Praised as "suave, soulful, ebullient" (Tom Waits) and "a meticulous
researcher, a graceful writer, and a committed contrarian" (_New York
Times Book Review_), Elijah Wald is one of the leading popular music
critics of his generation. In _The Blues_, Wald surveys a genre at the
heart of American culture. It is not an easy thing to pin down. As
Howlin' Wolf once described it, "When you ain't got no money and can't
pay your house rent and can't buy you no food, you've damn sure got
the blues." It has been defined by lyrical structure, or as a
progression of chords, or as a set of practices reflecting West
African "tonal and rhythmic approaches," using a five-note "blues
scale." Wald sees blues less as a style than as a broad musical
tradition within a constantly evolving pop culture. He traces its
roots in work and praise songs, and shows how it was transformed by
such professional performers as W. C. Handy, who first popularized the
blues a century ago. He follows its evolution from Ma Rainey and
Bessie Smith through Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix; identifies the impact
of rural field recordings of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton and
others; explores the role of blues in the development of both country
music and jazz; and looks at the popular rhythm and blues trends of
the 1940s and 1950s, from the uptown West Coast style of T-Bone Walker
to the "down home" Chicago sound of Muddy Waters. Wald brings the
story up to the present, touching on the effects of blues on American
poetry, and its connection to modern styles such as rap. As with all
of Oxford's Very Short Introductions, _The Blues_ tells you--with
insight, clarity, and wit--everything you need to know to understand
this quintessentially American musical genre.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780199752874
Publisert
2019
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter