Preachin' the Blues : The Life and Times of Son House

In June of 1964, three young, white blues fans set out from New York City in a Volkswagen, heading for the Mississippi Delta in search of a musical legend. So begins Preachin' the Blues , the biography of American blues signer and guitarist Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. (1902 - 1988). House pioneered an innovative style, incorporating strong repetitive rhythms with elements of southern gospel and spiritual vocals. A seminal figure in the history of the Delta blues, he was an important, direct influence on such figures as Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. The landscape of Son House's life and the vicissitudes he endured make for an absorbing narrative, threaded through with a tension between House's religious beliefs and his spells of commitment to a lifestyle that implicitly rejected it. Drinking, womanizing, and singing the blues caused this tension that is palpable in his music, and becomes explicit in one of his finest performances, "Preachin' the Blues." Large parts of House's life are obscure, not least because his own accounts of them were inconsistent. Author Daniel Beaumont offers a chronology/topography of House's youth, taking into account evidence that conflicts sharply with the well-worn fable, and he illuminates the obscurity of House's two decades in Rochester, NY between his departure from Mississippi in the 1940s and his "rediscovery" by members of the Folk Revival Movement in 1964. Beaumont gives a detailed and perceptive account of House's primary musical legacy: his recordings for Paramount in 1930 and for the Library of Congress in 1941-42. In the course of his research Beaumont has unearthed not only connections among the many scattered facts and fictions but new information about a rumoured murder in Mississippi, and a charge of manslaughter on Long Island - incidents which bring tragic light upon House's lifelong struggles and self-imposed disappearance, and give trenchant meaning to the moving music of this early blues legend. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Table of Contents 10 CHAPTER 1. The Second Coming of the Son 14 CHAPTER 2. Ramblified 38 CHAPTER 3. The Blues Blowed My Spirit Away 50 CHAPTER 4. My Black Mama 68 CHAPTER 5. Dry Spell Blues 86 CHAPTER 6. Jinx Blues 104 CHAPTER 7. Eclipse 122 CHAPTER 8. Father of the Folk Blues 138 CHAPTER 9. He Was Who He Was 166 APPENDIX 1. Lyrics to Selected Songs 192 APPENDIX 2. Southold, NY, Police Report 196 Acknowledgments 200 Bibliography 206 Index 210 A 210 B 210 C 211 D 211 E 211 F 211 G 212 H 212 I 213 J 213 K 214 L 214 M 214 N 215 O 215 P 215 R 216 S 216 T 216 U 217 V 217 W 217 Y 217 Follow House's Journey From Rural Pulpits And Labor Farms To Smoky Juke Joints. In The 1930s, He Became The Decade's Leading Bluesman In Mississippi, And An Important Influence On Robert Johnson And Muddy Waters. This Account Of His Life Offers A Fresh Perspective On How The Blues Influenced American Culture And Spread Throughout The World. The Second Coming Of The Son -- Ramblified -- The Blues Blowed My Spirit Away -- My Black Mama -- Dry Spell Blues -- Jinx Blues -- Eclipse -- Father Of The Folk Blues -- He Was Who He Was. Daniel Beaumont. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 195-198) And Index. This is a biography of American blues singer and guitarist Eddie James 'Son' House, Jr. (1902-1988), who pioneered an innovative style, incorporating strong repetitive rhythms with elements of southern gospel and spiritual vocals. A seminal figure in the history of the Delta blues, he influenced such figures as Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. The landscape of Son House's life and the vicissitudes he endured make for an absorbing narrative, threaded through with a tension between House's religious beliefs and his spells of commitment to a lifestyle that implicitly rejected it Preachin' the Blues is the story of Eddie James "Son" House Jr., preacher, sharecropper, convicted killer and blues great. Tracing Son's life from his youth in the Mississippi Delta, to his preaching career, and on to his sudden transformation into a bluesman, Beaumont sheds new light on his years of obscurity and his surprising comeback in the 1960s.