Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta

This is the bee knees of blues histories. Published way back in the 80s and inevitably a little out of date, it still holds its own against all comers. Very well researched, and written with real passion and enthusiasm, it is the ideal starting point for your musical trip of a life time.The focus is on Mississippi Delta blues, and the story is told around the life and times of Muddy Waters. We start at the start, of course, and I strongly recommend you have your downloads at hand so that you can listen to the founding fathers as Palmer introduces them. Prepare yourself! The almost feral performances of, say, Charley Patton and Son House will either appal or enchant.Almost everyone is here. Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, Johnny Shines, two Sonny Boy Williamsons, Robert Lockwood ... all those magical names I heard as a young boy, long before I heard some of the music!Palmer writes wonderfully concise biographical sketches of these men ... little is known about many and he doesn't speculate beyond what is reasonable to assume. These individual stories are combined with equally concise and insightful reports of the prevailing social and economic conditions that were so important in shaping this extraordinary music.It isn't too much of a hagiography; reading between the lines you can see that some of these men might not have been easy to live with. Charley Patton, allegedly, used to beat his women with his guitar ... was that a steel bodied National? Good grief.Palmer is rather reverential about some ... Muddy Waters, for instance. But he sends you back to Muddy's earlier work, recorded before he allowed himself to become subsumed in the relentless macho posturing of Mannish Boy in the later years. I may be a little biased. I prefer the introverted angst of the unsurpassed Elmore James.On a personal note, I was disappointed to note that despite hailing from Avalon, one of my guitar greats, Mississippi John Hurt, fails to make the cut and isn't even mentioned. Most of the early blues men Palmer describes were essentially song and dance men, who could play anything a particular audience required. As the 'blues' became a commercial proposition many of them eschewed other parts of their repertoire to cash in. John Hurt, for many reasons, ended up retaining much of his varied material ... religious, dance, and so on ... but he certainly still played blues in his uniquely melodic style. I think he was worth a footnote anyway.Remember, Palmer's focus is on the Delta. There were other blues centres. So, just to take one example, Texas blues is mentioned only in passing. Thus you may miss out on the world's first pop star, the simply wonderful Blind Lemon Jefferson, and that master of the monotonic bass, the mighty Mance Lipscomb ... to name but two.But an excellent read. I can't wait to go on to Stephen Calt's I'd Rather Be The Devil, which is a lot tougher in its judgements. Should be the ideal counterweight then ...Plus, a librarian's note: if you buy this edition you get a lovely little American Penguin version, well made and bound, and although B format (19.8 x 12.9 cms), still compact and slim enough to carry in your pocket and look cool as you read it on the train; or, better still, leave it lying in your guitar case when busking (if you can find a spot in Belfast, that is), as I do, and instantly become an encylopaedic blues maestro, able to break off playing at any time and enlighten your avid listeners to the history - social, cultural, economic - of whatever piece you're (in my case) lurching through, never leaving first position on the fretboard and hitting more bum notes than ever Charley Patton hit even when he was paralytic drunk.

A must-read for all music fans, this is surely 'the definitive history of the blues' book, but it is so much more than that. Clearly described are the blues' roots in tribal African music through to the direct influence on the rise of the British rock bands of the 60s and 70s, Robert Palmer leads us through the birth of the blues to its now-recognised and rightful place as the influencer of most, if not all, popular music that followed it.I am sure Hollywood could get at least two, three or even four good movies from reading this book, namely the stories of Robert Johnson, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Howling Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson (there were two)...

Good! I loved the book, nicely presented and well written,however would love more on african blues and early usa/delta blues.Little about RL Burnside,Jnr Kimborough,Cedell Davis, etc. Will keep trying to 'understand the blues'. This book helped, but need more! Maybe an impossible dream,but not gonna stop trying!

I found myself a little sad at finishing this. It has been my reading as I commuted to work (essential) during the second half of the supposed lock down during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has a blues rhythm to it, a great feel for the music and is beautifully constructed. I found it helpful to check place names out on a map and to check the artist and their music out as they came into the story, which added to what amounted to a journey into a place and time I have never been. It left me wanting more.

Superb. Great read.

A highly detailed and well written book charting the development of the Blues from African roots to global influence. It is particularly informative about Charley Patton and, of course, Muddy Waters, who speaks through this book almost like an autobiography. Palmer had an ability to put things into context and to draw many divergent strands together.A truly excellent book.

Full of interesting information but not an easily followed narrative. Maybe just the way that I read books. It will help me to enjoy an upcoming visit to the Mississippi delta.

An exhaustively researched & very readable account of the early days of the blues. This is a work of the highest order & indispensable for any committed blues fan