Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943 (Hardcover)

~ (Compiler), the late John Godrich (Compiler), Howard W. Rye (Compiler) "L.M. Abraham is probably Lawrence M. Abrams, the joint founder, with Lloyd Lee Woodard, of a school for the blind at Piney Woods..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York City, Clarence Williams, Fletcher Henderson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the third edition: "Indispensable: every music library should have it, and it will be a high priority item on any blues collector's list."--Ethnomusicology
"The definitive discography of the genre; it is comprehensive and accurate to the extreme, and is essential for all those who are interested in pre-war blues and gospel recordings."--Goldmine
"Absolutely indispensible to anyone with an interest in pre-war Blues and Gospel music."--Blues Unlimited

Product Description

Since its first edition in 1964, Dixon and Goodrich's Blues and Gospel Records has been dubbed "the bible" for collectors of pre-war African American music. It provides an exhaustive listing of all recordings of the period, from the earliest cylinders up to the end of 1943, with full details on singers, accompanists, place and date of recording, titles, issue numbers, and alternate takes. The fourth edition has been thoroughly revised, adding about 150 new artists as well as numerous newly discovered recordings of other artists. The book now also includes early cylinder recordings of gospel music from the 1890s.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1424 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 4 edition (October 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198162391
• ISBN-13: 978-0198162391
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #645,668 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable, May 20, 2002

By	"12-string" (WV) - See all my reviews

This encyclopedia is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in blues and gospel recordings of the pre-WW2 era. Awe-inspiring labor has brought forth a volume of nearly 1500 pages listing, alphabetically by artist, recording data for every known African-American blues and gospel performer whose work was put on disk through 1943. It is not a jazz discography, though a few essentially jazz acts are included. As well as commercial recordings, it also attempts to catalog all known folklore field recordings of the same period, particularly those of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Included are an index of artists, to help locate sideman appearances, and an index of song titles. The work involved here, which has occupied several writers for many years, is awe-inspiring, particularly since the book is specialized enough (and priced highly enough) that it will never break any sales records. A love for this wonderful music is evident on every page.

I bought a copy about 2 years ago and use it frequently, especially with my disk and tape collection. The kind of session data given so generously here was notoriously absent on LP reissues of early blues music. As an inveterate compiler and collator and list-maker, I can't imagine not having this info! The Oxford edition is a sturdy and well-made volume, and I consider the book worth every dime I paid for it, and then some.

One "improvement" I would like to see in a future edition is the addition of some symbol to designate records of which no copy is known to exist. Here and there the editors note that a particular recording has "never been found," but this should be done more consistently. Even with such a notoriously lost 78 as Pm 13096, only the absence of a master number indicates its status. Since 7 types of saxophone are differentiated in the instrumentation chart, I would also suggest that the Queen of Musical Instruments -- I mean, of course, the 12-string -- might be distinguished from the plain old 6-string guitar (perhaps as "12g").

The quibbles are quite minor. There is really nothing about this book that I don't like. Casual blues and gospel fans certainly don't need it, but it will be indispensable to those with a more serious interest.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blues & Gospel Records 1890-1943, May 2, 2008

By	Leland M. Talbot "Blues Chef" (Bethany Beach, DE) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is the 4th edition of a compilation of recording sessions of blues and gospel performers between 1890 and 1943, listed by matrix number and by records issued from that master, listed alphabetically by artist name and in order of recording dates under each artist and who accompanied on what instruments if known. It is mostly of interest to collectors and ethnomusicologists, and is an invaluable resource to us. this edition contains more information than the original edition from 1962, having been revised in 1997.