Congrats, Bob!
That’s my brother-in-law(!), Bob Riesman, being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis last week for his seminal biography, “I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy.”
From the publisher (University of Chicago Press):
“‘I Feel So Good’ traces Big Bill’s career from his rise as a nationally prominent blues star, including his historic 1938 appearance at Carnegie Hall, to his influential role in the post-World War II folk revival, when he sang about racial injustice alongside Pete Seeger and Studs Terkel.
Riesman’s book takes readers into the jazz clubs and concert halls of Europe, as Big Bill’s overseas tours in the 1950s ignited the British blues-rock explosion of the 1960s. Interviews with Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and Ray Davies reveal Broonzy’s profound impact on the British rockers who would follow him and change the course of popular music.”
The honor couldn’t be more deserved, and places Bob in the illustrious company of other 2018 inductees including The Aces, Mamie Smith, Roebuck Pop Staples, and Sam Lay.
Congrats, Bob! We couldn’t be prouder . . .
P.S.: Attending the awards ceremony was oddly reminiscent of attending a Wild (hockey) home game.
In both cases, it felt like the very much “in” crowd got things — musical references in the former case, blown referee calls in the latter — a second (or two) before you did.
