Yuku free message boards

Imagine if all the people and interviewers that actually questioned Son House (which is one of the most accessible and recorded) of all the pre war Blues men, imagine if they would have asked more questions about him and less about RJ. Imagine if his story was as important to people in the 60s as Roberts. Now imagine if more detailed questions about Willie Brown were asked instead of the same tired questions followed by the same tired answers about RJ, what would we know now. Imagine what we would know now. He seemed as if he was willing to answer and discuss with just about anyone from what I have read.

I just read the book and it is one of the best written books I have read in a while. Red River Blues good. Neither the author nor the researchers play center stage like many country blues books do (which I find annoying unless specifically labeled as such). Controversy around Willie Brown is far from settled, if anything is broadened. The sources are really go and details about Son, Willie and Charlie are given. This book could have easily been so scholarly that it is hard to read. This fortunately did not happen. The pictures are great but not overkill with a pic of House in the 1980s when he was either in his mid-late 90s or around 75 depending on who's age you believe. Seldom do I recommend a book to buy since library's can get them for you easily but this is one to go back to over and over like Chasin' that Devil Music.

Grafton is detailed. There is a new twist on Son and Charlies relationship that is different than most books. Seriously buy this book.

Now not everyone will agree with everything in this book. There are some things I disagree with but when Charlie/Son/Willie are involved the smallest question can cause a big and heated debate. There are living people who know Willie Brown who were interviewed for this book which is exciting since maybe some questions can be asked about him in the future. Keep your fingers crossed. There is still information out there and topics for more writing on this old sage of that devils music.

The book is great and addresses several areas of his life that is usually not addressed. My issue is that if your only exposure to Son House was this book you would have thought that Son House idolized and had nothing but love for Charlie Patton. Very little is said about the issues he had with Charlie which also avoided the addressing Calts assertion from King of the Delta Blues that House was jealous of Patton. The book was not intended to be a rebuttal to Calts book but I was shocked at the difference in how their relationship was portrayed.

Houses debilitating addiction to alcohol and its cumulative affects on his health is not glossed over. Unlike some other biographies the search for House was only written about in a way that tells the story of House as a biography and not an attempt to fill pages in a book or to tell the researchers personal story. The photographs are awesome and not overdone. The same picture is not duplicated over and over again through out the book since there is so many images of Son House to choose from which is nice. If you love Son House this book is a must read.