Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition (New Directions in Southern Studies)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.39 (847 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1469633663 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-01-27 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Adam Gussow is associate professor of English and southern studies at the University of Mississippi and author of Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir.
A breathtaking and highly engaging book on a most American of sounds.--Patricia Schroeder, author of Robert Johnson, Mythmaking, and Contemporary American CultureAdam Gussow is an excellent interpreter of the blues. He has earned the right to speak. We should listen to him and be informed about one of the most important musical expressions in American history. Beyond the Crossroads is a beautifully written exploration of what Adam Gussow calls 'the blues' most malleable, dynamic, and important personage.' This is a work of exquisite detail.--William Ferris, author of Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues. Cone, author of The Spiri
He's not just the music's namesake ("the devil's music"), but a shadowy presence who haunts an imagined Mississippi crossroads where, it is claimed, Delta bluesman Robert Johnson traded away his soul in exchange for extraordinary prowess on the guitar. The devil is the most charismatic and important figure in the blues tradition. Working from original transcriptions of more than 125 recordings released during the past ninety years, Gussow explores the varied uses to which black southern blues people have put this trouble-sowing, love-wrecking, but also empowering figure. Yet, as scholar and musician Adam Gussow argues, there is much more to the story of the devil and the blues than these cliched under