The Big Book of Blues: The Fully Revised and Updated Biographical Encyclopedia [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Santelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

This new edition of the ultimate reference book for blues lovers by renowned music authority Robert Santelli contains more than 650 entries profiling every important blues artist-from Bessie Smith to Koko Taylor, Charlie Patton to Robert Cray, Blind Willie McTell to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Each biographical sketch is concise and informative, going beyond basic biographical data and discographies to include a discussion of the artist's style, musical contribution, and "essential listening"-the recordings you must go to if you want to hear that person's best work. Existing entries have been completely updated, and fifty new entries have been added. This one-of-a-kind, richly informative guide will be a beloved and much-used reference for blues aficionados and new listeners alike for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This ambitious biographical encyclopedia delivers the goods, listing over 600 entries from every era and style of the blues. Santelli's wide definition of blues music includes styles from folk to rock to zydeco. Important British artists like Eric Clapton and John Mayal are covered, and songwriters and producers also receive recognition. Some purists may quibble about the inclusion of Lucinda Williams and the absence of Koerner, Ray and Glover (the trio that introduced country blues to many white college students in the Sixties). Still, the concise, informative biographical data and the lists of essential recordings that follow each entry make this book essential for any comprehensive music collection. Highly recommended.
- Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The blues seem to have been making a reference-publishing comeback in the past few years. The Big Book of Blues, by music-journalist Santelli, explores the lives of 650 blues musicians, with a few nonmusicians, such as the Lomaxes from the Library of Congress, mixed in.

The biographical essays open with the names of band members or individual artists, the real name or other performing nom de chanson, and birth and death dates. Entries cover the performers' career and include other musicians who influenced or played with them, hit records or singles, discussion of style, etc. Entries range in length from approximately 100 words for Eddie "Vaan" Shaw to more than 650 for Blind Lemon Jefferson. There are some discrepancies in dates between this and other sources for early blues performers, stemming mostly from unclear records. Unlike the recent Encyclopedia of the Blues by Herzhaft [RBB Ja 1 93], which had some entries by genre such as Female Blues Singers or White Blues, The Big Book of Blues is by individual or band name only, and as a result some performers have longer essays here than in Herzhaft (e.g., Sippie Wallace).

There are cross-references to other performers within essays, but no references from real names or lesser-known nicknames to the entry under the best-known performing name. Profiles end with a brief discography. A bibliography of sources and a name index conclude the work.

Libraries owning Blues Who's Who by Harris (Da Capo, 1981) and the Encyclopedia of the Blues may not need The Big Book of Blues unless they have an active blues audience. However, the book is well written, inexpensive, and current, making it an attractive purchase. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Revised edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141001453
• ISBN-13: 978-0141001456
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitive, but not definitive..., August 2, 2000

By 

"stbob" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia (Paperback)

This is a great book to have in your collection if you're a fan of blues music and history. By far, it's not the ONLY book out there. There are a number of notable artists this book is missing. Hopefully, future editions of this book will begin to fill some of the gaps. That being said, this is a very good reference just the same.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, new edition needed, November 6, 2005

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia (Paperback)

This is a great biographical guide to blues musicians and their careers, but it's time for an updated edition. The book contains 600+ entries with fairly detailed bio info in each, with musicians ranging from Bessie Smith to Robert Cray, and even including crossover groups like the Yardbirds. But the book predates the CD era somewhat, with the "essential listening" section for each musician lacking in CD listings. For some, this is a major omission (I'm thinking of the 1,000 or so Document CDs that could have been accessed with so many of the pre-war musicians).

Books like this often impel people to go through them to note who was left out as well as who made it in. Some of the earlier female blues singers who recorded many important sides in the 1920s seem under represented: Viola McCoy, Josie Miles, Monette Moore, and Merlene Johnson (The Yas Yas Girl) were all left out, though each recorded dozens of sides. Of course, artists who have come on the scene since 1993, when the book was published, are not included either (Keb Mo, Jerry Ricks, and Corey Harris to name just three come to mind). No book, obviously, that is documenting an on-going subject will ever be complete, but this one is valuable enough to warrant a revised edition. Hopefully one is in the planning stages. In the meantime, this is (along with Harris's BLUES WHO'S WHO, which also needs updating) an important reference book for lovers of the blues. A must-have book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good referance to accompany other reading or listening., August 9, 1998

By 

Steve Evans ([e-mail]) (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia (Paperback)

The information provided in the biographical encyclopaedia is a good referance when reading other publications on the "Blues" or listening to recordings by a performer with whome you may not be familiar. Whilst the referances are not complete, it is nevertheless a source of sound information on numerous blues performers from the 1890's to the present. (I found I had a number of recordings in my collection made in the 1920's and 1930's by individuals not referenced in the book.)

The book is a very good "handbook" to have by your side when you want to learn or simply recap on some details of an individual whose story you may be absorbing either through reading or listening.