Books by Samuel Charters

"A signal event in the history of the music." - Ted Gioia. A noted blues historian and folklorist explores blues lyrics as poetry, quoting lyrics at length to reveal their depth of feeling and incorporation of complex literary forms.

Samuel Charters recounts experiences from a half-century spent following, documenting, recording, and writing about the Africa-influenced music of the United States, Brazil, and the Caribbean.

Art and Lives of Twelve Great Bluesmen

"From the field cries and work chants of Southern Negroes emerged a rich and vital music called the country blues, an intensely personal expression of the pains and pleasures of black life. This music-"