Book Review
Jul. 11th, 2020 11:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariBeyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition
by Adam Gussow
Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition is pretty much what it says in the title: an examination of the devil in the music and culture of the blues. Gussow discusses the branding of the blues as "devil music" by early Black evangelical churches, the way the blues used the devil to signify the evils of whites during the Jim Crow era, and the portrayal of devil as a romantic trickster figure. Gussow also gives a lot of attention to the myth of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads to gain musical prowess, addressing not only the myth itself, but also the way it is invoked in the problematic 1986 film Crossroads, and they way it is used to spur tourism by the town of Clarksdale Mississippi. This all makes for an interesting and illuminating read, and reminded me how much I like Delta blues. I especially loved the way that Gussow's myth-busting around Robert Johnson reveals a reality that is just as rich and magical as the crossroads story.
by Adam Gussow
Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition is pretty much what it says in the title: an examination of the devil in the music and culture of the blues. Gussow discusses the branding of the blues as "devil music" by early Black evangelical churches, the way the blues used the devil to signify the evils of whites during the Jim Crow era, and the portrayal of devil as a romantic trickster figure. Gussow also gives a lot of attention to the myth of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads to gain musical prowess, addressing not only the myth itself, but also the way it is invoked in the problematic 1986 film Crossroads, and they way it is used to spur tourism by the town of Clarksdale Mississippi. This all makes for an interesting and illuminating read, and reminded me how much I like Delta blues. I especially loved the way that Gussow's myth-busting around Robert Johnson reveals a reality that is just as rich and magical as the crossroads story.
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Date: 2020-07-11 04:48 pm (UTC)Nice!
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Date: 2020-07-15 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-15 06:57 pm (UTC)Seriously!