Wald, Elijah

Overthrowing the conventional pieties of mainstream jazz and rock history, Elijah Wald traces the evolution of popular music through developing tastes, trends and technologies--including the role of records, radio, jukeboxes and television--to give a fuller, more balanced account of the broad variety of music that captivated listeners over the course of the twentieth century.

Details the story of musician Robert Johnson as a focus for the complete history of the blues.

Chronicles the life of Robert Johnson, discussing how he transformed from obscure musician to one of the most important artists in early blues and a founding father of rock and roll; includes a CD with selections of blues music.