Nobody Knows Where the Blues Come from: Lyrics and History (American Made Music) [Hardcover]

Robert Springer (Editor)

Book Description

Series: American Made Music | Publication Date: November 2005

Although the aesthetic appeal of blues music has always been its major asset, the lyrical content of the songs, sometimes overlooked, is at least equally to be credited for its staying power. Eight critiques, resulting from years of research, make up this volume. In all, the focus rests on the historical dimensions of the lyrics with the intention of setting the record straight or creating a record where none existed. Together, this collection presents African American popular music as a self-contained cultural domain and as a form of oral history which continues to be a permanent source of enlightenment shining light on several dark comers of official history.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Springer offers a collection of essays on the blues as a neglected form of oral history, used by African Americans primarily to record significant events. The eight essays include examination of a murder ballad from the 1930s and blues songs during Prohibition and the Jim Crow era. Although the tone of some of the essays is a bit academic, the opening essay on blues lyrics from the 1927 Mississippi River flood is particularly compelling, in light of the recent flood in New Orleans. Blatantly discriminatory treatment of blacks and whites following the floods, dissatisfaction with the response of the federal government and the Red Cross, and mistreatment of black workers and sharecroppers feature among the lyrics. Essayist David Evans also recalls the rush to record flood songs following the tragedy and the rise in popularity of Bessie Smith's "Back-Water Blues," though it was recorded shortly before the flood. An intriguing intersection of music and oral history. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher

This vibrant and varied look at African American songs and the history behind the lyrics

* Offers essays by some of the best blues scholars in the world, such as Paul Oliver, John Cowley, and David Evans

* Includes contributions from Randall Cherry (independent; Paris), John Cowley (University of London), Evans (University of Memphis), Tom Freeland (independent; Oxford, Mississippi), Luigi Monge (independent; Genoa, Italy), Oliver (Oxford Brookes University), Chris Smith (independent; Out Skerries, Shetland Islands), Springer (University of Metz), Guido van Rijn (Kennemer Lyceum, Overveen, Netherlands)

* Features two unique contributions, the essay by David Evans on the blues and gospel songs on the 1927 Mississippi River Flood and the essay by John Cowley on West Indian blues, that were years in the making and will be extremely important to blues scholars and students

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 303 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi (November 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578067979
• ISBN-13: 978-1578067978
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,957,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)