Woman With Guitar: Memphis Minnie's Blues

Rating:
Summary: A poorly done biography of a blues legend.
Review: There are so many poorly researched segments in this biography, that to list them would be too lengthy. Half of the book is biography, the other half academic deconstructions of Minnie's songs. The first 30 years of her life is nearly absent; questions remain unanswered even after that. The one good thing about this work, is that there's all sorts of room left for someone to write a definitive--or even near definitive--biography of this great blues singer and song writer.

Rating:
Summary: A poorly done biography of a blues legend.
Review: There are so many poorly researched segments in this biography, that to list them would be too lengthy. Half of the book is biography, the other half academic deconstructions of Minnie's songs. The first 30 years of her life is nearly absent; questions remain unanswered even after that. The one good thing about this work, is that there's all sorts of room left for someone to write a definitive--or even near definitive--biography of this great blues singer and song writer.

Rating:
Summary: Essential for poets, feminists, music scholars & historians.
Review: This much-needed study documents the life and work of Lizzie "Kid" Douglas, preeminent blues vocalist and guitarist, c. 1920-1950. Poets will appreciate the careful transcriptions and interpretations of Minnie's lyrics; scholars, the meticulous research; and feminists, the story line of a rough n' ready woman making her way in the music business. Fifty photographs of Minnie, her record contracts and sheet music, and period advertisements, further vivify this portrait of an African-American musical legend