Moore A. The Cambridge Companion to Blues and Gospel Music

New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. — 236 p.From Robert Johnson to Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson to John Lee Hooker, blues and gospel artists figure heavily in the mythology of twentieth-century culture. The styles in which they sang have proved hugely influential to generations of popular singers, from the wholesale adoptions of singers like Robert Cray or James Brown, to the subtler vocal appropriations of Mariah Carey. Their own music, and how it operates, is not, however, always seen as valid in its own right.
This book offers an overview of both these genres, which worked together to provide an expression of twentieth-century black U.S. experience. Their histories are unfolded and questioned; representative songs and lyrical imagery are analyzed; perspectives are offered from the standpoint of the voice, the guitar, the piano, and also that of the working musician. The book concludes with a discussion of the impact the genres have had on mainstream musical culture.Allan Moore is Head of the Department of Music at the University of Surrey, U.K. He has written widely on popular music and is author of The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Cambridge, 1997), and Rock: The Primary Text (1993, 2002).List of illustrations
Notes on contributors
ChronologySurveying the field: our knowledge of blues and gospel music Allan Moore
Labels: identifying categories of blues and gospel Jeff Todd Titon
The development of the blues David Evans
The development of gospel music Don Cusic
Twelve key recordings Graeme M. Boone
Black twice: performance conditions for blues and gospel artists Steve Tracy
Vocal expression in the blues and gospel Barb Jungr
The Guitar Matt Backer
Keyboard techniques Adrian York
Imagery in the lyrics: an initial approach Guido van Rijn
Appropriations of blues and gospel in popular music Dave HeadlamNotesSelected discography and videography