New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.
Alan Lomax’s well-known skills as a folklorist were complemented by his ability to convey his findings with the kind of evocative prose that makes The Land Where the Blues Began such a fascinating read. Lomax relates the trials, tribulations and triumphs of his ventures to Mississippi (and Arkansas and Memphis) in 1941-42, 1947, 1959 and 1978, including his historic sessions with Muddy Waters, Son House, Honeyboy Edwards, Fred McDowell, Sam Chatmon, Forrest City Joe, and other bluesmen, along with preachers, prisoners, levee camp workers, and fife and drum bands. Another chapter is devoted to a conversation between Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim and John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson, recorded by Lomax and released on the album Blues in the Mississippi Night. Lomax’s colorful narrative places the music and the lives of the musicians within the context of the changing social fabric and race relations of the times. The book has its inconsistencies with other accounts (the text is based on decades-old field notes and memories that don’t always jibe with the notes), and the contributions of his African-American co-workers, particularly John Work III and Lewis Jones in 1941-42, are only briefly acknowledged — not sufficiently enough, many would say, although the book Lost Delta Found helps to place their efforts in better perspective. Still, The Land Where the Blues Began remains one of the most revealing and thought-provoking studies of the blues ever written.
— Jim O’Neal
www.bluesoterica.com