(ThyBlackMan.com) When I think about the roots of blues music—the raw honesty, the pain wrapped in poetry, the joy carved out of hardship—I think of Ma Rainey. Her voice was more than a sound; it was ...

Because blues music is so old and dates back even before vinyl records and other recording means, there remains a significant amount of mystery regarding its early years. Born in the American South ...

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page hates “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman).” The Led Zeppelin II track seamlessly flows from the excellent “Heartbreaker,” which led radio DJs to keep the needle ...

(ThyBlackMan.com) There’s something about Buddy Guy that hits you right in the gut—the way he bends a string, the way his voice trembles with heartbreak, the way he pours a lifetime of joy and sorrow ...

The history of blues music is drenched in melancholy. Merriam-Webster tells us the first known use was in 1741, originating from “blue devils.” So it’s no surprise when some of the most gut-wrenching ...

This isn’t a book for the fainthearted. It’s certainly not for the puritanical. This magnificent, raunchy exploration of early blues lyrics contains references so scabrous they would make a pirate ...

What better way to glorify the band that was “more popular than Jesus” than with the voice of God? The sonorous presence of actor Morgan Freeman will be one of the highlights of the Beatles on the ...