The Coen brothers stole his songs for "Llewyn Davis," but Dave Van Ronk is much more than that twerpy little fictional distortion. No other single performer embodies the spirit of the mid-sixties folk revival as perfectly as Van Ronk: its generosity, its respect for tradition, its openness to ch...
Excellent overview but not so much of Robert Johnson as the history of the Blues in America. The book is divided into three parts: the land where Johnson lived (Mississippi Delta), what we actually know of Robert Johnson's life and to what degree the blues was actually influenced by Johnson who C...
Maybe so, in some way—blues has meant so many different things to so many different people that it is a bit pointless to argue over origins. If I were feeling contrary, I might suggest that the state’s reputation is largely founded on the modern revivalists’ passion for later Chicago styles, and ...