Encyclopedia of the Blues (Second Edition)

" His wit, his love of the unusual, the scarce and the remote, along with an intrinsic understanding that the blues bubbles up out of real life experiences all make this book a rare tool to use and re-use. "

By David Wayne Brown

A century ago a Frenchman named Alexis Charles Henri Clerel de Tocqueville wrote about democracy in America and did what no American then could do -- depict the young country from a fresh and mostly objective viewpoint.

A contemporary Frenchman has done the same thing about that all-encompassing American art form we call the blues.

The result is a book that every lover of the blues and amasser of stories and facts about the blues should have at home, near the sound system, ready to become well-thumbed: the second edition of the Encyclopedia of the Blues.

Gerard Herzhaft's vast knowledge and research over many years in the field makes this book educational and indispensable. He is a musician and writer who specializes in traditional American music and Southern culture.

His wit, his love of the unusual, the scarce and the remote, along with an intrinsic understanding that the blues bubbles up out of real life experiences -- and that the cauldron first boiled over in the Mississippi Delta and through Memphis to the world -- all make this book a rare tool to use and re-use.

To make things richer, Herzhaft's style is conversational, down-to-earth and he isn't afraid of a now-and-again wink at the reader. Nothing is lost in the excellent translation to English by Brigitte Debord.

You can find, for example, a concise telling of the by now well-known Robert Johnson story-legend. You can also find the itinerant fact that nevertheless has a place because of its insight into the blues or the blues artist.

Take the sketch of Joe Hill Louis as an example:

"Not much is known about Joe Hill's life. He may have come to Memphis from Mississippi after the war. He performed in the streets and clubs by attracting attention with his talents as a one-man band. He was one of the first blues men to be recorded by producer Sam Phillips.

"Between 1949 and 1957 he recorded over 50 titles for many labels, big and small, under several stage names, alternating slow blues with fast boogies.

"Despite the relatively large number of records, he never managed to get out of the Memphis ghetto. In 1957 he died of tetanus because he did not have money to pay for the vaccine." Such quiet, powerful passages fill the 300 pages.

The book addresses both major figures in the blues, and the lesser known. It teaches about regions and places and their roles in the blues (the section on Memphis is a good introduction for any new aficionado). A bibliography, discography and excellent thumbnail sketch of blues standards are worth the price of the book alone.

That price, by the way is $28, paperback.

The Encyclopedia includes rare photos by three music photographers, Paul Harris, Jerry Haussler and Anton J. Mikofsky.