Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues, Third Edition
by Steve Cheseborough
List Price:
Our Price: $16.15
You Save: $5.85 (27%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.45 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Steve CheseboroughEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-10
ISBN: 1604731249
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Book Reviews of Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues, Third Edition
Book Review: A Great Guide Book for Traveling Blues Fans
Summary: 5 Stars
In his 1991 masterpiece, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon takes the reader on a journey of American discovery, scrupulously avoiding the interstates in favor of the nation's rural back roads.
With Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues, blues guitarist and writer Steve Cheseborough takes us on a similar odyssey; only this one is regional, leading us along the "blue highways" of the Mississippi Delta.
Rich with hallowed Blues place names -- Clarksdale, Greenwood, Tutwiler, Dockery Plantation, Helena, Parchman Farm, Leland, Bentonia and Meridian are only a few of the places named - Blues Traveling is only partly a guide book. But it's a good one, according to those who have ridden the circuit, following the author's detailed travel instructions.
The trip begins and ends in Memphis. Scheduled destinations in Mississippi and Arkansas include birthplaces, graves, jook joints, museums, hotels, historic venues, famed highways, notorious streets, historic record shops and other bluesiana many of us have read about our favorite performers but could never quite locate on a map. Where telephone numbers, names and other travel information are available, Cheseborough helpfully includes them.
The writer conveys his considerable knowledge of Delta history with every entry. Each site - there must be 500 listed -- has at least a short biography of the blues performer associated with the site, along with a discussion of his or her work and significance as a performer. Cheseborough also delves into the subsequent history and mythology of the place and its importance to the reader.
The historically richest locations -- towns like Greenville and Clarksdale -- have entire chapters dedicated to the treasures within their borders. Along the way, the author's concern for traveler comfort expresses itself in safety and etiquette tips.
Cheseborough has no doubt created a perennial by crafting three books in one: guide book, pocket history and paean to the early Delta performers who left us their musical legacy.
The book is also a feast for trivia hounds. Even so-called minor luminaries - including a former "Ikette" -- are represented fully and with dignity. To his credit throughout, Cheseborough keeps a close eye on history and has possibly made some original contributions in this regard.
Guide books have a way of going out of style as soon as another becomes available. The author has anticipated that. This book, with its solid writing, easy directions, fine thumbnail history, excellent maps, good photos and helpful tips is destined, like the blues itself, to stick around a while. - originally published in Blues Revue Magazine, 2003
Music Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Music Books
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brainby Oliver Sacks
Knopf Publishing Group; Published: 2008; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.33
Listenby Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2007-02-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.00
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Centuryby Alex Ross
Picador; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylanby Douglas R. Gilbert, Dave Marsh
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops:
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boysby Steven Gaines
Da Capo Press; Published: 1995-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.15
Price in other shops:
Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Editionby Glen Ballou
Focal Press; Published: 2002-01-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $336.34
Jazz Anecdotesby Bill Crow
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1990-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.18
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williamsby Paul Hemphill
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.13
Price in other shops:
How to Train Singers/ Book and Tapeby Larra Browning Henderson
Parker; Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.95
Price in other shops:
I, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t)by Tina Turner, Kurt Loder
It Books; Published: 2010-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionaryby Stephen Calt
University of Illinois Press; Published: 2009-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.50
Price in other shops:
Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Musicby Ted Gioia
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2009-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
The Land Where The Blues BeganRelease date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $24.95
M For Mississippi - A Road Trip Through The Birthplace Of The BluesRelease date: 2010-06-08; DVD
Best price: $18.14
Price in other shops:
Hidden History of Mississippi Bluesby Roger Stolle, Photography by Lou Bopp
The History Press; Published: 2011-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.35
Price in other shops:
Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the CrossroadsSony; Release date: 2003-07-22; DVD
Best price: $7.64
Price in other shops:
The Blues Highway: New Orleans to Chicago: A Travel & Music Guideby Richard Knight
Trailblazer Publications; Published: 2001-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.50
The Search for Robert JohnsonJOHNSON,ROBERT; Release date: 2000-10-31; DVD
Best price: $5.16
Price in other shops:
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Deltaby Robert Palmer
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1982-07-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.08
Price in other shops:
Explorer's Guide Memphis & the Delta Blues Trail: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations)by Justin Gage, Melissa Gage
Countryman Press; Published: 2009-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.53
Price in other shops: