Blues Off the Record: Thirty Years of Blues Commentary

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Baton Press, 1984 - Blues (Music) - 297 pages
This book of essays and critiques originally written for various Blues magazines is a vibrant anthology that reflects a lifelong passion for the anger, despair, and humor that only the blues provides. The book features speculative pieces on the beginning of the blues and how it came to be recorded.

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Contents

Contents
6
THAT OLD TIME RELIGION Gospel Music and the Church
14
DOWN THE LINE The Railroad as Symbol
21
Copyright

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About the author (1984)

Paul Hereford Oliver was born in Nottingham, England on May 25, 1927. He trained as a painter and sculptor at the Harrow School of Art, but switched to graphic design because most art materials aggravated his asthma and various allergies. After receiving a diploma from Goldsmith's College in London in 1948, he returned to the Harrow County School to teach art. In 1955, he received an art-history degree from the University of London. He wrote numerous books on blues music including Bessie Smith, Blues Fell This Morning, The Story of the Blues, Screening the Blues: Aspects of the Blues Tradition, Savannah Syncopators: African Retentions in the Blues, Songsters and Saints: Vocal Traditions on Race Records, Broadcasting the Blues: Black Blues in the Segregation Era, and Barrelhouse Blues: Location Recordings and the Early Traditions of the Blues. He was also as an architectural historian. His books on architecture included Shelter and Society, English Cottages and Small Farmhouses: A Study of Vernacular Shelter, Dwellings: The House Across the World, and Built to Meet Needs: Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture. He died on August 15, 2017 at the age of 90.

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