Reference Sources

• AMG all music guide to the blues: the experts' guide to the best blues recordings, edited by Michael Erlewine ... [et al.]., REF ML156.4.B6 A44 1999
• The big book of blues: a biographical encyclopedia, by Robert Santelli, REF ML102.B6 S26 1993

• Biographical dictionary of Afro-American and African musicians, by Eileen Southern, REF ML105 .67

• Blues who's who: a biographical dictionary of Blues singers, by Sheldon Harris, REF ML102.B6 H3
• Book Review Index REF Z1219.B789 (1965-1984) and REF Z1219.B79 (1985-present)
• The Chess labels: a discography, by Michel Ruppli, REF ML156.2 .R783 1983
• Encyclopedia of the blues, by Gérard Herzhaft, REF ML102.B6 H413 1997
• Folk and blues: the encyclopedia, by Irwin Stambler & Lyndon Stambler, REF ML102.F66 S74 2001
• The Grove Press guide to the blues on CD, by Frank-John Hadley, REF ML156.4.B6 H3 1993
• A guide to the blues: history, who's who, research sources, by Austin Sonnier, Jr., REF
• See also Afro American Studies Reference Materials and Music Reference Materials.
• See also Reserve list for Afro Am 753 (which includes reference books as well as many recordings)

Books

• UMass Library Catalog Searches at http://www.library.umass.edu/cgi-bin/aka/babel.cgi?dokma=http://umlibr.library.umass.edu/ . Use the broad categories below to browse for sub-topics or to limit (by date, words in subject or words in title) for more focussed results. You may also search by individual artists as subject.
  Sample searches:
  • Blues Music
  • Blues Music Bibliography
  • Blues Music Discography
  • Blues Music History
  • Blues Music In Literature
  • Blues Music Texts
  • Blues Music To 1931
  • Blues Musicians
  • Holiday, Billie
  • Johnson, Robert D 1938 [as subject]
  • Patton, Charley [as subject]
  • Rainey, Ma [as subject]
  • Smith, Bessie [as subject]
  • Women Blues Musicians
• Net Library - online books
  • Blues Boy : The Life and Music of B.B. King by Sebastian Danchin.
    Jackson, Miss. University Press of Mississippi, 1998
  • Africa and the Blues by Gerhard Kubik.
    Jackson, Miss. University Press of Mississippi, 1999
  • Larkin's Blues : Jazz, Popular Music, and Poetry by B. J. Leggett.
    Baton Rouge Louisiana State University Press, 1999.
• WorldCat and Other Library Catalogs for searching other catalogs

Recordings

Search the UMass Library Catalog at http://www.library.umass.edu/cgi-bin/aka/babel.cgi?dokma=http://umlibr.library.umass.edu/ .

• An author search retrieves composers, performers, conductors and lyricists.
• Use the keyword search to search contents notes. For recordings which contain a collection of many individual works, the contents is usually listed in a contents note.
• You may also use a title search if you know the title of an album.
• Sample searches:
  • Broonzy, Big Bill [as perfomer]
  • Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order [Title]
  • Fuller, Blind Boy [as performer]
  • Holiday, Billie [as perfomer]
  • Johnson, Robert D 1938 [as perfomer]
  • Rainey, Ma [as perfomer]
  • Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers [Title]

Journals (for browsing and searching)

• Blues revue Per ML3520.8.B58
• Blues revue quarterly (1991-1994) Per ML3520.8.B58
• Cadence (1976-1995) Per ML3505.8.C3
• Down Beat Per ML1.D72, Microfilm A 544 and online
• Jazz & blues (1971-1973) Per ML5.J295
• Jazz journal and jazz & blues (1974) Per ML5.J35
• Jazz journal international Per ML5.J35
• Living blues Per ML1.L57 and Microfilm A 967

Databases (journal indexing and online journals)

• African American Biographical Database
• African American Song - Audio database which documents African American music, including jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, and narratives. Browse by category of music, region, genre, instrument, artist, ensemble, and time period. A playlist option is available.
• America: History and Life
• Arts and Humanities Citation Index (ISI Web of Science)
• Biography Resource Center
• Book Review Digest
• Ethnic Newswatch - Full-text articles from the newspapers, magazines and journals of ethnic communities in the United States.
• Expanded Academic Index ASAP (includes full text). Good for academic book reviews.
• International Index to Music Periodicals (For book reviews, type "Book Review" in <Document type> box.)
• JSTOR (full text)
• Lexis-Nexis - News section contains hundreds of newspapers from all over the world. Contains contemporary book reviews in news sources. (full text)
• MLA Bibliography - For literature research.
• New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
• Project MUSE (full text)
• RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
  
• Sociological Abstracts
• Web of Science - Allows multidisciplinary searches combining arts, humanities, social science and science. Good for seeing who cited whom. Good for academic book reviews. (Go to "Full Search", then "General Search", then "Set Search Limits" to "Book Reviews".)

Internet Resources

• The Blue Highway (http://www.thebluehighway.com/)
• BluesLand (http://www.bluesland.net/)
• Center for Black Music Research (http://www.cbmr.org/), a research unit of Columbia College Chicago devoted to research, preservation, and dissemination of information about the history of black music on a global scale.
• Roots & Rhythm (http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/)
  
• See also Afro American Studies Internet Links and Music Internet Links pages.

Reserves

Click here for Reserve Books and Paper Copies of Articles and eReserve articles for Afro American Studies 753 (when available).

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Prepared for Afro American Studies 753, Spring 2003. Professor Steve Tracy
Library guide by Isabel Espinal, Humanities & Anthropology Librarian