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The History Of The Blues: The Roots, The Music, The People Paperback – September 2, 2003

by Francis Davis (Author)

29 customer reviews

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Francis Davis's The History of the Blues is a groundbreaking rethinking of the blues that fearlessly examines how race relations have altered perceptions of the music. Tracing its origins from the Mississippi Delta to its amplification in Chicago right after World War II, Davis argues for an examination of the blues in its own right, not just as a precursor to jazz and rock 'n' roll. The lives of major figures such as Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, and Leadbelly, in addition to contemporary artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray, are examined and skillfully woven into a riveting, provocative narrative.

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Product Details

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press (September 4, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0306812967
ISBN-13: 978-0306812965
Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 0.7 x 10 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #23 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Blues
- #182 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > History & Criticism
- #196 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Popular

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Customer Reviews

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5 star		48%
4 star		31%
3 star		7%
2 star		4%
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Top Customer Reviews

Excellent study and a needed corrective

By H.R. Sauertieg on July 29, 2000

Format: Paperback

History of the Blues is criticized for the author's "cynicism," but the author is justified in seeking to modify or correct much of the last century's "blues scholarship." The book is more valuable because Davis doesn't accept the suppositions and theories of earlier writers, and in the first chapters the author establishes that "the blues" are far more complex, socially and musically, than we've been led to believe. He writes with wit and plenty of feeling - but the feeling expressed is one of annoyance with blues and folk "scholars" who have either not researched very thoroughly, or who have deliberately ignored facts that subvert their simplistic theories. What are the blues? Where did they come from? What's happened to the blues since mid-century? Davis examines all of these questions and comes up with some reasonable and provocative answers. The book isn't meant to be a study of individual blues musicians; such works have already been written (by Samuel Charters, Peter Guralnick, Pete Oliver) and they were well-done. The History of the Blues is a very readable account of a century of confusion, best approached with an open and attentive mind.

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Tony is wrong. This IS a good book!

By A. Filacchione on August 28, 2007

Format: Paperback

I wonder if this person even read the same book that I am reading. Some people won't like this book simply because it does not always take a traditionalist view of things. It is much broader and more open minded and tends to look at the blues from a broader region (IOW, there are blues outside of the Delta region) in order to gain a better understanding of it, it's performers, and theories as to it's origins. It challenges common accepted notions, and encourages the reader to challenge them as well. Sure the author injects his own opinions and experiences from time to time, but not only does he back them up, he does not try to pass them off as concrete fact, and you are fully aware that these are his thoughts on a particular matter.

Now as far as some of the listed "inaccuracies" in the book... Tony states:

"he stupidly tries to talk about Bluegrass existing in the 1920s or about the Carter family." Well, what Francis Davis ACTUALLY says is the following:

"the repertoire of the typical black country songster of the 1920's was more or less identical to that of the white rural performers of the same period. [snip a sentence abt Miss. John Hurt] The typical black songster was probably someone like Leslie Riddle, a singer and guitarist from North Carolina who didn't record until the blues revival of the 1960s, and who might be completely forgotten now if not for his early relationship with A.P. Carter, the patriarch of the Carter Family, the legendary white country harmony group...."

The fact is that Leslie Riddle DID meet A.P. Carter in 1928. The two went on trips throughout the south "collecting songs" with A.P. Carter writing down the words to the songs they liked, and Riddle remembering the Music.Read more ›

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No Pretence!

By A Customer on June 29, 2000

Format: Paperback

Finally, an "historian" who doesn't pretend to be an objective, impartial documenter of facts. This is Davis' version of the blues, and he lets you know it. Thankfully, he has the skill of a consummate wordsmith, an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject matter and a fan's love and appreciation for the music. This reads like a conversation with an old, knowledgeable friend and I, for one, find that refreshing. Definitely worth the time for anyone who's interested in something more than simple facts, dates and names

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Unusual combination of style and content

By Robert G. Muller on February 26, 2006

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Overall, I liked this book. I came away from it with a greater understanding of the history of the blues, which was my intent going in. Davis is not afraid to challenge the status quo, which I respect, and back up his assertions with reason. He gives a good cross section of the people and places involved, and he seems to care about the subject (I feel that's important in a writer).

The major problem I had with this book is the style of writing. You sometimes have to read around Davis' words to get to the meat of the subject. His style thoroughly expresses his socio-political views, but that's not what I'd expect readers of this sort of book to be looking for. Maybe he misread his audience, or just has (or at least had at the time), a writing style that could not adapt to writing for readers looking to understand history. It's also possible that he purposely wrote it, with sales and marketing in mind, to appeal to an audience that he perceived as being large (i.e., "Clinton democrats"), but I believe a history book needs to transcend sociopolitical whims.

A recent reviewer said that Davis puts down African-Americans, but I simply don't believe that's true. In fact, I felt as though he reveres the black blues performers, both male and female. He does point out some of their individual imperfections, but that may actually be a good thing in this era of revisionist historians who are afraid to even mention the imperfections in the oppressed or the good sides of oppressors. By pointing out some of the personal imperfections, he actually leads us to a greater understanding of the people behind the music. As both a blues guitarist, and history researcher and writer myself, I value that.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Great Insights When Davis Gets Out of His Own Way

Ok - I am going to be very mixed here because I am getting a lot of insight from this book in terms of redefining the blues heritage. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Dirk P. Johnson

What a terrific book. I've loved the blues since my first ...

What a terrific book. I've loved the blues since my first job at a music store and heard a Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee LP. I kept thinking, "Wow, what is this? Read more

Published 6 months ago by Michael T. Colloton

A fairly well written book about the early blues. ...

A fairly well written book about the early blues. It has a few inaccurate stories in it that shows the writer didn't do enough research.

Published 9 months ago by Roger

If you want to get some key faccts on the ...

If you want to get some key faccts on the early blues players do yourself a favour and pick up this book.

Published 12 months ago by Warrenselby-jones

Five Stars

great product

Published 15 months ago by bettybooponcrack

I adopted this book as text for our History of ...

I adopted this book as text for our History of the Blues class. It has a critic's perspective and insights that spice things up a bit and make the topic come to life.

Published 15 months ago by C. Adams

A very good read that can open one's mind to the fact ...

Not a typical view of the blues. A very good read that can open one's mind to the fact that what we think we know is not what actually happened. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Mr. Kingfish

A different approach.

As a blues fan, this book takes a different approach the understanding the Blues genre of music, which I found quite informative. The author wanders around a bit, but it the end. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Don Arata

Great book

I highyly recommend this book to all lovers of the Blues and want to know more of history and origins

Published on August 16, 2013 by Rob Taylor

Blues lessons

If you want to know what blues music is all about, this book is a must. It has helped me to lengthen my wish list of artists to pick up more music from.

Published on August 6, 2013 by Paul

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