Michael Gray (1) (1946–)

The search would have been shorter and easier to read without all the digressive comments on fast food restaurants, southern architecture or lack thereof, the Civil War experiences of Willie McTell's white great-grandfather, and more. Maybe it's because he's British and writing primarily for British readers, but I don't feel that I began to learn anything about Willie McTell until about page 200 although I learned a lot about Michael Gray's taste, experiences, etc. He clearly did a lot of show more research, but I could have done without the accounts of the unfruitful interviews as well as the comments on strip malls and all that. In some places, he doesn't get it at all, as when he castigates a black preacher associated with Booker T Washington for exhorting black students to behave well. show less

More about Blind Willie than the music. Which is possibly no bad thing. Even now after 30 years acquaintance with the early recordings, it sounds remarkably "modern". And no, I don't really know what I mean by that...

A lot about the lyrics, not much about the music that accompanies them.

A detailed, scholarly and easily accessable work. Recommended to all blues fans and those with an interest in popular and/or blues music.