How Britain Got the Blues
Subtitle: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing; Ashgate
Published: November 30, 2007
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780754655800
Subjects: Blues; Cultural studies; Rock & pop; c 1960 to c 1970; Music; United Kingdom, Great Britain; Genres & Styles - General; Blues (Music); Great Britain; History and criticism; Influence
Description: "This book explores how, and why, the blues became a central component of English popular music in the 1960s. It is commonly known that many 'British invasion' rock bands were heavily influenced by Chicago and Delta blues styles. But how, exactly, did Britain get the blues? Blues records by African American artists were released in the United States in substantial numbers between 1920 and the late 1930s, but were sold primarily to black consumers in large urban centres and the rural south. How, then, in an era before globalization, when multinational record releases were rare, did English teenagers in the early 1960s encounter the music of Robert Johnson, Blind Boy Fuller, Memphis Minnie, and Barbecue Bob? Roberta Schwartz analyses the transmission of blues records to England, from the first recordings to hit English shores to the end of the sixties." "The vinyl record itself, under-represented in previous studies, plays a major part in the story of the blues in Britain. Not only did recordings shape perceptions and listening habits, but which artists were available at any given time also had an enormous impact on the British blues. Schwartz maps the influences on British blues and blues-rock performers and thereby illuminates the stylistic evolution of many genres of British popular music."--Jacket.