Blind Willie Johnson was a guitar evangelist who sang and recorded his music in the early part of the twentieth century.His music is still much appreciated today,in it's own right and on Film and TV Soundtracks etc. A powerful,charismatic singer and one of the greatest ever slide guitarists who influenced all the top blues,gospel,rock and country guitarists who heard his playing. The Man...All of his known biographical details are presented here. The Words...All of his recorded songs, fully explained and deciphered for the first time here. It's like the Blind Willie Johnson Rosetta Stone! The Music...All his guitar playing from his thirty recordings examined here.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
This book is obviously a labour of love. The author has transcribed all of Blind Willie's lyrics and brought us a whole new listening experience as a result. I have been enjoying Johnson's records since the 1960s. He has an amazing voice - a deep growl at times, a light tenor at others. On top of this, he is - according to almost every critic - the finest slide guitar player who ever lived. His songs are all religious; but they may as well be in a foreign language in places. Blind Willie's dialect and slurred delivery obscure a huge percentage of them. Now, at last, we know what he is singing about. Blakey has not only written the words down - he has also commented on the content: where the words come from, what they are referring to, what they mean. Take a look at the chapter on "If I Had My Way". What an awe inspiring performance from Willie! What enlightenment from Blakey! He explains the story of Samson and then links it to every line of the song, filling in the gaps, demonstrating the song's misconceptions, giving us sensible interpretations of the words. That is the strength of this publication. Okay, Blakey recounts the research concerning Johnson's life and he tells us a little about guitar tunings and such; but the backbone of the book - the main reason to read and enjoy it - is Johnson's lyrics and their meanings. They have never been so accurately interpreted before. That alone makes it a 5-star read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Perry
You get both the history of Blind Willie AND the lyrics to all of his songs. A wonderful book - you can read it as a biography as well as read it while you listen to the songs. The music takes on a whole new proportion. Doesn't get much better than that!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Blind Willie's Biography long overdue!, October 9, 2007
By KM Williams "kdwilent" (dallas, tx United States) - See all my reviews
This is the biography on Blind Willie Johnson that is long overdue! D. N. Blakey has written the most extensive History/Biography of the Great Guitar Evangelist in existence! Blind Willie is also one of my Music Heroes; in my opinion, the greatest Blues/Gospel slide guitarists/vocalist that ever lived! Blakey uses all known facts,personal observations from the music itself(All 30 Song recordings are examined here in Detail)and even little known facts about His only Known offspring,Ms. Sam Faye Kelly, and others to create a fantastic biography of one of America's Music legends. A MUST HAVE!!!
By KM Williams "kdwilent" (dallas, tx United States) - See all my reviews
This is the biography on Blind Willie Johnson that is long overdue! D. N. Blakey has written the most extensive History/Biography of the Great Guitar Evangelist in existence! Blind Willie is also one of my Music Heroes; in my opinion, the greatest Blues/Gospel slide guitarists/vocalist that ever lived! Blakey uses all known facts,personal observations from the music itself(All 30 Song recordings are examined here in Detail)and even little known facts about His only Known offspring,Ms. Sam Faye Kelly, and others to create a fantastic biography of one of America's Music legends. A MUST HAVE!!!
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Shoddy
I bought this book to use as research for an essay I am writing for my music degree. Unfortunately, it features very little biographical detail. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Joe
5.0 out of 5 stars
blind willie johnson - the biography
this is a great book to listen or play along with the great man's music,plus lots of background facts i didn't know... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2007 by lilly lowe
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