Harrison, Daphne Duval: Black Pearls

Harrison, Daphne Duval: Black Pearls: Blues Queens Of The 1920s

Published: 1988 Rutgers University Press, 299 pages
ISBN 0-8135-1280-8

Black Pearls is essentially divided into two parts. The first is a general history of the rise and heyday of the "classic" women blues singers of the 1920s. The second consists of four chapters, each of which is a short blend of biography and oral history of four singers: Sippie Wallace, Victoria Spivey, Edith Wilson, and Alberta Hunter. Illustrated with photographs and period record advertisements. Includes notes, glossary of colloquialisms, selected discography, bibliography, and index.

Pros: A good overview of a neglected area of blues history, written in a way that is accessible to the non-specialist reader.

Cons: One wishes for more - the book could easily be twice the length without wearing out its welcome. The discography, which lists mainly LPs, is sadly out of date.