Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir

by Adam Gussow

A raw, heartfelt memoir of an unlikely collaboration between an earnest young harmonica player and a charismatic, streetwise Harlem musician.

        Adam Gussow, shattered by failed love at twenty-seven, dedicated himself to blues music in an act of creative desperation.  When he met Nat Riddles ("harmonica-man for all occasions"), he got what he was longing for: initiation into the New York "harp"-playing demimonde and a headlong plunge into a Dionysian lifestyle that ended when Riddles' near-murder and flight compelled Adam to find a different mentor.  Mister Satan was that man.  Born Sterling Magee in Mississippi, Satan played guitar and various percussion instruments simultaneously, ferociously.  He was also a soapbox preacher and environmental philosopher, an African-American genius of Shakespearean immensity.  Defying cultural and generational divides, Adam and Mister Satan become fellow street musicians, would-be racial redeemers, and, eventually, an acclaimed performing duo.

        This is their remarkable story: at once the author's own coming of age and his account of the vicissitudes and tenacity of a friendship realized through a shared love of the blues.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

402 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 1998

About the author

A professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi, Gussow is also a blues harmonica player and teacher. He has published a number of books on the blues, including Mister Satan’s Apprentice: A Blues Memoir (1998), Seems Like Murder Here: Southern Violence and the Blues Tradition (2002), Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition (2017), and Whose Blues? Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music (2020). His longtime musical partnership with Sterling "Mr. Satan" Magee is the subject of an award-winning documentary, Satan & Adam (2018), which screened on Netflix for two years. These days Gussow performs with his trio, Sir Rod & The Blues Doctors, which features Magee’s nephew, singer Rod Patterson. Gussow's newest book is My Family and I: A Mississippi Memoir (2025)

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satan and Adam used to play in a bar where I worked, in Philadelphia, in a past life. They were easily one of the most exciting and unusual acts ever to blow through that seedy roadhouse...and one of my favorites to date. Once I found out Adam was pursuing a PhD in literature on the side, I developed a full-blown crush. To my immense delight, we exchanged a few emails, mostly regarding African American literature...but I knew he was wayyy out of my league. A few years after I quit working at that particular bar, Adam returned to Philly in order to promote this book. As I stood in line, waiting for my copy, I was treated to one of his smiles, and a signature: "Jill, Thanks SO much for the email conversations!"
Needless to say, I was giddy for days!

Great read and a great band...not to mention a swell guy to boot.

[Diann Blakely]

Winner of the 1999 Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Literature, an honor bestowed annually by the Blues Foundation, Gussow's memoir placed him among renowned figures such as playwright August Wilson. In fact, Gussow teaches Wilson’s work in his course on blues literature--formerly at the New School in Manhattan, now at Ole Miss--and this triple-threat memoirist, streetside harp meister, and professor is currently assembling an anthology of blues poetry that will include such luminaries as Ishmael Reed.














NASHVILLE SCENE, January 2000

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book after seeing the Netflix documentary “Satan and Adam” - which I liked a lot! - but unfortunately I liked it much less. Too much masculine posturing, Kerouac worshipping, and romantic woes drenched in entitlement in all the parts about his background before forming the band, and with the way he jumped between decades it felt like he hadn’t ever grown past any of that.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it; Mr. Gussow knows how to tell a story. I almost ran ought and bought a harmonica so I could play along to the passage wherein he describes learning Coltrane licks off the radio while driving on the expressway.

[Eric Linder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid B-

[Sam Motes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. Obviously covers much of the same material as the wonderful “Satan and Adam” documentary but Gussow shares so much more in the book format. Other blues influences such as Nathan Riddle come alive here as Gussow shares the day to day life of a street musician, traveling Broadway musician, and the rise to fame. A great read For any blues fan and a must read for any fan of Satan and Adam. RIP Mr Satan.

[Arif · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not been able to put this book down this week, staying up WAY too late most nights reading.