“Documents the integral but underappreciated center of blues music—Baton Rouge, Louisiana—with style and grit and no illusions or highfalutin’ worship.”
—David Kunian, award-winning documentarian
and music curator for the Louisiana State Museum
This intensely personal and entertaining account is a snapshot of Blues from an outsider welcomed into the inner circles of Southern Blues icons. In his early forties, Englishman Julian C. Piper spent a year abroad at Louisiana State University studying and played blues primarily at the Blues Box in Baton Rouge. There he met many of the musicians with whom he conducted interviews between 1987 and 1988. Those interviews form the basis of this book. Through his close friendship with Blues Box owner Tabby Thomas and his son Chris, Piper collected stories of blues luminaries including Silas Hogan, Robert Pete Williams, Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, Lonesome Sundown, Chris Thomas King, Lightening Slim, and many more.
About the Author
Writer and blues guitarist Julian C. Piper is the reviews editor for Acoustic magazine. Since hearing Muddy Waters as a teenager, he has been passionate about blues music. While pursuing a degree in American and Commonwealth arts at the University of Exeter, he was encouraged to journey to Louisiana. Piper broadcast a series on BBC national radio called Blues on the Bayou based on his experience. He returns frequently to the States to perform and has played at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
BLUES FROM THE BAYOU:
The Rhythms of Baton Rouge
By Julian C. Piper
MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Blues
208 pp. 5.5 x 8.5
47 photos Notes Index
ISBN: 9781455623099