The second book by the former Rolling Stone bassist (after his memoir Stone Alone) is an expansive and comprehensive look at the Blues, a volume that truly deserves its name. Spanning 400 years from the origins of slavery to the role of the Blues today, the book abounds with tidbits, time lines, and trivia. Besides illuminating lesser known figures in the Blues such as Papa Charlie Jackson (one of the first recorded Bluesmen), the book also looks at how society affected the music (a fascinating passage on the finer points of cotton growing) and how the music affected society (most notably during the civil rights movement). ‘A fine addition to any African-American history, jazz or blues collection,’ says Publisher’s Weekly.
