Highway 61
Crossroads on the Blues Highway
Published on 31. October 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
178 pages
978-1-78963-182-1 (ISBN)
Description
Follow British Blues musician and researcher, Derek Bright, as he travels along the famed Highway 61 route from Chicago to New Orleans. This thoroughly researched book delves deeply into African American culture, history and music both past and present associated with the highway. For anyone considering travelling Highway 61, or just wanting to learn more about this historic route and the origins of the blues, this book is essential reading. 2020 Edition with additional photography and updated information.
'Bright is an old master at following old and ancient trails, and you couldn't pick a better guide to show you the sights on Highway 61' ( Paul Garon, co-founder of Living Blues)
'Derek tunes the car radio to the very best black music that America has to offer...for those of us yet to make this trip into a still so relevant psycho-geographical culture, he is our eyes, ears, and conscience' (Johnny Green, former road manager of The Clash)
'Bright is an old master at following old and ancient trails, and you couldn't pick a better guide to show you the sights on Highway 61' ( Paul Garon, co-founder of Living Blues)
'Derek tunes the car radio to the very best black music that America has to offer...for those of us yet to make this trip into a still so relevant psycho-geographical culture, he is our eyes, ears, and conscience' (Johnny Green, former road manager of The Clash)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Gloucester
United Kingdom
Illustrations
78 b& w and 35 colour photographs; 78 b& w and 35 colour photographs
Dimensions
Height: 280 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
680 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78963-182-1 (9781789631821)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Derek Bright is a British blues musician, researcher and author. His first book 'The Pilgrims' Way: Fact & Fiction of an Ancient Trackway' re-evaluated use of the route evidenced by roadside crime, prohibitive legislation, and economic inequality. He has appeared on several TV programmes including Simon Reeve's Pilgrimage; Tony Robinson's Britain's Ancient Tracks, and the BBC's Countryfile. Then inspired to research the history of the blues linked to the struggle for emancipation, he followed his own blues pilgrimage to Chicago and the Deep South of the USA. Derek took three road trips, each time confronting his own expectations through meeting musicians, writers, historians, farmers and bartenders along the route from Chicago to New Orleans who shared their knowledge, experience and understanding of the land and culture from where the Blues originated.
Content
Acknowledgements. Foreword by Johnny Green. Introduction. Chapter 1 Down on the Killing Floor: Chicago. Chapter 2 Lord, Sixty-One Highway: Joliet to Rock Island. Chapter 3 Down to St Louis: St Louis. Chapter 4 Big Train Goes to Memphis: Memphis. Chapter 5 Casinos and Cotton: Walls to Robinsonville. Chapter 6 Pass the Biscuits - It's King Biscuit Time: Helena. Chapter 7 Juke Joints, Shacks and BBQ: Clarksdale. Chapter 8 The Ghosts of Emmett Till: Tutwiler to Greenville. Chapter 9 Beyond Catfish Row: Vicksburg to Natchez. Chapter 10 Carry Me Down on Rampart Street: New Orleans. Afterword. Bibliography. Index.