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The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music and Culture
"A fresh new perspective that will be a true revolution to readers and will open new lines of discussion on . . . the importance of the city of New Orleans for generations to come." —Dr. Michael White, jazz clarinetist, composer, and Keller Endowed Chair at Xavier University of LA
An untold authentic counter-narrative blues history and the first written by an African American blues artist
All prior histories on the blues have alleged it originated on plantations in the Mississippi Delta. Not true, says author Chris Thomas King. In The Blues, King present facts to disprove such myths. This book is the first to argue the blues began as a cosmopolitan art form, not a rural one. As early as 1900, the sound of the blues was ubiquitous in New Orleans. The Mississippi Delta, meanwhile, was an unpopulated sportsman’s paradise—the frontier was still in the process of being cleared and drained for cultivation. Expecting these findings to be controversial in some circles, King has buttressed his conclusions with primary sources and years of extensive research, including a sojourn to West Africa and interviews with surviving folklorists and blues researchers from the 1960s folk-rediscovery epoch. New Orleans, King states, was the only place in the Deep South where the sacred and profane could party together without fear of persecution, creating the blues.
An untold authentic counter-narrative blues history and the first written by an African American blues artist
All prior histories on the blues have alleged it originated on plantations in the Mississippi Delta. Not true, says author Chris Thomas King. In The Blues, King present facts to disprove such myths. This book is the first to argue the blues began as a cosmopolitan art form, not a rural one. As early as 1900, the sound of the blues was ubiquitous in New Orleans. The Mississippi Delta, meanwhile, was an unpopulated sportsman’s paradise—the frontier was still in the process of being cleared and drained for cultivation. Expecting these findings to be controversial in some circles, King has buttressed his conclusions with primary sources and years of extensive research, including a sojourn to West Africa and interviews with surviving folklorists and blues researchers from the 1960s folk-rediscovery epoch. New Orleans, King states, was the only place in the Deep South where the sacred and profane could party together without fear of persecution, creating the blues.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published June 8, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 14, 2021
This offering would deserve 5 Stars with a little more effort. The central topic of the first half is that 'the blues' originated in the greater New Orleans area among Creoles and the general population. The confusion many of us have had over the years results from two things: the Mississippi Delta, where the blues began, could mean the delta formed by the Mississippi River OR a large patch of land, delta-shaped, used to raise cotton and other slave driven corps in the state of Mississippi. Mr. King opts for the former and makes a strong case for it. The people he mentions, the books he cites, the reasoning he uses all resonate with me.
My father lived in NYC for a year, as a Master's student. He read, played poker, gave blood and listened to live music in clubs and dives. Mostly he watched what he called jazz, which meant brass ensembles and big bands. He was not acquainted at all with guitar-based music. As a result, I grew up knowing about those things he was familiar with, listening to music by the likes of Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. Music with plenty of songs with 'Blues' in the title. My reading talked about Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton and so on, New Orleans musicians playing blues. I did not know about the Mississippi (State) Delta until I found Lead Belly when I was almost 16. Many of the questions formed at the back of my mind---I was too busy to pursue answers at the time---are met my King's arguments. I am satisfied he is correct: it seems self-evident once it is laid out. For that he rates very high.
Two of the strongest arguments: All those recordings of songs called 'Blues' made by New Orleans players before anyone had heard of 'blues' guitar. Secondly, that the Mississippi land on which the blues supposedly began was not used for farming until about 1900. Thus those blues guitarists I have come to know and love learned their craft from people who blossomed from Louisiana.
The problems with the book arise due to 1) poor editing. There are numerous egregious errors which are probably typos: 'listing to the jukebox'; referring to a woman as a 'widower'; and so on. His prose, while often erudite and illuminating, also is frequently clumsy. We also find repetition. It is as if a bunch of essays from various sources over years were thrown together to form a book.
2) Organization. The first half is an argument, the second half a biography. The photograph section reflects this, all the photos relate to King's life and musical development. Interesting, but not really a narrative about the blues, not directly. And the second half ends without tying up the autobiographical narrative but rather with several essays on a few performers. These seem leftover from the first half. Interesting, but one is left wondering how they relate to
3) The Notes. Three hundred sixty-eight pages of text generate 13 pages of Notes, which do double duty since there is no Bibliography. The structure might be acceptable for an autobiography but not for a formal argument. If the intention is to correct history and many musicological screeds the attention to detail and references needs to be upgraded, otherwise we are looking at a jeremiad.
The 17 page Index leaves out a lot of potentially useful items, especially in regards to the autobiographical half.
In the last few pages of text, a lot happens. Another historical fallacy is dispatched, this one about the blues arising in Africa. Then we have a 'poem' which is the Blues talking and delivering an autobiographical sermon. Finally, we visit with Chris Thomas as he sits bedside with his dying father.
The book ends on January 1, 2014. Tabby Thomas, the father who we have come to know well, has died. As for Chris Thomas (the 'King' was added to honor BB, Freddie, and Albert), we leave the book wondering about his family, his career at the present time, and so forth.
Recommended.
My father lived in NYC for a year, as a Master's student. He read, played poker, gave blood and listened to live music in clubs and dives. Mostly he watched what he called jazz, which meant brass ensembles and big bands. He was not acquainted at all with guitar-based music. As a result, I grew up knowing about those things he was familiar with, listening to music by the likes of Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. Music with plenty of songs with 'Blues' in the title. My reading talked about Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton and so on, New Orleans musicians playing blues. I did not know about the Mississippi (State) Delta until I found Lead Belly when I was almost 16. Many of the questions formed at the back of my mind---I was too busy to pursue answers at the time---are met my King's arguments. I am satisfied he is correct: it seems self-evident once it is laid out. For that he rates very high.
Two of the strongest arguments: All those recordings of songs called 'Blues' made by New Orleans players before anyone had heard of 'blues' guitar. Secondly, that the Mississippi land on which the blues supposedly began was not used for farming until about 1900. Thus those blues guitarists I have come to know and love learned their craft from people who blossomed from Louisiana.
The problems with the book arise due to 1) poor editing. There are numerous egregious errors which are probably typos: 'listing to the jukebox'; referring to a woman as a 'widower'; and so on. His prose, while often erudite and illuminating, also is frequently clumsy. We also find repetition. It is as if a bunch of essays from various sources over years were thrown together to form a book.
2) Organization. The first half is an argument, the second half a biography. The photograph section reflects this, all the photos relate to King's life and musical development. Interesting, but not really a narrative about the blues, not directly. And the second half ends without tying up the autobiographical narrative but rather with several essays on a few performers. These seem leftover from the first half. Interesting, but one is left wondering how they relate to
3) The Notes. Three hundred sixty-eight pages of text generate 13 pages of Notes, which do double duty since there is no Bibliography. The structure might be acceptable for an autobiography but not for a formal argument. If the intention is to correct history and many musicological screeds the attention to detail and references needs to be upgraded, otherwise we are looking at a jeremiad.
The 17 page Index leaves out a lot of potentially useful items, especially in regards to the autobiographical half.
In the last few pages of text, a lot happens. Another historical fallacy is dispatched, this one about the blues arising in Africa. Then we have a 'poem' which is the Blues talking and delivering an autobiographical sermon. Finally, we visit with Chris Thomas as he sits bedside with his dying father.
The book ends on January 1, 2014. Tabby Thomas, the father who we have come to know well, has died. As for Chris Thomas (the 'King' was added to honor BB, Freddie, and Albert), we leave the book wondering about his family, his career at the present time, and so forth.
Recommended.
November 3, 2022
First thing, this author has a huge chip on his shoulder which comes across blatantly. It takes more reading to figure out where it comes from, but he throws constant shade at the "Blues Mafia." These are definitely the gate-keepers for what is considered "true blues music" and I believe the author is constantly in conflict with its members.
The first 170 pages of the book are amazing. Well researched with fascinating documentation and anecdotes. Chris King lines up the "history" of the blues, much which is based on hyperbole, mythology and fabricated accounts, and readily discounts it all. The foundation is laying the blues at the feet of Jelly Roll Morton and the culture and aesthetic of New Orleans, progressing from there. King draws straight lines and correlations which pokes holes or blatantly discounts blues history which was just passed down over the decades as undisputed facts. While some minor causalities are a stretch, the majority of the research is meticulous and arguments are sound.
The rest of the book is about King, and this is where it weakens and I lose interest. He is from New Orleans, so New Orleans as the birth of the Blues (instead of Mississippi) seems suspect, but King convinced me. New Orleans is definitely important to the growth and spread of the blues. Then King spends much time talking about his battles with the "Blues Mafia" (yawn.) They battle mainly because he wants to modernize and electrify the blues (think Dylan, folk music, Newport Folk Festival and Dylan's electric guitar.) Then he talks about his father's career. Then he talks about his role in "O Brother Where Art Thou" and the resurgence of blues music in popular culture (interesting.) But this second part of the book I found boring, self indulgent and hard to read from someone who had such a chip on his shoulder and tries to set himself as more important to modern blues music than he is. But those first 170 or so pages? Solid gold.
The first 170 pages of the book are amazing. Well researched with fascinating documentation and anecdotes. Chris King lines up the "history" of the blues, much which is based on hyperbole, mythology and fabricated accounts, and readily discounts it all. The foundation is laying the blues at the feet of Jelly Roll Morton and the culture and aesthetic of New Orleans, progressing from there. King draws straight lines and correlations which pokes holes or blatantly discounts blues history which was just passed down over the decades as undisputed facts. While some minor causalities are a stretch, the majority of the research is meticulous and arguments are sound.
The rest of the book is about King, and this is where it weakens and I lose interest. He is from New Orleans, so New Orleans as the birth of the Blues (instead of Mississippi) seems suspect, but King convinced me. New Orleans is definitely important to the growth and spread of the blues. Then King spends much time talking about his battles with the "Blues Mafia" (yawn.) They battle mainly because he wants to modernize and electrify the blues (think Dylan, folk music, Newport Folk Festival and Dylan's electric guitar.) Then he talks about his father's career. Then he talks about his role in "O Brother Where Art Thou" and the resurgence of blues music in popular culture (interesting.) But this second part of the book I found boring, self indulgent and hard to read from someone who had such a chip on his shoulder and tries to set himself as more important to modern blues music than he is. But those first 170 or so pages? Solid gold.
April 14, 2023
A love letter to blues music, his dad, Tabby Thomas, and his family’s Baton Rouge juke joint, Tabby’s Blues Box. This is a fascinating, well researched masterpiece and provides a convincing argument for the origins of the blues being in Creole New Orleans, Louisiana, and not the Delta of Mississippi. This wonderful book is all about the blues, and yet also about so much more. It’s also an autobiography and a history of black contributions to just about every musical genre, from blues and jazz to classical and rock and roll.
February 25, 2024
This amazing book resets the origin story of the blues that has been commonly told since the middle of the 20th Century. Mr. Thomas argues that the origins of the blues stem not from enslaved people in the Mississippi Delta, but from culturally rich New Orleans, where all the genre’s founders grew up, learned music, performed, and from which they exported their craft. He offers convincing evidence for his argument using interviews, memoirs, articles and recordings that seem to have been hidden in plane sight.
The second half of the book tells Mr. Thomas’s personal story, growing up the son of Louisiana blues guitarist Tabby Thomas. By the time his story concludes, you feel like you’ve made a friend and I for one was sad for the story to end. But the author does not end leaving the whole story up in the air. Rather, he brings back the original focus on blues origins to explain what happened when he went on a quest to west Africa, in part in search for the origin of blues music.
If you are a fan of the blues, this book is a must read. I am greatly interested in what future researchers may build upon this important groundwork that Mr Thomas has laid.
The second half of the book tells Mr. Thomas’s personal story, growing up the son of Louisiana blues guitarist Tabby Thomas. By the time his story concludes, you feel like you’ve made a friend and I for one was sad for the story to end. But the author does not end leaving the whole story up in the air. Rather, he brings back the original focus on blues origins to explain what happened when he went on a quest to west Africa, in part in search for the origin of blues music.
If you are a fan of the blues, this book is a must read. I am greatly interested in what future researchers may build upon this important groundwork that Mr Thomas has laid.
July 10, 2022
A very compelling "biography," and more, from Chris Thomas King. Primarily it's a well-researched and informative book about the "origins" of the "blues." This includes some history of Louisiana - New Orleans & Baton Rouge, and the development of the Mississippi Delta. Mr. Thomas does include his personal history as a constant thread for the central theme of the book, including his Baton Rouge blues beginnings, his youthful identity struggle, his "exile" to Europe, and his eventual success in presenting his own version of the blues.
Chris Thomas King presents a reasoned treatise about the "bleus" originating in the N'Orleans music scent in the latter 19th Century. This is enlightened, given the common tired narrative the "Blues Mafia" (his term) has developed for close to the last 100 years. He presents logic to the development of the "primitivist" viewpoint by the caretakers, researchers, abusers, and exclusionists of the blues as originating in the uncultured Delta, with roots in African music, and being mainly acoustic.
This is highly recommended to anyone interested in blues and/or Black-American music. Truly a welcome addition to the genre of blues writing.
Chris Thomas King presents a reasoned treatise about the "bleus" originating in the N'Orleans music scent in the latter 19th Century. This is enlightened, given the common tired narrative the "Blues Mafia" (his term) has developed for close to the last 100 years. He presents logic to the development of the "primitivist" viewpoint by the caretakers, researchers, abusers, and exclusionists of the blues as originating in the uncultured Delta, with roots in African music, and being mainly acoustic.
This is highly recommended to anyone interested in blues and/or Black-American music. Truly a welcome addition to the genre of blues writing.
September 21, 2025
Loved Chris’s book, which puts the Blues genre in its rightful historical place at long last. Blues stems from New Orleans’ free black and creole music culture by artists like Jelly Roll Morton and Lonny Johnson. Blues wasn’t originally a downtrodden expression of slavery but a jubilant response to Christian “blue” laws in New Orleans. Delta musicians who heard those early recordings were inspired to pick up a guitar and play. Unfortunately, white folklorists pushed the itinerant farmer narrative as far as they could, which greatly distorted the truth. But eventually, that narrative has been disproved and is slowly becoming unraveled. Met Chris at the 2025 Baton Rouge Blues Fest and picked up a copy of his book. Didn’t really know what I was getting into but terribly glad I did! CTK is a Baton Rouge icon and I’m proud to celebrate his accomplishments and success.
July 30, 2021
The book is really two books in one that are in a sense interrelated. CTK provides a detailed and well researched overview supporting his thesis that the origin of the blues is not what has traditionally been suggested. He explores how this traditional narrative came into being and why he thinks it is incorrect. There are countless personalities and stories intertwined in this part of the book which is enlightening even for someone who may think they understand the history of the blues. The second part of the book is personal and relates to CTK's life and the life of his father as a blues musician and proprietor of Tabby's Blues Box. The second part lends a personal narrative that re-enforces parts of the historical first part.
March 9, 2023
This story of The Blues and of Chris Thomas King is kind of choppy and uneven. It isn't strictly chronological, nor it is precisely thematic. Someone suggested it was like reading a series of loosely connected essays, which gets closer, and might explain some of the repetitions.
If I were empress of the universe, I would have made the table of contents more granular ; included a bibliography to support the Notes section (and curious readers and scholars) ; and included an index.
I enjoyed learning about early Black and Creole musicians and composers, and have a new playlist of music to explore.
If I were empress of the universe, I would have made the table of contents more granular ; included a bibliography to support the Notes section (and curious readers and scholars) ; and included an index.
I enjoyed learning about early Black and Creole musicians and composers, and have a new playlist of music to explore.
July 25, 2022
Well written and informative. Contains key evolution identifying that the Blues originated in New Orleans out of the Creole culture (Sacre' Bleu!). Explodes the myth of Blues as based in Africa and cultured in the Delta cotton fields. The author identifies this with historical documentation and timelines of artists and their songs. (Oh, for someone to publish a playlist of the songs identified! Took me longer than normal to read due to my referring to the internet to listen to many of the songs I hadn't heard before!).
April 2, 2022
This book has some great information about how the Blues began in New Orleans and fills in a lot of gaps that other histories leave wide open. However, the author is very dismissive of the contributions of any musician who isn't from New Orleans, so I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to the topic, it's better if you already have a lot of context to integrate this perspective into.
February 25, 2023
Overall the book is okay. It’s just all over the place. It starts off as a history lesson of the blues and end has an autobiography. Being from Baton Rouge and knowing of Tabby’s I was interested in the history, but the blues is more than what happened at that location in our city. I think Chris should have focused on one thing and came back later with another book or two.
April 10, 2023
King has several very good points that seem very well researched. The book is also a fascinating view of black history through the lens of music. Overall, a recommended read!
November 30, 2023
Chris Thomas King’s blues polemic annoyed, riveted and enlightened me. I disagree with much of the attitude and worldview presented here and agree with much of it as well. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews