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It is our most passionate music, rooted in ancient Africa but brought to blossom in America at the doorstep of the twentieth century. It is a living heritage of song born in poverty, persecution, and hard labor, born of love and love betrayed, of holiness and sin, the pleasures... Read Full Overview

Introduced by B.B. King, this lively history of the blues is edited by a noted blues archivist and historian and illustrated with rare photographs of the musicians, promoters, and venues, as well as a selection of record labels, posters, and ads. 325 illustrations.