Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues (Google eBook)

David Evans

University of Illinois Press, Jan 2, 2008 - Social Science - 440 pages

This compilation of essays takes the study of the blues to a welcome new level. Distinguished scholars and well-established writers from such diverse backgrounds as musicology, anthropology, musicianship, and folklore join together to examine blues as literature, music, personal expression, and cultural product. Ramblin' on My Mind contains pieces on Ella Fitzgerald, Son House, and Robert Johnson; on the styles of vaudeville, solo guitar, and zydeco; on a comparison of blues and African music; on blues nicknames; and on lyric themes of disillusionment. _x000B__x000B_Contributors are Lynn Abbott, James Bennighof, Katharine Cartwright, Andrew M. Cohen, David Evans, Bob Groom, Elliott Hurwitt, Gerhard Kubik, John Minton, Luigi Monge, and Doug Seroff._x000B_

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• An Africanist Perspective: 11
• Sheet Music Southern Vaudeville and the Commercial Ascendancy of the Blues: 49
• 3 Abbe Niles Blues Advocate: 105
• 4 The Hands of Blues Guitaritsts: 152
• Nicknames of Blues Singers: 179
• A Textual Linguistic Analysis of Son Houses Dry Spell Blues: 222
• Critical Analysis and Aesthetic Value in Delta Blues: 258
• Quotation and Reference in Ella Fitzgeralds St Louis Blues: 281
• A Decade of Disillusion in Black Blues and Gospel Song: 328
• The Emergence of an African American Urban Popular Style: 350
• Contributors: 399
• Index: 403

About the author

David Evans is an established writer and lecturer. He has written more than 20 books on modern European history and appears regularly on television and radio.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues; African American Music in Global Perspective
• Editor: David Evans
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2008
• ISBN: 0252091124, 9780252091124
• Length: 440 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / Essays; Music / Genres & Styles / Blues; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies