A Guide to the Blues: History, Who's Who, Research Sources [Hardcover]

Austin, Jr. Sonnier (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Sonnier's attempt to produce a comprehensive guide to the blues succeeds on most levels. We follow the development of the blues from its roots in Africa through slavery to its influence on modern popular music. The Mississippi Delta, Louisiana, Texas, and Chicago are detailed for their own particular contributions to the blues form, while a discussion of the distinct scale systems, melodic phrases, and harmonic traditions that characterize the blues offers musicians some technical insights. A chapter on the Twenties and Thirties gives the classic women blues singers their due. The longest section of the book, a series of some 300 biographical sketches, is devoted to performers. Recommended for music libraries.
Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Combining the history of the blues and information about those who created that history into one volume is the aim of this latest blues entry.

The first six chapters outline the history of the blues. Of particular interest is the explanation of the similarities and differences in the musical scales used in European and African music and the blues. Other chapters focus on such issues as the influence of slavery on the blues, the geography of blues evolution, the classic blues belters, voodoo and New Orleans blues, and the blues from the 1950s on.

Almost 400 performers are profiled in the biographical dictionary, which comprises the second section. Entries range from a few sentences to a full page. They include, when possible, a brief discography, filmography, and bibliography. The essays cover the performer's important works, influences, collaborations, style, and importance. Performers represent a variety of time periods and styles. They include Big Maceo, Alberta Hunter, Albert Collins, Clifton Chenier, Johnny Winter, Etta James, and Bonnie Raitt. A section of black-and-white photos closes out the biographies. A select filmography, bibliography, and discography (arranged by record label) append the book. The book has a good index, although there are also see references in both sections.

With so many good blues books published recently, such as Herzhaft's Encyclopedia of the Blues [RBB Ja 1 93], which also includes some historical and geographic entries, or Santelli's Big Book of Blues [RBB Mr 15 94], Sonnier has some strong competition for the library dollar. His is a well-written book that will be an attractive choice, if a library needs additional material on the blues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group; 1ST edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313287244
• ISBN-13: 978-0313287244
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,793,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A lack of careful editorial supervision ruined this book, July 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Guide to the Blues: History, Who's Who, Research Sources (Hardcover)

This book is rife with factual errors which render it useless as a reference volume, (its intended purpose). Birth dates, death dates, birth and death places, career histories and the current state of an artist's career are so frequently wrong as to require anything stated as fact in this book to be double checked.

Even worse, the book's original edition contained substantial passages reprinted, largely intact and without attribution, from Bruce Cook's "Listen to the Blues," most notably those sections discussing Charley Patton and Robert Johnson. While I am not accusing Mr. Sonnier of willful plagiarism, it can be noted that at the time of his book's publication (1996), Mr. Cook's book had been out of print for many years. I caught this matter because Cook's book was republished at about the same time and I was reading the two of them simultaneously. When notified of this problem, Sonnier's publisher withdrew the book from distribution.

I do not know if there was a second edition which solved all these problems, but the first edition must be avoided at all costs. It is impossible to conceive of an audience for whom it would be both appropriate and adequate.