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 aint got no money and cant pay your house rent and cant buy you no food; youve 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 Oxfords Very Short Introductions; The Blues tells you--with insight; clarity; and wit--everything you need to know to understand this quintessentially American musical genre.
#565160 in eBooks 2007-05-04 2007-05-04File Name: B003S9VQVW
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