The Country Blues, Samuel Charters

It was in 1961 that I received this hugely influential pioneering book on the blues (first published in the USA in 1959). I was a member of the Jazz Book Club and it was one of the selections. This is where I first read about Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Leroy Carr, Blind Willie McTell, Bukka White, Tommy McClennan, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins and a host of other country blues artists (also featured on the LP "The Country Blues", RBFI).

I got to know Samuel Charters in Stockholm, Sweden, many years later. By then I had discovered what a fine poet and novelist he is, as well as music scholar and record producer. This is an article by Calle Pauli, in Swedish, from March 2003:

Here's a playlist that Sam once selected (New York Times)

More on Sam Charters

A biography of two Beats

Some books by Professor Emeritus Ann Charters: