From the juke joints of northern mississippi, to the blues clubs of greenville and clarksdale, to the porche. In this extraordinary musical and social history, robert palmer. Robert palmer s humid narrative deep blues is a perfect introduction and primer to the blues. And when tellie lost her memory, she believed she w. Most of the book is the result of interviews with blues musicians and others who worked with them.
The trio runs through a number of classic blues songs written by muddy waters, percy mayfield, and sonny boy williamson and a few originals by walker and cotton. Robert palmer samples, covers and remixes on whosampled. Clearly described are the blues roots in tribal african music through to the direct influence on the rise of the british rock bands of the 60s and 70s, robert palmer leads us through the birth of the blues to its nowrecognised and rightful place as the influencer of. He travelled the length of the united states, visiting the farms and plantations where the blues was born, interviewing those who were there or their immediate successors, travelled the migration routes on which african americans fled northwards, and.
But in his book deep blues robert palmer argues that. Aint no one to cry for me and the fishll go out on a spree when i get them deep river blues. Palmer s book was my introduction to the blues and im very glad of it because its so wide and deep like varying parts of the mississippi river. A musical and cultural history of the mississippi delta. Louis and chicago, then throughout america, and finally, with the bands. Deep blues is a history of delta blues written by robert palmer one of the great music writers of the last half of the twentieth. Coahoma county in june 1901 to begin archaeological ex. Deep blues original motion picture soundtrack 1992, cd. Deep in the blues is a fascinating jam session between james cotton, guitarist joe louis walker, and jazz bassist charlie haden.
The human condition and the music it brings forth, the deep blues. Delta blues, country blues, electric blues, hill country blues. Deep blues begins where blues begins, with roots in africa. Sponsored content is clearly labeled everywhere it appears, and. Robert palmer was the new york timess first fulltime rock writer and chief pop critic 19761988 and has been a contributing editor at rolling stone since the early seventies. Robert palmer weaves not only the raw history of the delta blues the who, what, when, where and why of the blues but more importantly, the human story behind the music. In one of the most widely read books on blues ever published, robert palmer delineates the deep blues stream that flowed from the delta up through memphis to chicago. Robert palmer finds the big bang moment for the deep blues, the blues of the delta, at dockerys farms in mississippi, in the 1920s, with the advent of charley patton. Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your clips. My old gal, shes a good old pal, looks like a water fowl. Deep blues a musical and cultural history of the mississippi delta robert palmer. It was released in 1999 and was his first new release in five years.
You read this, you get the big picture story of the delta blues, how the music migrated to chicago and other big cities and why its so important to so much great music that came after it. Robert johnson, who sang of being pursued by the hounds of hell. Palmer is less interested in those influences, however, than in the development and survival of the blues themselves as a distinct, refined. Im gonna take my old boat, im gonna sail if shell float, cause i got them deep river blues. Until sweet tellie maddox began hovering around, caring about him. Read deep blues pdf by robert palmer penguin books listen to deep blues. Pdf crosscultural connections in blues contemporary musicscape. Five of the notes are from the minor pentatonic scale. Palmer lucidly discusses the contributions of early icons charley patton, son house, robert johnson, on through. Written in an awesomely engaging style, the late mr. Palmer, who is known as the founder of chiropractic, and his son, b. Deep blues 24 indian mounds, the only high ground around but peabodys sites had remained untouched, and he suspected that once penetrated down to the earliest strata in the mounds, he would find castoff bits of pottery, arrowheads, and other artifacts indicative of how some the earliest mound builders had lived. In deep blues, robert palmer traces the musical and cultural history of the blues from the mississippi delta to its influence around the world. In his liner notes, palmer cites as inspirations an invitation to participate in a robert johnson tribute album and the offer to provide the soundtrack to a.
A musical and cultural history of the mississippi delta free reading pdf. A mustread for all music fans, this is surely the definitive history of the blues book, but it is so much more than that. Therefore, it is appropriate that michael ricci would enlist the formidable talents of music journalist ed kopp to edit the all about jazz blues section. The added sixth note is the diminished or lowered fifth of the scale represented as o5.
Discover all robert palmers music connections, watch videos, listen to music, discuss and download. Palmers first love was the blues, but his scope as a music critic was endless, as evidenced by the small sampling of available nyt articles way at the bottom of this feature. Robert palmers deep blues is a classic of the blues book genre and id wanted to read it since i found out this was not the robert palmer of some like it hot fame. Includes a pdf summary of 33 pages description or summary of the book. In our section about blues history youll find a quote from the prologue of the book talking about why its so hard to play delta blues in the right way. Palmer tells the story of the blues through the lives of its greatest practitioners. It came out in 1981 so its been a while but it is still interesting. From 1981 until 1988, he was the chief pop music critic at the new york times, the first person to hold that title, and he continued to write.
Renowned director robert mugge and music scholar robert palmer went deep in the mississippi delta to seek out the best blues acts in the country. In his liner notes, palmer cites as inspirations an invitation to participate in a robert johnson tribute album and the offer to provide the soundtrack to a film set in the deep south in the 1940s and 50s. He spends the rest of the book tracing its spread, first throughout the delta, then up the river to st. American musicologist and social historian robert palmer hit the road during the 1970s to research a book on the music he loved. Wardlow and paul oliver and i really think deep blues holds up. Deep blues a musical and cultural history of the mississippi. Palmer created and developed the palmer college of chiroprac tic. The film provided insight into the location, cast and characteristics of delta blues and north mississippi hill country blues. Heartbreaker by diana palmer overdrive rakuten overdrive. Listen free to james cotton deep in the blues down at your buryin, all walks of life and more. Palmers longterm girlfriend mary ambrose sang background vocals on some tracks, as did sharon oneill who cowrote true love. He began writing for rolling stone in the early 70s and continued to do so as a contributing editor throughout his life.
In this extraordinary musical and social history, robert palmer traces the odyssey of the blues from its rural beginnings, to the steamy bars of chicagos south side, to international popularity, recognition, and imitation. While deep blues is his term for this style of delta blues, the book reaches its own depth because of. From the chief popmusic critic for the new york times. Just begun to read the blues book deep blues by robert palmer it came out in 1981 so its been a while but it is still interesting. Robert palmer is best known for books he authored such as deep blues, his music journalism articles for the new york times and rolling stone magazine, his work producing blues recordings and the soundtrack to the film deep blues, and his clarinet work in the 1960s band the. Robert palmer is best known for books he authored such as deep blues, his music journalism articles for the new york times and rolling stone magazine, his work producing blues recordings and the soundtrack to the film deep. He has taught courses in american music at yale, carnegiemellon, bowdoin, the university of mississippi, and brooklyn college, where he was the first senior research fellow of the institute for studies in american. Stewart initiated and financed the project, inspired by palmers 1981 book of the same name.
With delta blues great muddy waters as his protagonist, palmer breathes new life to the delta blues story. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Bouncing ball performed by jessie maes fife and drum band. Deep blues by palmer, robert and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The sound is intimate and raw, which is a welcome change from cottons usual overproduced records. The african music from which the blues ultimately derives. Palmers phone number, address, insurance information, hospital affiliations and more. Palmers longterm girlfriend mary ambrose sang background vocals on some tracks, as did sharon oneill who cowrote true love the albums only single true love peaked at. Clipping is a handy way to collect important slides you want to go back to later. By robert palmer reprint, viking press, new york, 1995 isbn 0140062238 quantum mechanics. A musical pilgrimage to the crossroads is a british documentary film, released in 1991, and made by music critic and author robert palmer and documentary film maker robert mugge, in collaboration with david a. Hammock treated his women well, but with a nostrings detachment they gladly accepted. Palmer spins a tale from the share cropping mississippi delta to the world and its music at large. In our section about blues history youll find a quote from the prologue of the book talking about why its.
Robert palmer s deep blues is a classic of the blues book genre and id wanted to read it since i found out this was not the robert palmer of some like it hot fame. Robert palmers extraordinary knowledge and boundless love of music were evident in all his writing. Published in 1981, this book put palmer in the esteemed company of g. The green books are a collection of 41 chiropractic books, which were originally published by the palmer college of chiropractic, and written by various authors from 1906 1966. Blues is the cornerstone of american popular music, the bedrock of rock and roll. In this extraordinary musical and social history, robert palmer traces the odyssey of the blues from its rural beginnings, to the steamy bars of chicagos south side, to.
The green books are aptly named due to their distinctive dark. On, sponsored content refers to articles, videos, or audio recordings that are produced or curated by an advertiser but that premier guitar is happy to share alongside our own editorial content due to the sponsored contents educational, musical, or entertainment value. Some of the songs are in the strict blues form, and the approach to the arrangements tends toward spare, acoustic elements. Palmer highlights features of african musical style and aesthetic values. Deep blues by robert palmer 2001 0309 unknown binding january 1, 1800 5. Everything is done in one take, no overdub, no mixing or editing, its just the sound of. Robert palmers humid narrative deep blues is a perfect introduction and primer to the blues. Robert palmer samples, covers and remixes whosampled. Just begun to read the blues book deep blues by robert palmer. Sep 15, 2011 the human condition and the music it brings forth, the deep blues. Robert palmer was born in little rock, arkansas in 1945, and graduated from the university of arkansas at little rock in 1964. You can talk about me performed by jessie mae hemphill. Deep blues by palmer, robert, 1982, penguin books edition, in english.
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