A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing Them

by Buzzy Jackson

Book Overview

An exciting lineage of women singers--originating with Ma Rainey and her prot g e Bessie Smith--shaped the blues, launching it as a powerful, expressive vehicle of emotional liberation. Along with their successors Billie Holiday, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Janis Joplin, they injected a dose of reality into the often trivial world of popular song, bringing their message of higher expectations and broader horizons to their audiences...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393059367
• ISBN13: 9780393059366
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Compelling take on blues history

Some readers may be familiar with the general contours of the lives of the women presented here--Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin, and others. But the way that Jackson weaves together these stories against the tapestry of 20th Century American culture is original and compelling. Jackson convincingly shows how different woman blues singers (and later rock and alt country singers) drew on each other's work for inspiration. Their contributions were cultural and social as well as artistic. Most importantly, for potential readers--Jackson tells a good story. The writing is gripping and fast-paced. I recommend it highly.