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"Big Boss Man" is a comprehensive look at one of the greatest and most popular bluesmen of all time. His best-known songs have become an integral part of the standard blues repertoire. He pioneered a musical style that proved to be enormously successful and influential, both with middle-aged blacks and young white audiences during the 50's and 60's. From "The Hell Hole of the Delta", where he was born and raised, to "Death Valley", a part of South Chicago where he worked the iron mills, his growth as a person and professional musician is chronicled. His success at Vee-Jay records, where he outsold contemporaries such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, and Little Walter, and the demise of this legendary label are examined in depth. Finally, the sad tale of his deteriorating physical and mental health, made worse by rampant alcoholism and undiagnosed epilepsy, and his tragic "comeback" bid, are recounted in heartfelt detail by those who knew him best and were with him until the end.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jimmy Reed matched John Lee Hooker as the most successful post war delta bluesman,
despite not living long enough to attract an autumnal accolade of white celeb
guesting album projects.He didn't invent the 12 bar blues pattern yet that was the
generic essence of his whole musical output.This book explains the JR 'sound' and
offers clues to it's enduring subliminal and universal appeal.Reed worked out of
Chicago in it's 50's blues heyday,and from this and previously published bios of stars like Wolf,Waters and Walter we now have a much fuller picture of the background players and hustlers.Romano manages to flesh out a central character
some thirty years after his passing,posting a fitting tribute to Reed's achievements
in the face of adverse circumstance.It's a blues life,but this author manages to
blend in the concurrent presence of family and friends that acknowledges human
frailty but also the ultimate prevailing of positives such as devotion, loyalty, forgiveness,determination.Jimmy drank too much,but that's not the story.
despite not living long enough to attract an autumnal accolade of white celeb
guesting album projects.He didn't invent the 12 bar blues pattern yet that was the
generic essence of his whole musical output.This book explains the JR 'sound' and
offers clues to it's enduring subliminal and universal appeal.Reed worked out of
Chicago in it's 50's blues heyday,and from this and previously published bios of stars like Wolf,Waters and Walter we now have a much fuller picture of the background players and hustlers.Romano manages to flesh out a central character
some thirty years after his passing,posting a fitting tribute to Reed's achievements
in the face of adverse circumstance.It's a blues life,but this author manages to
blend in the concurrent presence of family and friends that acknowledges human
frailty but also the ultimate prevailing of positives such as devotion, loyalty, forgiveness,determination.Jimmy drank too much,but that's not the story.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
great read
9 Nov 2006
Format:Paperback
This book looks at the life of Jimmy Reed. His music was and still is wonderful and very influencial. This book tells of his troubles of trying to make it to his successes to comebacks and all of the struggles he faced inbetween. It's a fascinating story that is very historical in it's content, but also a captivating read.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A Big Boss Book On The Big Boss Man!
16 Sep 2007
Format:Paperback
The miraculous progress in blues scholarship over the last 20 years or so continues with this book about the great Jimmy Reed. There were virtually no liner notes on Jimmy Reed albums, so a well researched book like this one fills in much needed information. The bonus of a book like this is the circular effect of reading it. Jimmy Reed's music draws you to the book, and reading the book sends you back to the music to hear musical observations the author points out. The end result is a better appreciation for music you already loved!
BOSSMAN OF THE BLUES
28 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a book just for hardcore Jimmy Reed fans! If you can't sing along on every Jimmy Reed song ever recorded don't bother!
But if you are a Jimmy Reed fan, you need this book.
But if you are a Jimmy Reed fan, you need this book.
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