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Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues
Winner, Best Book by a Local Author, Best of Houston Awards, Houston Press, 2003
Rounce & Coffin Club Western Books Exhibition, 2004 In the clubs, ballrooms, and barbecue joints of neighborhoods such as Third Ward, Frenchtown, Sunnyside, and Double Bayou, Houston's African American community birthed a vibrant and unique slice of the blues. Ranging from the down-home sounds of Lightnin' Hopkins to the more refined orchestrations of the Duke-Peacock recording empire and beyond, Houston blues was and is the voice of a working-class community, an ongoing conversation about good times and hard times, smokin' Saturday nights and Blue Mondays. Since 1995, Roger Wood and James Fraher have been gathering the story of the blues in Houston. In this book, they draw on dozens of interviews with blues musicians, club owners, audience members, and music producers, as well as dramatic black-and-white photographs of performers and venues, to present a lovingly detailed portrait of the Houston blues scene, past and present. Going back to the early days with Lightnin' Hopkins, they follow the blues from the streets of Houston's Third and Fifth Wards to its impact on the wider American blues scene. Along the way, they remember the vigorous blues community that sprang up after World War II, mourn its decline in the Civil Rights era, and celebrate the lively, if sometimes overlooked, blues culture that still calls Houston home. Wood and Fraher conclude the book with an unforgettable reunion of Houston blues legends that they held on January 3, 1998.
Rounce & Coffin Club Western Books Exhibition, 2004 In the clubs, ballrooms, and barbecue joints of neighborhoods such as Third Ward, Frenchtown, Sunnyside, and Double Bayou, Houston's African American community birthed a vibrant and unique slice of the blues. Ranging from the down-home sounds of Lightnin' Hopkins to the more refined orchestrations of the Duke-Peacock recording empire and beyond, Houston blues was and is the voice of a working-class community, an ongoing conversation about good times and hard times, smokin' Saturday nights and Blue Mondays. Since 1995, Roger Wood and James Fraher have been gathering the story of the blues in Houston. In this book, they draw on dozens of interviews with blues musicians, club owners, audience members, and music producers, as well as dramatic black-and-white photographs of performers and venues, to present a lovingly detailed portrait of the Houston blues scene, past and present. Going back to the early days with Lightnin' Hopkins, they follow the blues from the streets of Houston's Third and Fifth Wards to its impact on the wider American blues scene. Along the way, they remember the vigorous blues community that sprang up after World War II, mourn its decline in the Civil Rights era, and celebrate the lively, if sometimes overlooked, blues culture that still calls Houston home. Wood and Fraher conclude the book with an unforgettable reunion of Houston blues legends that they held on January 3, 1998.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2003
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August 9, 2007
Finally, I finished!
I really enjoyed this book a ton. Roger Wood captures something essential about Houston--it is actually a fascinating place, with tons of interesting stuff going on all the time, but pretty much all of it is under the radar. Unlike Austin, where I live now, which can't stop talking about itself, Houston seems to always be in the process of shedding its past. Houston has an incredible musical history, tons of great live music, but it's like pulling teeth to find out what is going on there. I'm sure a big part of this has to do with the geography and the fact that it is spread out all over hell and back. But also, the city has always tried to sell itself as a city on the cusp of the future--space city and all that--and doesn't value music the same way that austin does. I'm trying to get a handle on what the difference is and I'm not sure I have it, but I think it revolves around houston's lack of central nodes for information. In austin, it's fairly easy to find out what's going on at any point; in houston, good luck.
Anyways, Down in Houston is, basically, an oral history of the blues in Houston. In the late 90s, Wood set out to interview people still active in the current blues scene in houston. It's a fading genre and most of the people he interviewed were older, but Wood made the decision to chronicle the scene as it then existed. The book both chronicles the still existing and vital blues landscape in houston, but it also, inevitably, spends a lot of time looking at the history of the blues in houston. I thought this was a great approach--not exactly a history, but also not exactly a guide to the current blues scene, rather a combination of both.
Wood's approach is primarily geographic--he focusses on third ward, fifth ward, and the other spots outside the wards. He also has an entire chapter on Duke-Peacock.
Down in Houston is not flawless, there are parts where I think the book could have benefited from a more insistent editor. Wood is an oral historian, and a fan, so there is some sense in which the book lacks a crispness and focus that I wish it had. There are definitely some sections that I would have had Wood's rework. Also, i think the book could have incorporated many more, and better, maps than it did. There is one in the appendix, but they could have interspersed maps throught the books.
Still, Wood's enthusiasms are infectuous and utlimately he really pulls it off. The very end had me choking up.
The book is full of tons of great stories--Evelyn Johnson, the woman who was crucial to the Duke-Peacock empire; Shady's Playhouse, the Eldorado Ballroom; the tons of musicians who played in the bands backing Bobby Blue Bland and B B King; Joe James playing quitar while standing on his head; Jimmie T-99 Nelson; literally tons of folks and stories. I checked this out from the library, but now plan to purchase a copy.
Also, i should definitely mention--lots of beautiful photos by James Fraher!
I really enjoyed this book a ton. Roger Wood captures something essential about Houston--it is actually a fascinating place, with tons of interesting stuff going on all the time, but pretty much all of it is under the radar. Unlike Austin, where I live now, which can't stop talking about itself, Houston seems to always be in the process of shedding its past. Houston has an incredible musical history, tons of great live music, but it's like pulling teeth to find out what is going on there. I'm sure a big part of this has to do with the geography and the fact that it is spread out all over hell and back. But also, the city has always tried to sell itself as a city on the cusp of the future--space city and all that--and doesn't value music the same way that austin does. I'm trying to get a handle on what the difference is and I'm not sure I have it, but I think it revolves around houston's lack of central nodes for information. In austin, it's fairly easy to find out what's going on at any point; in houston, good luck.
Anyways, Down in Houston is, basically, an oral history of the blues in Houston. In the late 90s, Wood set out to interview people still active in the current blues scene in houston. It's a fading genre and most of the people he interviewed were older, but Wood made the decision to chronicle the scene as it then existed. The book both chronicles the still existing and vital blues landscape in houston, but it also, inevitably, spends a lot of time looking at the history of the blues in houston. I thought this was a great approach--not exactly a history, but also not exactly a guide to the current blues scene, rather a combination of both.
Wood's approach is primarily geographic--he focusses on third ward, fifth ward, and the other spots outside the wards. He also has an entire chapter on Duke-Peacock.
Down in Houston is not flawless, there are parts where I think the book could have benefited from a more insistent editor. Wood is an oral historian, and a fan, so there is some sense in which the book lacks a crispness and focus that I wish it had. There are definitely some sections that I would have had Wood's rework. Also, i think the book could have incorporated many more, and better, maps than it did. There is one in the appendix, but they could have interspersed maps throught the books.
Still, Wood's enthusiasms are infectuous and utlimately he really pulls it off. The very end had me choking up.
The book is full of tons of great stories--Evelyn Johnson, the woman who was crucial to the Duke-Peacock empire; Shady's Playhouse, the Eldorado Ballroom; the tons of musicians who played in the bands backing Bobby Blue Bland and B B King; Joe James playing quitar while standing on his head; Jimmie T-99 Nelson; literally tons of folks and stories. I checked this out from the library, but now plan to purchase a copy.
Also, i should definitely mention--lots of beautiful photos by James Fraher!
Displaying 1 of 1 review