Meeting the Blues: The Rise of the Texas Sound
by Alan Govenar
About
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, 1994
Details: 160 pages, Hardcover, ISBN: 0882898965
Format: 0.71” x 12.42” x 9.40”
Review
From Rolling Stone (August 24, 1989)
With the roadshow-revue razzle-dazzle its cover promises, "Meeting the Blues" introduces the extended family of Texas blues musicians, presenting more than fifty interviews with leaders of the scene and profiles of such legends as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Matched by an extensive collection of memorabilia and photos, the result is a vivid oral history.
Laid out city by city, the book lucidly describes how each of the trademark styles of the region’s music centers – including Dallas’ earliest Deep Ellum blues, Houston’s honkers, San Antonio’s current country-blues-rock developed.
The real stars, however, are the performers. First -, second – and third generation blues players like Mance Lipscomb, Gatemouth Brown, Johnny Copeland, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan pass on tales of mentors and rivals, big breaks and missed opportunities. But the most colorful recollections come from such pioneers as guitarist Eddie Durham, saxophonist Henry “Buster” Smith, and guitarist L.C. “Good Rockin’” Robinson.
Beginning with the search for Blind Lemon Jefferson’s unmarked grave, the book’s recurring refrain is the obscurity American blues artists face at home. Here’s hoping Alan Govenar’s work will help remedy situation.
Janie Matthews
