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A Very Short Introduction
Oxford University Press US
August 2010
On Sale: August 5, 2010
154 pages
ISBN: 0195398939
EAN: 9780195398939
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
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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