Crossroads: How the Blues Shaped Rock ’n’ Roll (and Rock Saved the Blues)

I was never a big fan of the blues. I can also truthfully say that I was never a fan of reading a book about the blues. I'm more of a horror/science fiction kind of guy but I must say that this book has had quite an impact on me. Not only did this book teach me a great deal about the blues but it taught me a tremendous amount about music in general. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.I would recommend this book to those who are ignorant of the blues (like myself) as well as to those who are well-versed in the genre. This work was very well-written and made my music education incredibly entertaining. To me, it even reads like a cool song.The author never pretends to be an objective or impartial documenter of the facts. This is obvious from the start. We have a kindred fan of this class of music and clearly a musician to have delved so deeply into the subject matter. We find an artist, composer, entertainer and wordsmith! I relished the experience this book provided for me. After only reading a few chapters I found myself chasing after the music and researching the artists. It was an education in music appreciation on many levels.Before reading this I could honestly say that I always valued good music. I was oblivious to it's evolution and this book only covers a small part of it. Music is not only a major component of modern life but it has always been a vital part of human history. The past was definitely not silent! After listening to the music John Milward introduced me to, it has opened my mind, body and soul to the power of the Blues.I can now put music to the names such as Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and B.B. King. Music that if properly listened to, tells it's own story. Music that defined itself and it's artists and will define you. And in learning about the Blues, I earned a deeper appreciation for artists that I was already familiar with like Eric Clapton, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.Did I mention the book is also illustrated? Well, it is. The illustrations are a perfect compliment to the words like profound lyrics to a well-crafted song. These are beautifully-done digital portraits in a wood cut style of various musicians and there's even one of author himself. The pictures alone could make for their own good book. I commend Margie Greve on her artistic talent and perfect contributions to this work.Overall, a well-structured masterpiece put together by two modern day artists made for a great summer read as well as a life-changing musical experience.

Who knew? 60s rockers gave blues pioneers a new market and a new lease on life, and those same pioneers taught some of those 60s stars how to play the old-time blues riffs. This very well-written book taught me a lot about how a mostly dying blues scene in the 1950s got an infusion of energy when guitar-slinging white boys literally went down to the Mississippi delta, found their idols who were hiding in plain sight and brought them north to begin new careers, and to cement blues into the rock explosion that occurred in the 1960s. A great book for fans and scholars of the blues and of the influence of the blues on rock 'n' roll.

Great Information about great music and how it impacted the Rock music I grew up with. Many said it was well written but basic information. I am the opposite. I liked the info (and will now move to learn more). However, there were several run-on sentences and lots of names dropped in a short time span. Made it hard to follow at times. Also, a couple of basic editorial misses. Overall I recommend for anybody that enjoys blues based rock and roll.

What a surprisingly wonderful book. I've read dozens of books on blues and blues artists, this book is not just the best book on blues and its influence on the white blues musicians that I've read, but simply the best non-fiction book I've ever read on any subject. It is easy to read and has provoked me to buy dozens of wonderful CD's. I love his anecdotal style and how he weaves different musicians' stories together, comparing and contrasting their backgrounds and influence on each other as well as d other musicians here and abroad. A must read for anyone interested in blues history and artists or anyone interested in the roots of popular music.

This is an essential title for anyone's blues library. There has been various books and articles over the years that have treated the nexus of the blues world of African Americans with the music world of mainstream or white society, from a folk angle, from a rock angle, from a British angle, and from a countercultural angle. This book by rock writer and critic John Milward brings all these angles together in one tightly and elegantly written book. Given Milward's rock background he spends considerable more time than would be expected on the rediscovery of the prewar country blues artists and their musical reentrance into the folk music scene. I was unfamiliar with the Bohemian Greenwich Village scene and was thoroughly enlightened in that regard. Much of his take on all the connections between the huge rock scene and blues artists relating to performances, recordings, and music techniques I was familiar with, but much was new to me. I did not follow Stevie Ray Vaughn's career, for example. Milward, a musician himself, is particularly good on explaining how blues artists' open tuning informed the music of Keith Richards. Chicago residents like me will particularly relate to Milward's discussions on the Chicago scene, where he discusses Big John's, the first north side club to book south and west side blues artists, such as Junior Wells, Little Walter, Jimmy Cotton, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters, and where the nexus with white blues artists came about with such bands as Goldberg-Miller Band, Paul Butterfield, and Corky Siegel.

It was the perfect gift for a music lover

This is a great book chock full of information that sounds anecdotal but is scholarly documented. A. Fast, interesting read that sent me collecting much of the mentioned recordings. I only took away a star because it ended so abruptly, focusing on never-was people who did not pique my interest.

A fairly detailed chronology of how the original (almost all-Negro) blues musicians and performers who embodied the tradition were THE influence on (mostly white) rock and roll musicians of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. This is an engaging read, the author has done significant research to find the links between the two related worlds and the result of that union. Fundamentally, North American and British pop/rock have their roots, or at least solid connectivity, either directly or indirectly with Delta, Chicago, or West Coast Blues culture. Covers a lot of ground with various details. British rock in the 60s gave exposure to the blues initially through groups like The Rolling Stones who championed R&B in their early recordings doing covers from blues masters, a brand and approach later picked up by other followers of the genre. Rock and roll from the 50s and 60s is essentially born out of this tradition, morphing into a different kind of presentation, but still containing elements that can be traced right back to their origin in the blues. Recommended reading.

This a very good book about how the influence of the blues on rock music.The author is a long time music critic and reporter who has been published in leading newspapers and music magazines and he has some very interesting stories to tell about influential bluesmen and their effect on American and British rockers who took the blues and reworked it into rock.Overall, a very worthwhile read for anyone who likes the blues and the later rock music it inspired and/or is interested in blues and rock history.

Great read for the novice too the blues or the seasoned veteran . Doesn't read like a text book more like a story book a real fun read .