Waiting for Buddy Guy: Chicago Blues at the Crossroads by Alan Harper (review)

American blues music exists happily between myth and history, and this book illuminates both. Harper’s thoroughly engaging book harkens back to the origin myth of the blues, which rose from the Mississippi Delta, and features a forever-youthful Robert Johnson who makes a deal with the devil at the crossroads. Harper captures another crossroad, the transition of the Chicago blues from the first generation to the second. The first generation included the towering figures of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. The second featured Buddy Guy and KoKo Taylor. The generational lines are not clearly drawn, but the former is associated with record labels of the 1950s, such as Chess, and the latter with the rise of Alligator Records. The transition is noteworthy, especially in light of the unofficial mantle of the “King of the Blues” being transferred to Buddy Guy with the death of B.B. King in 2015.

Harper brings an anthropological approach to his subject. He traveled from England to Chicago on three separate research visits, and he attended blues performances at a number of clubs. Along the way, he bought LPs, traveled by public transportation, and even drank a few Old Style Beers. He recorded interviews with musicians, bar owners, record producers, and radio broadcasters. As they say at the racetrack, he got his information straight from the horse’s mouth.

In fewer than 200 pages, Harper reflects on many of the important questions of blues music. Who can be said to “authentically” play the blues? How did this music spread? How did musicians and club owners earn money? Who is the audience? How is success measured? He also touches on the difference between traditional and rock-influenced blues. Finally, he out-lines the core issues of race and class in the blues. The book unravels a great deal about its history and legacy.

Well-written and engaging, Harper’s excitement at spending time with musicians is contagious. He provides the vicarious thrill of taking a bar stool or sitting in a car with blues players Jimmy Walker, Sugar Blue, Carey Bell, and Willie Dixon. Readers also get a sense of what it was like going to clubs in 1979, 1982, and 1985. Harper studies the core clubs: Buddy Guy’s Checkerboard Lounge, B.L.U.E.S., Kingston Mines, and Theresa’s Tavern.

Harper draws on a fine education in writing his book on the Chicago blues. He actively recorded interviews and attended a great number of performances, and he included his list of shows in the appendix. In this way, the author is revealed to be a dedicated and passionate researcher. He emerges as someone who is a keen observer and tour guide of sorts. He also has played some guitar, which is helpful for someone writing about music and musicians. The book does have some weaknesses. It is not easy to skim and needs better subject headings to make the organization transparent. Also, the author’s anthropological approach should have been set out clearly from the start.

Harper provides an important addition to the cornerstones of blues studies: Charles Keil’s Urban Blues (1966, 1991) and Robert Palmer’s Deep Blues (1981). Keil highlighted the importance of Blues to provide insight into the African American community. He focused on B.B. King and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Palmer traced the blues to the Mississippi Delta. Harper captures an understudied period of the music on the cusp of the digital divide.

Rather than writing as a blues purist, Harper writes as an extremely well informed fan. He is forthcoming about his musical roots. Like so many people, he first listened to Eric Clapton and John Mayall and traced the roots of the blues back to the Mississippi Delta in the United States. His lively narrative focuses on the big picture and provides some keen insights. For example, he observes that there is often an overlap between blues and Jazz audiences. Yet, the blues harmonica...