Customer Reviews

The Country Blues (Da Capo Paperback)

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For anyone who is interested in the Blues and needs a starting point for information, this is the book. It is easy to read, very basic, yet charged with emotion. Charters shows great concern for the artists he portrays in this book. He doesn't cover a great deal of technical info, nor does he go into great detail about the artists and their music, however he is able to portray a charming overview of the lives and music of these bluesmen. If you are looking for a book with more specifics, THE BLUES MAKERS: AND SWEET AS THE SHOWERS OF RAIN by Sam Carters is a good choice. Also, be sure to read the introduction of both books - they clearly explain Charter's mission.

I was highly entertained by and learned a great deal from this book, not just about some of the biggest names in country blues, but about the biggest stars in the genre. That is, the focus of the Country Blues is not necessarily on the most influential country-blues artists--it barely mentions Charlie Patton and Son House (although it does include a chapter on Robert Johnson)--but on the country-blues artists who sold the most records (e.g., Blind Lemon Jefferson and Big Bill Broonzy and Leroy Carr), and on their labels and handlers.

In other words, the blues musicians who so captivated the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones weren't always the same as those who captivated their contemporaries, and it's to these latter, now less-remembered giants, whom Samuel Charters pays homage. Part music-business history, part biography, and part blues criticism, this volume is both eye-opening and a delight to read. (My only criticism is that, in the Preface to the 1975 Edition (the book was originally published in 1959), Charters alludes to errors in the Country Blues, but does not specify what they are or correct them. From what I've been able to gather through other sources, though, (e.g., Chasin' That Devil's Music) the errors are not many, and not terribly significant.)