Recommended Books

Here are Our Recommendations of Recommended Books and Recommended Authors we think may interest fellow blues fans. We will be adding more titles over time. If you come across a book or author you think should be on this list, please Contact Us or leave a message in the form at the bottom of this page.

Chris Albertson

Book cover, Bessie by Chris Albertson. This is the best biography of Bessie Smith that we have read.
Book cover, Bessie by Chris Albertson. This is the best biography of Bessie Smith that we have read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John M. Barry

Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, by John M. Barry - book cover
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, by John M. Barry – book cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel Beaumont

Book cover, Preachin' The Blues - The Life & Times of Son House, by Daniel Beaumont
Book cover, Preachin’ The Blues – The Life & Times of Son House, by Daniel Beaumont

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Broven

Book cover, Record Makers and Breakers - Voices of the Independent Rock N' Roll Pioneers by John Broven
Book cover, Record Makers and Breakers – Voices of the Independent Rock N’ Roll Pioneers by John Broven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Hartley Fox

Book cover, King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records by Jon Hartley Fox
Book cover, King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records by Jon Hartley Fox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ted Gioia

Book cover, Delta Blues, by Ted Gioia
Book cover, Delta Blues, by Ted Gioia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Gordon

Book cover, Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon
Book cover, Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Guralnick

Book cover, Sam Phillips - The Man Who Invented Rock n' Roll, by Peter Guralnick
Book cover, Sam Phillips – The Man Who Invented Rock n’ Roll, by Peter Guralnick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

W.C. Handy

Cover of W.C. Handy's autobiography, Father of the Blues, paperback edition
Cover of W.C. Handy’s autobiography, Father of the Blues, paperback edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rick Kennedy

Book cover, Little Labels - Big Sound by Rick Kennedy and Randy McNutt
Book cover, Little Labels – Big Sound by Rick Kennedy and Randy McNutt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Lauterbach

Book cover, The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road To Rock n' Roll by Preston Lauterbach
Book cover, The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road To Rock n’ Roll by Preston Lauterbach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a video of Recommended Author Preston Lauterbach discussing his book The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road To Rock n’ Roll

 

David Milward

Book cover, Cross Roads: How The Blues Shaped Rock n' Roll (And Rock Saved The Blues) by John Milward
Book cover, Cross Roads: How The Blues Shaped Rock n’ Roll (And Rock Saved The Blues) by John Milward

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Palmer

Book cover, Deep Blues, by Robert Palmer
Book cover, Deep Blues, by Robert Palmer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Segrest and Mark Hoffman

Book cover, Moanin' At Midnight - The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman
Book cover, Moanin’ At Midnight – The Life and Times of Howlin’ Wolf by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hampton Sides

Book cover, Hellhound On His Trail, by Hampton Sides. This is best book we have read about Dr. King's assassination and the subsequent hunt for James Earl Ray.
Book cover, Hellhound On His Trail, by Hampton Sides. This is best book we have read about Dr. King’s assassination and the subsequent hunt for James Earl Ray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Szwed

Book cover - Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded The World by John Szwed
Book cover – Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded The World by John Szwed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elijah Wald

Book cover, Escaping The Delta - Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, by Elijah Wald.
Book cover, Escaping The Delta – Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, by Elijah Wald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gayle Dean Warlow

Book cover, Chasin' That Devil Music - Searching For The Blues, by Gayle Dean Wardlow
Book cover, Chasin’ That Devil Music – Searching For The Blues, by Gayle Dean Wardlow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Wyman

Bill_Wyman-Blues_Odyssey-MississippiBluesTravellers-1662x2128

 

 

 

 

 

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