Books by Michael Taft

Including over 2000 songs, transcribed from the original recordings, this work presents a compendium of blues lyrics. It covers artists including Kokomo Arnold, Blind Willie McTell, Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Lead Belly, Son House, Skip James, Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and more.

Offers an exploration of how blues singers used formulas to create songs, and presents a study of the blues, where the structure and content of the lyrics have been less explored than the musical form. This book is useful for the students of African-American music, cultural studies, history and linguistics, and others interested in Blues.