The Country Blues

by Samuel Charters

From the field cries and work chants of Southern Negroes emerged a rich and vital music called the country blues, an intensely personal expression of the pains and pleasures of black life. This music--recorded during the twenties by men like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Robert Johnson--had all but disappeared from memory until the folk music revival of the late 1950's created a new and appreciable audience for the country blues.On of the pioneering studies of this unjustly-neglected music was Sam Charter's The Country Blues. In it, Charters recreates the special world of the country bluesman--that lone black performer accompanying himself on the acoustic guitar, his music a rich reflection of his own emotional life.Virtually rewriting the history of the blues, Charters reconstructs its evolution and dissemination, from the first tentative soundings on the Mississippi Delta through the emergence, with Elvis Presley, of rock and roll. His carefully-researched biographies of near-legendary performers like Lonnie Johnson, Blind Boy Fuller, and Tampa Red--coupled with his perceptive discussions of their recordings--pay tribute to a kind of artistry that will never be seen or heard again. And his portraits of the still-strumming Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Muddy Waters, and Lightnin' Hopkins--point up the undying strength and vitality of the country blues.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Biography

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Samuel Charters was an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet.

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, but definitely more of a relic than a history or an analysis. Many of blues musicians he profiles were still alive when Charters wrote this, and he was able to interview them, but everything is romanticized and embellished to the point where it's no more reliable than 3rd-hand reports. The book is most interesting when you look at it as ground zero for all the bullshit spouted by imitators that rolled out in the 60s. (That was a veiled jab at the Rolling Stones, by the way)

The main issue with this book is that Charters continually dismisses most of the popular blues of the pre-war period as being childish and crude and seems to be constantly disappointed in the tastes of record-buyers, that they just didn't understand what was good and forced artists to pander. It's not unlike being trapped in conversation with someone that insists they love hip hop, but really only likes 3 Feet High and Rising.(less)
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[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgive the white-boy romanticizations and historical inaccuracies--Sam Charters gets all the credit in the world for being first in print on this subject. What I cannot abide, however, are the kids-get-off-my-lawn moments about not only rock 'n' roll music but even electric blues. People are funny.

[Inder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relied heavily on this book (but I can't say I read it cover to cover) for a paper I wrote on the blues for an anthropology class now more than ten years ago. I remember thinking that it was excellent. In particular, I loved the textual analysis of blues lyrics.

I found this in my shelf the other day and was struck by a strong desire to reread it. Or actually read it, whichever is applicable.

My sudden interest in re-reading up on the Blues? You could blame it on Zora Neale Hurston & Woody Guthrie. I mean, you can practically hear the blues reading Their Eyes Were Watching God. Suddenly, I can't get Lightnin' Hopkins, Penitentary Blues out of my brain.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic for a reason, The Country Blues is still a remarkably inviting introduction to "down-home" blues that surveys the artists and labels of the genre with great passion. The book ended up being a major instigator of the 1960's blues revival with artists like Brian Jones (founder of The Rolling Stones) reading it when it first came out in 1959. If you're interested in both the history of the blues and the "rediscovery" of the blues, this remains an essential document from a time where the myths and facts about blues music were first being widely considered.

[Dylan]

because this book was written in 1959, the story of the blues that charters tells is very different from the one you learn if you get into it today. that makes it all the more valuable, because it reveals how characters like mississippi john hurt, blind willie mctell, robert johnson, and fred mcdowell—all of whom only get pretty passing references in this work—were not yet ensconced in the canon the way they are today. it’s a weird book. you get the sense that charters wrote it by traveling around and conducting interviews; that is hard, painstaking work, and he freely admits in the 1975 preface that this method led him to oversights and historical inaccuracies. i was telling people that i found the book to be a bit structurally monotonous, largely broken up into 6-12 page chapters with short biographical sketches of various artists. nevertheless, a picture of the world of the blues in the first half of the 20th century begins to emerge. we can trace the effects of political, economic, cultural, and technological developments during this period as charters narrates how different kinds of artists found their moment. his hobbyhorse throughout the book is a distinction between personal, intimate country blues (arising out of work songs, field cries, etc) and “thin,” “sexually suggestive” city blues, designed to appeal to a young urban audience interested in partying. say what you will: it’s a point of view. i listed to some great stuff as i was reading. blind willie johnson is probably the big discovery for this read-through for me. glad i picked it up.

[Kevin Shlosberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not being the kind of title I'd go out of my way to purchase online, it took me about four years to find a copy of this title (i.e. this is the kind of book used bookstores are perfect for). Unfortunately, my anticipation for it caused me to expect more than perhaps I should have. A least it was a fun hunt.

I forgive the book being dated, of course. The first edition having been written in '59, the events written about were obviously nearer at hand, and some of the classic figures were actually still living at its initial writing. However, I found the book on whole a little dry and found myself skimming whole chapters about halfway through. Ironically, in the preface to the '75 edition, Charters apologizes for his overly Romantic language. I think it could have benefited from more, especially wherein his target audience at the time was younger, upper-middle class white folks.

Part of my tepid reaction is likely due to reading this after "Delta Blues" by Ted Gioia (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...), where I learned of Charters work in the first place. Although an important source material for that book (and although I read "Delta Blues" four years ago), I will be quicker to recommend the Gioia to anyone interested in early Blues history.

[David Brimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is, perhaps, most interesting about this, the first book long treatise on the country blues, are the artists whose names feature prominently and those who don’t. While Samuel Charters believed names like LeRoy Carr and Blind Willie Johnson were important enough to warrant entire chapters, while people like Charley Patton and Son House get only passing mention, history has decidedly proven the opposite. Also, considering the time this book was written, the information on Robert Johnson is scanty at best.

Come to this book out of historical fascination. You’ll learn a lot about the early blues business, and discover names that history has since lost. If you want to read a more definitive chronicle, read Ted Gioia’s “Delta Blues.”

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not simply a history of country blues or biographical sketches of important bluesmen. A good portion of it talks about the commercial side of the blues and how the style developed not just from traveling musicians learning from one another while playing for other poor African Americans in the rural South, but from recordings, minstrel shows, urban audiences, white audiences, etc.

Note that it's worth finding a 1975 or later edition which has the preface to the 1975 edition. In that preface Charters explains why he wrote the book the way he did and who he was trying to reach.

[Carol Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I loved this book until I read the history of Robert Johnson. With all due respect to its being a very early work about Blues and Blues artists, that one chapter made me doubt everything else I had read! Still, an important work written at the dawn of Blues research.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic survey, including many profiles of favorite artists, written in Charters' personable, affectionate, insightful style.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth revisiting this book every decade or so. This time, most interested in Blind Lemon, and fascinated on why it was necessary to include a chapter on rock.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

First study of the country blues. An easy breezy read and a people's history to boot.

[Pablo Rodriguez]

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