The Bottom Line
Blues For Dummies provides the reader with a solid background in the blues, including a brief overview of the genre's history, artist profiles, recommended albums, instruments used to play the blues, and even how to make a blues record.
Pros
- Written by musicians for the rest of us.
- Well-written artist profiles.
- Includes CD of classic blues tunes.
Cons
- Chapters on radio stations and clubs outdated before first printing.
- Chapter on musical instruments is beyond scope of book.
Description
- Co-author Lonnie Brooks is a legendary blues musician.
- Co-author Cub Koda was a musician, music journalist and well-known record collector.
- Co-author Wayne Baker Brooks, Lonnie's son, is a respected musician in his own right.
Guide Review - Lonnie Brooks, Cub Koda and Wayne Baker Brooks - Blues For Dummies book review
Written by musicians for the rest of us, the author's credentials are strong: Lonnie Brooks is a legendary blues guitarist and recording artist, his son Wayne is a musician and songwriter that literally grew up in the blues, and Cub Koda has long had one foot in rock and the other in the blues. A noted record collector, Koda was also a contributing editor to the All Music Guide to the Blues, and a regular columnist for Discoveries magazine. Before his death, Koda was also a well-known roots musician, best known as frontman for Brownsville Station.
The trio of writers delivers an easy-to-read book that provides the newcomer to the blues with an effective guide to enjoying the music. Several chapters offer well-written profiles of blues artists, placing them in historical context. Chapters on the history and style of the music provide a valuable backdrop while other chapters provide information on record labels specializing in the blues, radio stations and clubs to hear live blues music. A section on "putting together a blues band" provides young musicians with a blueprint to the music.
To get you started, the book also includes a CD compiled by the authors that includes a bunch of great tunes from folks like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and others. The first volume on any well-stocked blues bookshelf should be Blues For Dummies.
