Early blues : the first stars of blues guitar / Jas Obrecht.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Obrecht, Jas, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Weaver, Sylvester.

Jackson, Papa Charlie, 1887-1938.

Jackson, Papa Charlie.

Jefferson, Blind Lemon, 1897-1929.

Jefferson, Blind Lemon.

McTell, Blind Willie.

Johnson, Blind Willie.

Johnson, Lonnie.

Hurt, Mississippi John, 1892-1966.

Hurt, Mississippi John.

Tampa Red, 1904-1981.

Tampa Red.

Blues (Music)--1921-1930--History and criticism.

Blues (Music).

Blues musicians--United States.

Blues musicians.

Guitarists--United States.

Guitarists.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, Minnesota ; London, England : University of Minnesota Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Winner of the 2016 Living Blues Award for Blues Book of the Year Since the early 1900s, blues and the guitar have traveled side by side. This book tells the story of their pairing from the first reported sightings of blues musicians, to the rise of nationally known stars, to the onset of the Great Depression, when blues recording virtually came to a halt. Like the best music documentaries, Early Blues: The First Stars of Blues Guitar interweaves musical history, quotes from celebrated musicians (B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Ry Cooder, and Johnny Winter, to name a few), and a spellbinding array of life stories to illustrate the early days of blues guitar in rich and resounding detail. In these chapters, you'll meet Sylvester Weaver, who recorded the world's first guitar solos, and Paramount Records artists Papa Charlie Jackson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Blind Blake, the "King of Ragtime Blues Guitar." Blind Willie McTell, the Southeast's superlative twelve-string guitar player, and Blind Willie Johnson, street-corner evangelist of sublime gospel blues, also get their due, as do Lonnie Johnson, the era's most influential blues guitarist; Mississippi John Hurt, with his gentle, guileless voice and syncopated fingerpicking style; and slide guitarist Tampa Red, "the Guitar Wizard." Drawing on a deep archive of documents, photographs, record company ads, complete discographies, and up-to-date findings of leading researchers, this is the most comprehensive and complete account ever written of the early stars of blues guitar--an essential chapter in the history of American music.

Contents:

Sylvester Weaver : the first blues guitarist on record

Papa Charlie Jackson : six-string stylist, flat-picking pioneer

Blind Lemon Jefferson : popular from coast to coast

Blind Blake : king of ragtime blues guitar

Blind Willie McTell : Atlanta's twelve-string king

Blind Willie Johnson : sublime gospel blues

Lonnie Johnson : the era's most influential blues guitarist

Mississippi John Hurt : songster and bluesman

Tampa Red : "the guitar wizard".

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4529-4566-7

OCLC:

926101839