| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Some Caveats | p. 4 |
| The Roots of The Blues: 1619-1919 | p. 5 |
| Timeline: 1619-1919 | p. 5 |
| History and Origins of the Blues | p. 6 |
| African Musical Traits in African American Music | p. 9 |
| African American Spirituals | p. 10 |
| Early Black Secular Music | p. 13 |
| The Minstrel Show | p. 14 |
| The Early Blues | p. 17 |
| Social Conditions at the Birth of the Blues: 1870s-1900 | p. 17 |
| The Blues: 1890-1920 | p. 18 |
| Subject Matter | p. 20 |
| Ragtime and Early Jazz | p. 21 |
| Blues Structure | p. 23 |
| Learning to Play or Sing the Blues | p. 25 |
| Summary | p. 27 |
| The 1920s: Documented Beginnings of the Classic and Rural Blues | p. 28 |
| Timeline: The 1920s | p. 28 |
| Ma Rainey and Her Influence on the Blues | p. 30 |
| Bessie Smith: Empress of the Blues | p. 33 |
| The Recordings and Importance of Bessie Smith | p. 35 |
| He Done Me Wrong: Classic Blues Subjects | p. 37 |
| Other Blues Women of the 1920s | p. 39 |
| Women and the Folk Blues | p. 42 |
| Jazz Influences on the Blues | p. 43 |
| Summary | p. 43 |
| The Folk Blues: 1920-1940 | p. 44 |
| Timeline: 1920-1940 | p. 44 |
| African American Musical Styles | p. 44 |
| Why the Classic Blues Were Recorded Before the Folk Blues | p. 45 |
| Blind Lemon Jefferson | p. 47 |
| The Jug Bands | p. 50 |
| Delta Blues | p. 52 |
| Charley Patton | p. 52 |
| Robert Johnson: His Life, the Music, the Controversies, and the Legend | p. 54 |
| The Impact of Robert Johnson | p. 69 |
| Other Mississippi Artists | p. 70 |
| Piedmont and Other Regional Styles | p. 71 |
| Leadbelly and Lonnie Johnson | p. 73 |
| Mr. Charley's Blues: White Blues Performers | p. 74 |
| Holy Blues | p. 77 |
| The Role of Individual Instruments | p. 77 |
| Memphis Minnie: Women and the Folk Blues | p. 80 |
| Summary | p. 81 |
| Rhythm and Blues and the Beginning of Electric Blues: 1940-1960 | p. 82 |
| Timeline: 1940-1960 | p. 82 |
| Chicago Blues: 1935-1950 | p. 83 |
| Rhythm and Blues | p. 86 |
| The Blues Go Electric: T-Bone Walker | p. 86 |
| Muddy Waters and the Chicago Delta Sound | p. 88 |
| John Lee Hooker and B.B. King | p. 89 |
| The Record Business in Postwar America | p. 90 |
| Rhythm and Blues vs. the Blues | p. 93 |
| Texas Goes to California: The LA R&B scene | p. 94 |
| New York and the Doo-wop Groups | p. 95 |
| New Orleans | p. 96 |
| Rock and Roll and the Blues: 1954-1960 | p. 97 |
| Summary | p. 99 |
| The Blues Revival: 1960-1980 | p. 100 |
| Timeline: 1960-1980 | p. 100 |
| The Folk Revival | p. 101 |
| The Strange Career of Josh White | p. 102 |
| Blues Scholarship and Rediscovered Blues Singers | p. 103 |
| Protest Music and the Blues | p. 105 |
| The Young, White Blues Singers | p. 108 |
| The New Independent Record Labels | p. 111 |
| Why the Blues Became Popular? | p. 112 |
| The Blues Goes Abroad | p. 113 |
| American Blues-Rock Bands | p. 116 |
| Jimi Hendrix | p. 117 |
| Black Gospel Music | p. 117 |
| Soul Music | p. 118 |
| Building a New Blues Audience | p. 120 |
| Louisiana Blues: The Sound of the Swamp | p. 121 |
| The Blues Roll on in Chicago | p. 122 |
| B.B. King's Career and Influence | p. 124 |
| Blues Music Economics | p. 125 |
| Artistic Control | p. 128 |
| Summary | p. 129 |
| The New Generation of Blues Artists: 1980-Today | p. 130 |
| Timeline: 1980-2003 | p. 130 |
| The Late 1970s: The Blues Hiatus | p. 130 |
| Bonnie Raitt | p. 131 |
| Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Austin Blues Scene | p. 132 |
| Independent Labels Fill the Void | p. 133 |
| The Return of Robert Johnson | p. 134 |
| The Emergence of Young, Black Blues Artists | p. 135 |
| Blacks, Whites, and the Blues | p. 137 |
| Women of the Blues | p. 139 |
| The Young Turks: The Blues Rockers | p. 140 |
| Zydeco | p. 141 |
| Regional Music | p. 142 |
| The International Blues | p. 142 |
| Current Outlets for the Blues | p. 142 |
| The Martin Scorsese Blues Series | p. 143 |
| Feel Like Going Home | p. 145 |
| The Soul of a Man | p. 146 |
| The Road to Memphis | p. 148 |
| Warming by the Devil's Fire | p. 150 |
| Godfathers and Sons | p. 151 |
| Red, White and Blues | p. 152 |
| Piano Blues | p. 154 |
| Summary | p. 155 |
| Appendix | |
| Note | p. 157 |
| Bibliography | p. 157 |
| Social Histories | p. 157 |
| The Blues and Africa | p. 158 |
| The Minstrel Period | p. 158 |
| Ragtime | p. 158 |
| Social and Musical Background of the Blues | p. 159 |
| Classic Blues | p. 161 |
| Black Country Blues | p. 162 |
| Gospel and Holy Blues | p. 163 |
| Urban Blues, Rockabilly, Rock Blues, the Folk and Blues Revivals, British Blues | p. 163 |
| Protest Music | p. 164 |
| R&B and Soul | p. 164 |
| Cajun, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop | p. 165 |
| The Blues Today | p. 165 |
| Biographies and Autobiographies | p. 165 |
| Collections of Lyrics | p. 167 |
| Songbooks (Words and Music) | p. 168 |
| Record Companies and the Music Business | p. 168 |
| Miscellaenous: Record Guides, Regional Blues, etc. | p. 169 |
| Discography | p. 171 |
| Boxed Sets | p. 171 |
| Black Secular Music Before the Blues | p. 172 |
| Classic Blues Singers: Women of the 1920s | p. 174 |
| Holy Blues | p. 174 |
| Jug Bands | p. 175 |
| Piedmont Blues | p. 175 |
| Mississippi Delta Blues | p. 176 |
| Texas Blues | p. 177 |
| Songsters | p. 177 |
| White Country Blues | p. 177 |
| Urban Blues of the 1930s | p. 178 |
| Various Instruments | p. 179 |
| Social Protest and Commentary | p. 179 |
| Chicago: Early Electric Blues | p. 179 |
| R&B and Soul | p. 180 |
| Chicago: Classic Electric Blues | p. 182 |
| White American and the British Blues Revivalists | p. 182 |
| Rock and Roll | p. 184 |
| Cajun, Zydeco, and Louisiana Swamp Rock | p. 184 |
| The New Black Blues Artists | p. 184 |
| Young Guns | p. 185 |
| Beyond Category | p. 185 |
| Instructional Materials and Videos | p. 186 |
| Books | p. 186 |
| Audio and Visual Materials | p. 188 |
| Performance and Documentary Videos | p. 188 |
| Index | p. 191 |
| Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved. |