Samuel Charters

Musicologist and writer Samuel Charters (1929–2015) considered blues lyrics a profound cultural expression that could connect all people who love poetry. A pioneer in the exploration of world music, Charters conducted research that brought obscure musicians of the American South and Appalachia into the mainstream. In this landmark volume, the noted blues historian and folklorist presents a rich exploration of blues songs as folk poetry, quoting...

"This book is a deeply personal portrait of the people and music of today's New Orleans-a city that has been hard hit by Katrina, but is managing to keep its great jazz tradition, brass band scene, incomparable food, and unique lifestyle vital and intact. Among the musicians appearing in this book are: the Rebirth Brass Band, Hot 8, the Soul Rebels, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Johnny Vidacovich, Barry Martyn, Lars Edegran, Chuck Badie, Pete Fountain,...

"For more than fifty years the blues and the singers who sang them were nearly forgotten. Not until Samuel Charters published his seminal The Country Blues in 1959 did a new wave of interest in this great American musical form take root." "As new audiences were learning about the blues through his records and books, they were also seeing the blues through the photos of his wife, Ann Charters. Although better known today as a Beat scholar, biographer...