The Big Book of Blues: The Fully Revised and Updated Biographical Encyclopedia [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The book is a very good "handbook" to have by your side when you want to learn or simply recap on some details of an individual whose story you may be absorbing either through reading or listening.

The book is a very good "handbook" to have by your side when you want to learn or simply recap on some details of an individual whose story you may be absorbing either through reading or listening.

I recently picked up a copy of "The Big Book of Blues"
by Robert Santelli at the Delta Blues Museum bookstore
in Clarksdale Mississippi. Billed as "a biographical
encyclopedia with more than 600 entries covering
classic blues, country and urban blues, rhythm and
blues, and blues rock", the author has achieved his
daunting goal of creating a definitive reference for
both the uninitiated and the true blues aficionado.

Rather than a dry, vital statistics only type of approach,
Robert Santelli's comprehensive reference presents
a brief vignette of each artist's career and their
influences, along with in depth discussion and
subjective observations on their style of playing
and songwriting.

The entry for Robert Johnson is a great example of the
folksy storytelling style employed by the author. It tells of
Johnson's illegitimate birth in 1911 and his untimely death
from poisoning by a jealous husband in 1938, and covers
all the significant highlights of his short career including
details of the infamous "crossroads" myth.

The author also includes "essential listening" for each
artist. These lists of recordings are not complete
discographies as found in some references, compilation
of which would take years for such a diverse group
of artists whose recordings appear on the most
obscure labels imaginable. Instead, the "essential
listening" references cover the artist's major works
and significant career milestones, and represent the
best examples of the artist's style.

From world renowned performers such as B. B. King and
John Lee Hooker to more obscure local club players
like Cripple Clarence Lofton, the author covers a lot
of ground and has done extensive research into the
lives and times of nearly every artist who ever played
the blues. The author's extensive knowledge and
resourcefulness is clearly evident in this informative,
entertaining, and well researched volume, which
appears to be a true "labor of love". I highly
recommend this book