The Blues Come to Texas

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African American Studies

2020 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research: Best Historical Research in Recorded Blues, Soul, Gospel, or R&B, Certificate of Merit

From October 1959 until the mid-1970s, Paul Oliver and Mack McCormick collaborated on what they hoped to be a definitive history and analysis of the blues in Texas. Both were prominent scholars and researchers—Oliver had already established an impressive record of publications, and McCormick was building a sprawling collection of primary materials that included field recordings and interviews with blues musicians from all over Texas and the greater South.

Despite being eagerly awaited by blues fans, folklorists, historians, and ethnomusicologists who knew about the Oliver-McCormick collaboration, the intended manuscript was never completed.

In 1996, Alan Govenar, a respected writer, folklorist, photographer, and filmmaker, began a conversation with Oliver about the unfinished book on Texas blues. Subsequently, Oliver invited Govenar to assist him, and when Oliver became ill, Govenar enlisted folklorist and ethnomusicologist Kip Lornell to help him contextualize and document the existing manuscript for publication.

The Blues Come to Texas: Paul Oliver and Mack McCormick’s Unfinished Book presents an unparalleled view into the minds and methods of two pioneering blues scholars.

John and Robin Dickson Series in Texas Music, sponsored by the Center for Texas Music History, Texas State University

About the Author

PAUL OLIVER (1927–2017) was professor at Oxford Brookes University, a leading authority on blues history, and author of a score of books on blues and vernacular architecture. ROBERT “MACK” McCORMICK (1930–2015) was a folklorist and blues researcher widely acclaimed for his field interviews, liner notes, and recordings with Texas blues musicians. ALAN B. GOVENAR is the author of Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound, Everyday Music, and other titles. He is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and currently resides in Dallas, Texas. KIP LORNELL teaches courses in American music and ethnomusicology at George Washington University. His most recent book (with Anne Rasmusen) is Musics of Multicultural America. He resides in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Reviews

“Make no mistake — this is not some dusty tome, but rather a vibrant piece of research . . . it will be a source for blues researchers and aficionados to dip into with wonderment for years to come.”—Texas Observer

“One of the most important books about blues history to appear since 2000. . . . Govenar and Lornell’s recovery and polishing of this long-delayed work deserves unqualified rejoicing.”— ARSC Journal

“Long awaited by blues scholars, The Blues Come to Texas: Paul Oliver and Mack McCormick’s Unfinished Book gives incredibly rich information on the history of blues in the Lone Star State and parts of nearby Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.While there is excellent information on well-known Texas artists like Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Mance Lipscomb, The Blues Come to Texas is especially fascinating for its research into blues musicians little known outside this study.—Journal of Southern History

“Here’s the whole story”—Big City Rhythm and Blues

Published by Texas A&M University Press