Blues category: 910 books

“A biography that will send readers back to the music of Mavis and the Staple Singers with deepened appreciation and a renewed spirit of discovery” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)—from the acclaimed music journalist and author featured prominently in the new HBO documentary Mavis! This...

This book is designed for the general reader of gospel music, as well as those who incorporate gospel into their lesson plans on the academic level. “Gospel Music: An African American Art Form” provides music information on the heritage of gospel from its African roots, Negro spirituals, traditional...

The Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music is the first comprehensive reference to cover this important American musical form. Coverage includes all aspects of both African-American and white gospel from history and performers to recording techniques and styles as well as the influence of gospel on different musical genres and cultural trends.

Black gospel music grew from obscure nineteenth-century beginnings to become the leading style of sacred music in black American communities after World War II. Jerma A. Jackson traces the music's unique history, profiling the careers of several singers--particularly Sister Rosetta Tharpe--and demonstrating...

How have American writers written about jazz, and how has jazz influenced American literature? In Fascinating Rhythm, David Yaffe explores the relationship and interplay between jazz and literature, looking at jazz musicians and the themes literature has garnered from them by appropriating the style,...

Experiencing Bessie Smith, John Clark chronicles Bessie Smith’s vital contribution to and influence on music, the music industry, and the recording industry. While her recording career lasted only a decade, she toured long before setting her music to vinyl, with much of her early career amply documented....

Beginning in the year of Prince’s birth, 1958, with the recording of Minnesota’s first R&B record by a North Minneapolis band called the Big Ms, Got to Be Something Here traces the rise of that distinctive sound through two generations of political upheaval, rebellion, and artistic passion. Funk...

Sam Smith's debut album, In the Lonely Hour, sold four million copies and won four 2015 Grammy awards. In 2016, he won an Oscar for Best Original Song. The young, soulful singer has massive crossover appeal, with his touching honesty about loneliness, love, and his own sexuality coming through in...

Scott Joplin's classic ragtime score, Maple Leaf Rag, originally composed in 1899. Scott Joplin was an African-American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions and was known as the "King of Ragtime". Classic Ragtime Music Collection constitutes an extensive...

Duke Ellington (1899–1974) is widely considered the jazz tradition's most celebrated composer. This engaging yet scholarly volume explores his long career and his rich cultural legacy from a broad range of in-depth perspectives, from the musical and historical to the political and international....

A fantastic collection of Scott Joplin's classic ragtime compositions. Scott Joplin was an African-American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his pioneering ragtime compositions and was known as the "King of Ragtime". Classic Ragtime Music Collection constitutes an extensive...

Sun Ra said he came from Saturn. Known on earth for his inventive music and extravagant stage shows, he pioneered free-form improvisation in an ensemble setting with the devoted band he called the “Arkestra.” Sun Ra took jazz from the inner city to outer space, infusing traditional swing with far-out...

About the music of Jackie McLean in the context of his life as an internationally grat jazz saxophonist, leader and educator.