Been Here and Gone: A Memoir of the Blues

by David Dalton

Book Overview

Can I tell you about the blues? Baby, I was born with the blues... So begins the fictional memoir Been Here and Gone, the extraordinary story of an all-but-forgotten bluesman, Coley Williams. A backup... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380976765
• ISBN13: 9780380976768
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

went there and loved it

A must read book. Coley Williams is a quintessential bluesman. He takes you on an entertaining trip thorough the history of the blues bringing to life many of its great musicians. He feels so real, you want to go out and buy his CD. I only hope we hear more from him in the future. It would make a terrific audio book - maybe read by Morgan Freeman.

An amazing experience!!

I've been a long-time fan of blues music but I never really knew all that much about the history or people behind it-until I went on Dalton's fantastic journey. Coley Williams is one of the most vivid characters I've come across in years; his voice is so authentic and his stories of life on the road, crossing paths with the great lights of the blues, are a feat of interpretive imagination. I've seen pictures of Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon and Bessie Smith, but now I feel like I know what it would have been like to hear them talk, watch them sing, knock back a couple of whiskeys, get in a fight, etc. By the end of the book, I felt like I'd lived the blues!

Very enjoyable blues history

I enjoy playing the blues, but before reading this book I knew very little about the history of blues music and its early performers. While the premise is a little corny (think Forest Gump the movie)this book has a number of very interesting profiles of the personalities behind blues music, their times, and influences on popular culture. If nothing else, it has encouraged me to expand my CD collection to include the likes of Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton and Sam Hopkins!

5 stars? How about FIVE HUNDRED?

I'm no book critic, but I just read this whole thing straight through, took me seven hours to get to the end and there was NO damn way I was putting this one down till I got there. David Dalton must have worked some fearsome almighty mojo when he set down to write this one - I may just be some thirty-year-old white boy but this has got to be as real as it gets. One of the most amazing trips you'll EVER go on. Buy it, read it, be blown away and that is the Lord's honest truth!