Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)3 page Forward by Peter Guralnick, 2 page Appreciation by Pete Townshend, 2 page Preface, 9 pages of Acknowledgments, 255 pages of text, 3 pages of a Selected Discography, 2 pages of Broonzy on film, plus extensive chapter notes and Index. Also included are 16 pages of b&w photographs throughout Broonzy's life. The paper used in this book meets the requirements for permanent paper. The end papers are a purplish color, with a textured swirly feel to it-a nice touch.
"...when you write about me, please don't say that I'm a jazz musician. Don't say I'm a musician or a guitar player-just write Big Bill was a well known blues singer and player...he was a happy man when he was drunk and playing with women; he was liked by all the blues singers...". These are Broonzy's own words from his 1955 autobiography "Big Bill Blues", and they seem to sum up a lot about the man and his music, and what you'll read in this new, fine biography by Bob Riesman, who was co-editor of "Chicago Folk: Images of the Sixties Music Scene: The Photographs of Raeburn Flerlage".
Capable of morphing his style into whatever was needed at the time, Broonzy was also adept at re-inventing himself (Bill Broonzy wasn't his real name) throughout his life-which he did. Broonzy wrote many, many songs (hundreds) throughout his career, arguably the most well known is "Keys To The Highway", which has been (and continues to be) played by most any blues artist worthy of the name. But other songs like "House Rent Stomp", "Big Bill's Blues" and "Just A Dream" are still played today. Broonzy bridged the gap between country blues, and the more modern electric blues heard in the big city. But he was also capable of belting out a folk tune, or a then popular song to please his audience.
Broonzy was one of the finest blues singers/guitarists of his era. His music was polished yet not overly slick, his vocals were smooth and flexible yet immediate. He recorded many albums of his own, and played as an accompanist to many other great musicians of his day. Broonzy could sing straight blues, folk songs, or popular songs of the era as needed. He also was highly influential on many up and coming British musicians (Clapton, Townshend, Davies, Beck, etc.) in the early days of blues/blues-rock. Back in the U.S., Broonzy influenced the then popular white folk-blues movement that was just beginning, and his style was emulated by many singers who, like their British counterparts, found in his music something exciting, something of value and interest.
This book traces Broonzy's life, from it's beginning up through his death-unable to speak-from cancer. The author has done a fine job up-dating the information currently available on Broonzy's life and movements. This is the first book that gets past Broonzy's own self created life. Broonzy, like other blues artists, was adept at story telling, and used that skill to either stretch or invent parts of a life which he felt more comfortable with. The author delves into, and reconstructs (as much as possible) Broonzy's real life, and the result is a much truer, accurate picture of Broonzy. But it's probably impossible to find out all the facts-the definitive account-of Broonzy's life-as it is with a number of other early blues artists. Dates, locations, even people are changed-or invented-for whatever reason. In that respect, Broonzy was no different than other blue artists of the time. For Broonzy fans, some parts of his life will be a revelation. But even if you're a casual fan of his music, Riesman has laid out a good picture of Broonzy, his music, and his surroundings-which brings out some of the flavor of those times.
After learning to play the guitar (his first instrument was the violin) in Chicago, to his Carnegie Hall appearance, singing at racial equality meetings/concerts, to his years spent in Europe-where he enjoyed a popularity not found in the U.S., the author has done a good job in laying out Broonzy's movements. He influenced Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Ray Davies, Pete Townshend, and many, many other up and coming musicians, who found in his blues something authentic. Information on Broonzy, from interviews are included in this fine book with Clapton, Townshend, and Davies, who reveal the importance of his music, and the impact it had on their own careers.
But just as important is Broonzy's personal life, and the author weaves Broonzy's life into his musical legacy-and taken as a whole-this book gives a full picture of just who "Big" Bill Broonzy was. The author's straightforward writing style keeps the book from bogging down, and keeps the interest level high. A fairly complicated life is revealed in an informative, easy to read style. The era during Broonzy's life also comes to light, which adds a stronger foundation, and adds depth and interest.
Broonzy was an important block in the foundation of blues music. If you haven't heard his music for whatever reason, look into any number of compilations or individual albums he recorded-the rewards are many. He influenced the great Muddy Waters, J.B. Lenoir, and many other blues artist of the day. He enjoyed popularity when alive, and for a while after his death. But the importance of his music slid in the face of other, "more authentic" bluesmen (Tampa Red, Blind Blake, etc.) from roughly the same period. And his popularity and importance continues to wax and wane over the years. Hopefully this great book will set things right, for "Big" Bill Broonzy was a good musician, singer, and composer. This book will tell you all about it.
If this is your cup of tea, look into the recently published "Mississippi John Hurt His Life, His Times, His Blues", by Philip Ratcliffe. Arguably not as well known as Broonzy, nonetheless, Hurt's music and life is equally as interesting, and the book is well done.
Click Here to see more reviews about: I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy
A major figure in American blues and folk music, Big Bill Broonzy (1903–1958) left his Arkansas Delta home after World War I, headed north, and became the leading Chicago bluesman of the 1930s. His success came as he fused traditional rural blues with the electrified sound that was beginning to emerge in Chicago. This, however, was just one step in his remarkable journey: Big Bill was constantly reinventing himself, both in reality and in his retellings of it. Bob Riesman's groundbreaking biography tells the compelling life story of a lost figure from the annals of music history.I Feel So Good traces Big Bill's career from his rise as a nationally prominent blues star, including his historic 1938 appearance at Carnegie Hall, to his influential role in the post-World War II folk revival, when he sang about racial injustice alongside Pete Seeger and Studs Terkel. Riesman's account brings the reader into the jazz clubs and concert halls of Europe, as Big Bill's overseas tours in the 1950s ignited the British blues-rock explosion of the 1960s. Interviews with Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and Ray Davies reveal Broonzy's profound impact on the British rockers who would follow him and change the course of popular music.Along the way, Riesman details Big Bill's complicated and poignant personal saga: he was married three times and became a father at the very end of his life to a child half a world away. He also brings to light Big Bill's final years, when he first lost his voice, then his life, to cancer, just as his international reputation was reaching its peak. Featuring many rarely seen photos, I Feel So Good will be the definitive account of Big Bill Broonzy's life and music.
Get 34% OFF
Click here for more information about I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy
0 comments:
Post a Comment