Customer Reviews

Stormy Monday: The T-Bone Walker Story

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The subject of this book is one of the most amazing musicians/artists/showmen of all time. Unfortunately the writer treats the subject in a disjointed, disorganized, almost incomprehensible manner. There is no chronological methodology to the story, characters appear from nowhere with no clue as to who they are or what role they play in this man's life. One third of the way into the book a son all of a sudden appears at 14 with no indication of where he came from, who his mother is, or what role he has played in Walker's life. The book is authored by Helen Oakley Dance and it appears that she has spent time with Walker . She attempts to recall stories and anecdotes that have been told her by Walker, his associates, and family. Those stories are thrown together in a haphazard and incongruous fashion that, frankly, more often than not, just leave you confused. She will recall a story and then in the middle of it she is onto something else that may have happened years earlier or later. Extremely frustrating reading. It is obvious that she has alot of knowledge of this fabulous artist but unfortunatly she does not have the ability to write a book. If you are a Blues fan or a fan of T-Bone Walker I would reluctantly reccomend the book to you because there is alot of valuable information and interesting details contained therein. Unfortunately you will become very frustrated trying to make any sense of it. She's got the facts there, she just doesn't know how to relate them.

Very well written documentary of one of our greatest and most innovative guitarist and entertainers. The author uses actual taped interviews of T-Bone , his family and close friends, musician colleagues, and business associates, to create a written atmosphere that puts the reader directly into the time periods. The authors written this in a way that the reader can almost hear the very voices of those being interviewed. If you like (should love) the music of the great T-Bone Walker, and are interested in knowing the details of the man's private and public lives, then this book is a terrific must read.

T-Bone Walker, ace electric guitarist, blues- and jazzman, charismatic performer and writer of enduring songs, deserves to be much better remembered than he is, and his music more widely available, because it is thoroughly modern and enjoyable. Helen Oakley Dance, an elegant, self-effacing writer who depends on the intelligence of her readers to fill in the historical gaps of T-Bone's far-flung adventures, spent substantial time with the man, his family and friends during his final years, and having followed his career for a couple of decades (in company with her husband Stanley Dance, biographer of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, among others) had unique access and perspective on Walker's salad days on Los Angeles' Central Avenue and subsequent conquering of African-American entertainment throughout the U.S., as well as his international tours starting in the '60s. Her focus is so close to her subject that the broad social perspective and definitive chronology is underplayed -- if you want to know exacting details of T-Bone's engagements and discography you'll have to look elsewhere. But for a portrait of the man, told in his own words and those of his mother, wife, children, friends and proteges who was adventurous, generous, ingeniously creative, a family man as well as gambler and rambler, you must start here. Ignore the 2-star review in this queue, whose writer wanted a beginner's book. Dance's "Stormy Monday" conveys the true flavor of life in the blues world from the '20s through the '70s. Characters come and go, reminiscences flow over the years, as in life itself. But very little of significance is missing from this book, with T-Bone's on-stage persona as well as his private self portrayed economically but vividly. You will definitely want to hear him after reading this, and if you already know his music you'll appreciate it all the more.