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Delta Blues

The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music

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About this listen

The definitive account of how the rough sounds of the Mississippi Delta changed the course of American popular music.

The blues grew out of the plantations and prisons, the swampy marshes and fertile cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta. With original research and keen insights, Ted Gioia - the author of a landmark study of West Coast jazz and the critically acclaimed The History of Jazz - brings to life the stirring music of the Delta, evoking the legendary figures who shaped its sound and ethos: Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, B. B. King, and others.

Tracing the history of the Delta blues from the field hollers and plantation music of the 19th century to the exploits of modern-day musicians in the Delta tradition, Delta Blues tells the full story of this timeless and unforgettable music. No cultural force boasts such humble origins or such world-conquering reverberations. In this evocative rags-to-riches tale, Gioia shows how the sounds of the Delta altered the course of popular music in America and in the world beyond.

©2008 Ted Gioia (P)2021 Tantor Entertainment & Celebrities History & Criticism Music Celebrity Musician
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It covers all from the beginning of the delta blues, going through to modern day. Very interesting focus on John Lee hooker muddy waters, howlin wolf, son House

If you love blues music, it's a well worth read.

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A review requires 15 words and now I still have 5 to go. 2 now. Great book

Great!

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An exceptionally well-written and engaging history of the blues, with a fantastic narrator.
Exactly what I had been searching for.
A pleasure for all blues fans.

An Exceptional Blues History

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The historical facts made the development of all the research intriguing. How so many different characters were able to meld the very hard work and life, culminating in a merging music attractive to many generations eons after the blues birth.

The Back Story of the Blues.

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a long well researched history of the blues. a bit bland interminable in parts, little humour or spice. dry

an exhaustive history

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