. A blues researcher, he has been honored with a 2003 Grammy Award for his album notes to Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 7, 2017
An Introduction To A Distinct American Art Form
National Public Radio has published "curious listener's" guides to a number of musical types, including classical, opera, folk, popular, and celtic. With its recent, "The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Blues" (2005), NPR offers a sympathetic, thoughtful, and broad-based guide to a uniquely American and African American music. The author, David Evans, is Professor of Music at the University of Memphis where he has designed a program in ethnomusicology with a specific specialization in southern folk and popular music. He has written widely on the blues and received a Grammy in 2003 for his liner notes to a seven-CD collection, "Screamin' and Hollering the Blues, The Worlds of Charley Patton."
Although the blues have received much popular attention in recent years, it is gratifying to see the increased amount of serious, scholarly study that the music is receiving. It is long overdue. Evans has written an introductory account of the blues that will, indeed, whet the appetite of the new listener, but he has done much more. He treats the music seriously, with an obvious love, and without stereotyping or hype. There is much to be learned from his book about the music, its history, its performers, and its place in American life.
The "blues" are notoriously difficult to define or to categorize, but Evans stresses that "[a]bove all else, blues music is about conveying personal feeling and, in so doing, reaching others and establishing a sense of life-affirming solidarity." (p. 165) With all its learning, this book keeps the emotional, personal core of the music at its center. Evans also describes in succinct, non-technical language the formal characteristics of the blues, the use of blue notes and chord patterns, and the various types of interplay in the blues between vocal and instrumental lines. A chapter titled "the Language of the Blues" offers good basic guidance not only to the blues but to elementary music theory as well.
The early chapters of the book offer discussions of the origins of the blues near the beginning of the 20th century, and of its pioneer recordings. He discusses the varieties of the blues that have developed in its now century-long history, including the classic or vaudeville blues, country, folk blues, swing, and jump, electric blues, Chicago blues and much else through the appropriation of much of the blues sound by British and American rock and roll performers.
Evans also offers three related chapters giving biographies of many famous blues artists, detailed discussions of fifty blues songs, chosen for their excellence and representative character, and fifty blues CDs. These songs and CDs are well-chosen and non-dogmatically presented. They will give the new listener a cross-section of the types of music and artists that have formed the blues. The lists will form the basis for endless listening and enjoyment and will encourage the new listener to explore the blues further. Evans's concluding chapter includes a guide to books, magazines and websites devoted to the blues.
This book will appeal both to newcomers to the blues and to those who know and love the music. Most importantly, Evans shows the reader that the blues are not merely a product of "pop" culture, but rather are a serious, influential and passionate American music that will amply repay attention and study.
Robin Friedman
National Public Radio has published "curious listener's" guides to a number of musical types, including classical, opera, folk, popular, and celtic. With its recent, "The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Blues" (2005), NPR offers a sympathetic, thoughtful, and broad-based guide to a uniquely American and African American music. The author, David Evans, is Professor of Music at the University of Memphis where he has designed a program in ethnomusicology with a specific specialization in southern folk and popular music. He has written widely on the blues and received a Grammy in 2003 for his liner notes to a seven-CD collection, "Screamin' and Hollering the Blues, The Worlds of Charley Patton."
Although the blues have received much popular attention in recent years, it is gratifying to see the increased amount of serious, scholarly study that the music is receiving. It is long overdue. Evans has written an introductory account of the blues that will, indeed, whet the appetite of the new listener, but he has done much more. He treats the music seriously, with an obvious love, and without stereotyping or hype. There is much to be learned from his book about the music, its history, its performers, and its place in American life.
The "blues" are notoriously difficult to define or to categorize, but Evans stresses that "[a]bove all else, blues music is about conveying personal feeling and, in so doing, reaching others and establishing a sense of life-affirming solidarity." (p. 165) With all its learning, this book keeps the emotional, personal core of the music at its center. Evans also describes in succinct, non-technical language the formal characteristics of the blues, the use of blue notes and chord patterns, and the various types of interplay in the blues between vocal and instrumental lines. A chapter titled "the Language of the Blues" offers good basic guidance not only to the blues but to elementary music theory as well.
The early chapters of the book offer discussions of the origins of the blues near the beginning of the 20th century, and of its pioneer recordings. He discusses the varieties of the blues that have developed in its now century-long history, including the classic or vaudeville blues, country, folk blues, swing, and jump, electric blues, Chicago blues and much else through the appropriation of much of the blues sound by British and American rock and roll performers.
Evans also offers three related chapters giving biographies of many famous blues artists, detailed discussions of fifty blues songs, chosen for their excellence and representative character, and fifty blues CDs. These songs and CDs are well-chosen and non-dogmatically presented. They will give the new listener a cross-section of the types of music and artists that have formed the blues. The lists will form the basis for endless listening and enjoyment and will encourage the new listener to explore the blues further. Evans's concluding chapter includes a guide to books, magazines and websites devoted to the blues.
This book will appeal both to newcomers to the blues and to those who know and love the music. Most importantly, Evans shows the reader that the blues are not merely a product of "pop" culture, but rather are a serious, influential and passionate American music that will amply repay attention and study.
Robin Friedman
May 16, 2012
A good place to start.
October 17, 2021
Blues defies attempts to concisely define it. More than anything, it is a feeling. It is often rooted in personal struggles. It is often sacrilegious yet spiritual.
The blues overlap with, influences, and is influenced by many other forms of music. But typical characteristics include use of blue notes, AAB verse structure, 4 bars per line, instrumental acting as a second voice, traditional chord progression, heavy improvisation, focus on a feeling, and raw and real lyrics.
The blues arose in the Deep South as an expression of black hardship. It has traits of African music filtered through African American folk music and combined in original ways, with vocal melodies derived from field hollers and church prayers with instruments added to answer the singing, and harmonic form that originated in Europe.
Early blues musicians played locally. Later some adopted an itinerant lifestyle, later joining vaudeville shows with the rise of early blues vocalists. In the 1930’s as blacks migrated to north and recording quality improved the blues changed to a softer singing style. Radio started to fuel demand, but with the Great Depression recordings declined, only to later rebound to meet growing jukebox demand. The modern blues sound developed in the 1940’s in Chicago, with the music becoming more urbane and the electric guitar and a more percussive sound. By the 1950’s there was a shift towards R&B, shouters, crooners, rise of independent labels and black radio. In the 1960’s blues was played by primarily all electric bands, but the music became less popular among black audiences (who gravitated to soul) but more popular with whites (blues revival).
Blues music is closely linked to jazz. The main differences, when there are any, is that blues artists tend to take a more “vocal’ approach, treating the instrument as a complementary voice to the singing and concentrating on the melodic lines and variations on them, whereas the jazz musician tends to introduce more harmonic variations into the blues form and explores the harmonic implications of melodic lines.
The blues overlap with, influences, and is influenced by many other forms of music. But typical characteristics include use of blue notes, AAB verse structure, 4 bars per line, instrumental acting as a second voice, traditional chord progression, heavy improvisation, focus on a feeling, and raw and real lyrics.
The blues arose in the Deep South as an expression of black hardship. It has traits of African music filtered through African American folk music and combined in original ways, with vocal melodies derived from field hollers and church prayers with instruments added to answer the singing, and harmonic form that originated in Europe.
Early blues musicians played locally. Later some adopted an itinerant lifestyle, later joining vaudeville shows with the rise of early blues vocalists. In the 1930’s as blacks migrated to north and recording quality improved the blues changed to a softer singing style. Radio started to fuel demand, but with the Great Depression recordings declined, only to later rebound to meet growing jukebox demand. The modern blues sound developed in the 1940’s in Chicago, with the music becoming more urbane and the electric guitar and a more percussive sound. By the 1950’s there was a shift towards R&B, shouters, crooners, rise of independent labels and black radio. In the 1960’s blues was played by primarily all electric bands, but the music became less popular among black audiences (who gravitated to soul) but more popular with whites (blues revival).
Blues music is closely linked to jazz. The main differences, when there are any, is that blues artists tend to take a more “vocal’ approach, treating the instrument as a complementary voice to the singing and concentrating on the melodic lines and variations on them, whereas the jazz musician tends to introduce more harmonic variations into the blues form and explores the harmonic implications of melodic lines.
April 3, 2015
Definitely not a detailed history or technical treatment of blues music and there are some questionable claims, but it's a reasonable starting point for someone interested in the development blues music.
The artist and disc lists will be much more helpful to those wanting to start experiencing blues music and unsure where to start.
The artist and disc lists will be much more helpful to those wanting to start experiencing blues music and unsure where to start.
September 11, 2012
A decent read but it kind of just devolved into a lot of lists, as books on music are wont to do. At some point you just gotta listen to the music. I preferred this House on Fire as a more cohesive narrative, but who knows which is actually a better intro to this genre.
June 24, 2008
These books are really informative and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews