World Don't Owe Me Nothing: The Life and Times of Delta Bluesman Honeyboy Edwards
This vivid oral snapshot of an America that planted the blues is full of rhythmic grace. From the son of a sharecropper to an itinerant bluesman, Honeyboy’s stories of good friends Charlie Patton, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs, and Robert Johnson are a godsend to blues fans. History buffs will marvel at his unique perspective and firsthand accounts of the 1927 Mississippi River flood, vagrancy laws, makeshift courts in the back of seed stores, plantation life, and the Depression.
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Bluesman Honeyboy Edwards memoir detailing firsthand accounts of the 1927 Mississippi River flood, vagrancy laws, makeshift courts in the back of seed stores, plantation life, and the Depression. Washington Post A valuable record of a way of life that has all but disappeared.
This vivid oral snapshot of an America that planted the blues is full of rhythmic grace. From the son of a sharecropper to an itinerant bluesman, Honeyboy's stories of good friends Charlie Patton, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs, and Robert Johnson are a godsend to blues fans. History buffs will marvel at his unique perspective and firsthand accounts of the 1927 Mississippi River flood, vagrancy laws, makeshift courts in the back of seed stores, plantation life, and the Depression.
\ Washington PostA valuable record of a way of life that has all but disappeared.\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalYAThis biography is a blend of music, history, and masterful storytelling. Edwards does not have any regrets about his 65 plus years as a traveling country-blues musician. Now 82, he lovingly describes community life and family events during this childhood. Arranged chronologically, the book transports readers back to the days of the Depression and the harsh realities of segregation. As a young musician, "Honeyboy" walked, hitchhiked, or hoboed to various destinations under the threat of vagrancy laws. He was arrested by white sheriffs or farmers and sent to the county farm or jail. He doesn't cover up the brutality that he experienced due to class and color. He spins tales of gambling, romance, and classic blues artists, both male and female. Finally he reflects on his God-given talent. He writes vividly of another time and place. Appendixes include brief biographical sketches on blues performers and their songs and Honeyboy's recordings. Black-and-white pictures depict the places and people he mentions. Honeyboy's passion for the blues and his strong recollections will absorb readers.Connie Freeman, Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN\ \ \ BooknewsStill touring at age 82, Edwards recounts his musical career, which began at age 17 in riverboats, juke joints, and good-timing houses along the Mississippi Delta and eventually brought him to settle in Chicago in the 1930s. He also talks about his childhood on the plantation, the 1927 Mississippi River flood, vagrancy laws, courts in the back of seed stores, the racial problems and economics of southern blacks, and the Depression. Appendices profile people mentioned, and list songs and recordings. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.\ \ \ \ \ From The CriticsFans of blues music and musicians will relish this autobiography of Delta bluesman Edwards, which charts his rise to fame and his survival in a critical musical world. His firstperson observations of the changing blues style and field are especially meaningful given that so many blues titles are not written by participants in the field.\ \
