Robert Palmer (1) (1945–1997)

Palmer's book serves as a great introduction to the Blues Greats from Charlie Patton to Otis Rush, with a big focus on Muddy Waters, whom Palmer must have talked to for days on end. It is an interesting history of how some of the poorest people in the United States created one of its enduring musical treasures--but as Ted Gioia points out in his "Subversive History of Music", new musical innovations always rise up from the minority. Palmer's writing is not always the most fluid, especially when reeling off so many dates and places, but when he starts to write about the music itself and its effect on him, every word rings true.… (more)