Fictional blues : narrative self-invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White / Kimberly Mack.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mack, Kimberly, author.

Series:

African American intellectual history.

African American intellectual history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Blues musicians--United States.

Blues musicians.

Blues (Music)--History and criticism.

Blues (Music).

African Americans--Folklore.

African Americans.

Music and folklore.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amherst, Massachusetts : University of Massachusetts Press, [2020]

Summary:

The familiar story of Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, who sold his soul to the devil at a Mississippi crossroads in exchange for guitar virtuosity, and the violent stereotypes evoked by legendary blues "bad men" like Stagger Lee undergird the persistent racial myths surrounding "authentic" blues expression.

Contents:

Introduction

The narrative blues tradition : Tall tales, myths, and Black American folklore

Shug, Big Mama, and Amy : Autobiographical fictions and addictions

"I was astounded at what I heard" : Robert Johnson's autobiographical and biographical afterlives

From John Anthony Gillis to Jack White : A study in blues self-invention

The blues apprenticeship : Racialized conventions of the acolyte

Afterword.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-61376-795-1

OCLC:

1236131817