MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL COMMITTEE
WORKING GROUP ON POPULAR MUSIC SOURCES
 
SELECTED SOURCES ON BLUES AND GOSPEL MUSIC
 
Compiled by Suzanne Flandreau, Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College
 Chicago
 
BLUES MUSIC SOURCES
 
General sources:
 
Harris, Sheldon. The Blues Who's Who: A Biographical Dictionary of Blues
 Singers. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1979. (Reprint: Da Capo, 1989)
 Indexes, bibliogs.
 
Covers only blues singers, not instrumentalists unless they also sang. Musicians
 are entered under their actual names, with pseudonyms listed and
 cross-referenced. Birth and death dates, personal information and a synopsis of
 the musician's musical career only are given in list format. Song titles given
 in the entry are songs with which the singer is associated--not necessarily the
 singer's own compositions. Brief bibliographical references accompany the
 entries. An "updated" edition published by Da Capo in 1989 adds death dates
 since 1979 but does not expand entries.
 
Herzhaft, Gerard. Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville: University of
 Arkansas, 1992. Index, bibliog., discog.
 
Originally published in France. Contains general articles on blues culture in
 addition to biographical entries. Covers contemporary musicians popular since
 1979 who are not covered in The Blues Who's Who; also updates information on
 other musicians.
 
Hitchcock, H. Wiley and Sadie, Stanley, eds. The New Grove Dictionary of
 American Music. 4 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Bibliogs.
 
Contains general articles on blues by Paul Oliver and on black gospel by Horace
 Clarence Boyer, in addition to biographical entries on major blues and gospel
 musicians with bibliographical references.
 
Southern Eileen. Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians.
 Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1982. Index, bibliogs.
 
Biographical articles on many blues and gospel musicians and groups, with
 bibliographical references. Thorough and well-researched: a definitive source
 in black music.
 
Bibliographies and discographies:
 
Dixon, Robert M. W. and Godrich, John. Blues and Gospel Records 1902-1943. 3rd
 ed. fully revised, Chigwell, Essex: Storyville Publications, 1982.
 
Helpful for verifying the names of obscure musicians and groups. Has cross
 references and information on pseudonyms of musicians, plus an index to
 accompanists. Gives recording dates (not dates of issue), matrix numbers,
 personnel, issue numbers of recordings. Covers original issue on cylinders or
 78 r.p.m. discs only: does not give information on reissues, but gives first
 issues on LP.  Covers field recordings made for the Library of Congress before
 1943.  No biographical information.
 
Hart, Mary L., Eagles, Brenda M. and Howorth, Lisa N. New York: Garland
 Publishing, 1989. Indexes.
 
General international coverage of articles and books on the blues up to 1985.
 Has general sections on literature, blues and society, and on the music and
 poetry of the blues. Includes a list of films on blues with distributors and a
 section on reference materials that includes articles. The biographical
 section, arranged by musician, is extensive but selective in its coverage. No
 actual biographical information is given, but this is a good source of
 citations to magazine interviews and other non-book information sources.
 
Leadbitter, Mike and Slaven, Neil. Blues Records January, 1943 to December,
 1966. New York: Oak Publications, 1968.
 
Gives rudimentary biographical information for some musicians, cites real names
 of performers., and cross references pseudonyms. Listings are consolidated
 under the performer's most familiar name, arranged chronologically by recording
 session. Covers LP issues and singles on 78r.p.m. and 45 r.p.m. Does identify
 some reissues.
 
Leadbitter, Mike and Slaven, Neil. Blues Records 1943-1970: A Selective
 Discography. London: Record Information Services, 1987. v.1, A-K.
 
An corrected and expanded edition of the above. Unfortunately, volume 2 has not
 been published.
 
General and regional histories:
 
Barlow, William. "Looking Up at Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture.
 Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989. Indexes, bibliographical
 references.
 
A general social history of the blues. Discusses musicians in several areas,
 especially northern cities, that do not have separate published histories. May
 be of some help in establishing names of obscurer musicians.
 
Bastin, Bruce. Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast. Urbana:
 University of Illinois Press, 1986. Index, bibliographical references.
 
Definitive study of the Piedmont blues of the Carolinas and Georgia. Discusses
 many musicians who do not appear in general reference sources.
 
Govenar, Alan. Meeting the Blues: The Rise of the Texas Sound. Dallas: Taylor
 Publishing Co., 1988. Index, discog.
 
Biographical interviews with Texas musicians, including several younger
 musicians not found in The Blues Who's Who.
 
Harrison, Daphne Duval. Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s. New Brunswick,
 N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1988. Index, bibliog., discog.
 
A social history of women's blues, containing much biographical information
 about the various "classic blues" artists. Many artists not covered in more
 general reference books are mentioned.
 
Rowe, Mike. Chicago Breakdown. New York: Drake Publishers, 1975. (reprinted by
 Da Capo, 1983, with the title Chicago Blues.) Index.
 
Chicago blues in its heyday. Mentions or discusses many musicians not found in
 general reference works.
 
GOSPEL MUSIC SOURCES
 
See: Hitchcock and Sadie eds., The New Grove Dictionary of American Music;
 Southern, Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians; and
 Dixon and Godrich, Blues and Gospel Records 1902-1943, listed above.
 
Hayes, Cedric. J. A Discography of Gospel Records, 1937-1971. Denmark: Karl Emil
 Knudsen, 1973.
 
Limited coverage of selected gospel performers and groups, with no biographical
 information. Covers singles and LPs. May be helpful establishing some names.
 
Broughton, Viv. Black Gospel: An Illustrated History of the Gospel Sound. Poole,
 Dorset: Blandford Press, 1985. Index.
 
Heilbut, Anthony. The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times. Updated and
 Revised. New York: Limelight Editions, 1985. Indexes, discog.
 
Both of the above are journalistic rather than scholarly in their approach to
 the subject, but there is, as yet, no good scholarly history of gospel music.
 The above may help with names not found in general reference sources.
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