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Country Blues => Weenie Campbell Main Forum => Books and Articles => Topic started by: Blues Vintage on April 01, 2010, 07:21:13 AM
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Is this book ever goin' to be published? I read somewhere he's maybe scared of Stephen Lavere cause the book contains a third picture of robert. there also rumors he has in his posession a unissued recording of robert johnson.
I don't know if this old news but I found this document on the net. Its a letter from frank driggs from columbia records to don law (present at the RJ recordings) In the letter among other things Don Law gives his discription of robert johnson. It also confirms that robert was picked up by the police on the first night.
Link from dallas observer;
http://www.scribd.com/doc/11129232/20090122125042109?from_email_04_friend_send=1&emid=11092176
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There's been a fair amount of MMcC discussion hereabouts, admittedly not directly concerned with the RJ LaVere debacle, but click the tag below to read what folk here have said in the past...
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Some more details on Robert Johnson's demise here:
http://thedeltablues.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/facts-around-johnsons-poisoning-killers-revealed/
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How interesting. To add to this I consulted the resident doctor about Marfans Syndrone and was given short lecture, the gist of which is Marfan's is indeed an 'orrible thing to have and the outlook is not great anyway. It's genetic, but for me the interesting thing that links this is the RJ picture showing of his hands and long fingers. Classic Marfan's has the measurement of the outstretched arms being more than the body height.
Live and learn.
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More recent stuff on Robert Johnson here:
http://blues.jfrewald.com/?tag=robert-johnson-death
Another story from the Greenwood Museum:
http://mymississippimemories.blogspot.com/2009/06/greenwood-blues-heritage-museum-and.html
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https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/718575/biography-of-a-phantom-by-robert-mack-mccormick-with-editors-preface-and-afterword-by-john-w-troutman/
publish date 4/23
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The drama of In Cold Blood meets the stylings of a Coen brothers film in this long-lost manuscript from musicologist Mack McCormick, whose research on blues icon Robert Johnson’s mysterious life and death became as much of a myth as the musician himself
Sounds like quite the hyperbole to me.
"including 40 unseen black-and-white photographs" !
Although I imagine most of those are of family, places, and acquaintances rather than Johnson himself.
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I took it as more of a description of Mack's writing style re: his manuscript, along with the legend and lore surrounding it, but we'll just have to wait and see. "The proof of the pudding," and all that...
"40 previously unpublished photos" is more like it, I would venture to guess. Like Dave says, most of them probably not of Robert, but to visually flesh out some background.
John Troutman is a solid historian who tends to stick to the facts (and whom I've met), so it will be interesting to read what he has to say.
Thanks for the update.
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Like I said in the first post of this topic, McCormick had at least one unpublished photo of Robert Johnson (Peter Guralnick saw it).
Taken on the same day where Robert wears the pinstripe suit. It was or is hidden in a safe in Mexico. We'll see if it's in the book.
But great this is finally coming out either way.
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Or not, one way or another. I have a lotta stuff hidden in safes in Mexico. Who doesn't? ;D
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According to Amazon, it's coming out in April (you can pre-order it now). However, there are a lot of people who trusted Mack McCormick and lived to regret it...
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here is the cover
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However, there are a lot of people who trusted Mack McCormick and lived to regret it...
I trusted Mack McCormick a lot more than Stephen LaVere. And he (McCormick) was evidently the better writer.
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I really hope the book comes out. Re. the topographic map on the book cover, any theories as to what that overlaid little arrow is pointing at? I compared it with Google Maps but couldn't pin the exact area down. I believe the town to the bottom right is Greenwood.
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Yes, it's Greenwood. Nothing but open fields, at least to my eye. You can orient by the Little Zion Baptist church, which shows up on google maps.
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It points to a Walmart.
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The site of the latest border dispute between Amazon and Starbucks
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I'm curious, what do those of you who eagerly await this book hope or expect to find in it?
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Hi John:
I wouldn't say I'm eagerly awaiting the book, but I'll be interested in seeing what John Troutman has done with Mack's material and what he has to say. As I mentioned, I've met John Troutman and corresponded with him. He's a solid scholar and historian. Hopefully he'll give Mack's material and RJ a fair shake from both a musician's and a historian's perspective and skill set.
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I really hope the book comes out. Re. the topographic map on the book cover, any theories as to what that overlaid little arrow is pointing at? I compared it with Google Maps but couldn't pin the exact area down. I believe the town to the bottom right is Greenwood.
I have a suspicion that the cover they're showing now is just a placeholder, and the real cover will be revealed closer to the release date of the book. It's just a guess. But it seems to me that a photo (of some kind) would be a more likely cover, and I'm surmising that they just don't want to spill the beans yet.
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I'm curious, what do those of you who eagerly await this book hope or expect to find in it?
I take the 5th, your honor. History perhaps? More than I knew last week?
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I wasn't even joking (maybe just a little). There is a walmart at approximately that spot, to the left of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta in Greenwood.
What hope to find in the book? Just new information about Robert Johnson and the blues in general.
From what I've heard and read it is THE manuscript blues scholars and aficionados are waiting for. Let's hope it can live up to it's expectations.
At the same time I know (members of this site know) the Robert Johnson/Crossroads story is overhyped.
There were so many great musicians from that era, and he seems to be the only (pre-war) blues player people know about. Which is irritating.
Maybe I'm not so excited about this book as I once was.
Excerpt from Blues Unlimited 117, Jan/Feb, 1976
As far back as 1967 it was obvious that the Texas work was beset with too many delays. I decided then to concentrate on field research outside of Texas and in time this began to focus on the outstanding mystery of Robert Johnson.
Very slowly and gradually a few breakthroughs were made. Each one stands amid dozens of false starts and dead ends, but during the 1970-73 period I located former neighbors and friends who had known him as a youth. I also traced his children, two half-sisters, a widow, and women who had known him closely if briefly.
In each case where a major relative was located, I made a share-of-earnings agreement with the individual in return for the information and personal reminiscences they could provide for this biography.
The work involved travel to Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Maryland, and other places where the people of Mississippi have scattered. These travels produced photographs of Robert Johnson, his family, as well as related documents and memorabilia.
It has also produced two concise, confirmed eye witness accounts of his murder.
This material is now a 12 chapter manuscript of 150,000 words undergoing final editing. It has an unusual narrative structure becoming a kind of detective story as it relates the quest and moves, step-by-step, through the five year search.
The book is also a tribute to those who preceded me, to the record collectors who guessed at clues I was sometimes in a position to follow up, and to other researchers whose published interviews made it possible for something fresh to be uncovered. It has been a collaborative process.
This is not a definitive book on Robert Johnson. I doubt if there ever will be such a thing. Let's just say that it answers a lot of the questions we've long been asking and puts him more fully in the context of his time and style of life. The final mystery of his incredible passion remains.
When it appears, please look upon it as a piece of work which was inspired by certain eloquent passages written about the mystery of Robert Johnson and by those blue air letter sheets which have been coming to me from a lot of people for a lot of years. I thank you for that inspiration.
Cordially, and with thanks to Blues Unlimited for carrying this message.
Mack McCormick
9023 Autauga
Houston
Texas, 77055
USA
October 28, 1975
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This book is now coming out on April 4, 2023. Description of the book:
The drama of In Cold Blood meets the stylings of a Coen brothers film in this long-lost manuscript from musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick, whose research on blues icon Robert Johnson's mysterious life and death became as much of a myth as the musician himself
When blues master Robert Johnson's little-known recordings were rereleased to great fanfare in the 1960s, little was known about his life, giving rise to legends that he gained success by selling his soul to the devil. Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey is musicologist Mack McCormick's all-consuming search, from the late 1960s until McCormick's death in 2015, to uncover Johnson's life story. McCormick spent decades reconstructing Johnson's mysterious life and developing theories about his untimely death at the age of 27, but never made public his discoveries. Biography of a Phantom publishes his compelling work for the first time, including 40 unseen black-and-white photographs documenting his search.
While knocking on doors and sleuthing for Johnson's loved ones and friends, McCormick documents a Mississippi landscape ravaged by the racism of paternalistic white landowners and county sheriffs. An editor's preface and afterword from Smithsonian curator John W. Troutman provides context as well as troubling details about McCormick's own impact on Johnson's family and illuminates through McCormick's archive the complex legacy of white male enthusiasts assuming authority over Black people's stories and the history of the blues.
While Johnson died before achieving widespread recognition, his music took on a life of its own and inspired future generations. Biography of a Phantom, filled with lush descriptive fieldwork and photographs, is an important historical object that deepens the understanding of a stellar musician.
http://www.randomhousebooks.com/books/718575/
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The book is now listed on Amazon for pre-order. Probably someone has already noted this.
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Here is more on the forthcoming book:
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-announces-new-releases-drawn-legendary-mack-mccormick-collection
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/smithsoninan-first-releases-mack-mccormick-blues-collection-1234683760/
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No new photos of Robert...
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Yes. I believe they were not published based on an ethical issue with Annye Anderson, as the interviews with Carrie Thompson were also excluded as stated in the intro. Interesting so far none the less.
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I did a search, but nothing came up for Brother Robert, so I'm posting these links here:
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/29/950794131/brother-robert-reveals-true-story-of-growing-up-with-blues-legend-robert-johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c97e5tM5sFQ
Something to do until Mack's book is released on Tuesday--Then I will be camping out by the mailbox in anticipation... ;)
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Yes. I believe they were not published based on an ethical issue with Annye Anderson, as the interviews with Carrie Thompson were also excluded as stated in the intro. Interesting so far none the less.
I'm sick and tired of this ongoing legislation. Mack and Stephen both passed away and still we're dealing this kind of crap. Ridiculous.
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The 4th Robert Johnson Photo - Bad News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr_prfpH_C4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr_prfpH_C4)
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Hopefully once it's released readers will focus on what it contains rather than what it doesn't contain--But I'm not holding my breath.
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I got my copy of Biography of a Phantom today and have read most of it. So far, no real new information, but a long drawn out search by McCormick. I find some of it to be an interesting insight into his manic research, and a few tantalizing memories from random people who have snippets of encounters with Johnson. Also photos and interviews of Mager and Ledell Johnson are unique. One great moment was Mack playing the original LP for a group of Mississippians who knew him and their reactions to hearing his music after a long while. They hadn't heard "Hellhound on my Trail" and were silenced by it's power. I'm starting the Chapter "Greenwood" which I'm guessing will be about his death. Annye Anderson mentioned in an interview that she is working on a second book. Maybe then we'll see the photo. She has been in contact with Mack's daughter about excluding the family interviews for ethical reasons, to which she complied.
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In today's Fretboard Journal e-blurb:
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/mack-mccormick-quest-to-find-real-robert-johnson/
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Thanks Stuart. A lot of new information in the article.
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My copy is on the way and I look forward to reading what John Troutman has written.
It's a difficult position to be in, but obviously Troutman and the Smithsonian are deferring to RJ's heirs with respect to who has first claim to the information and photos. Sure we'd like to have all the info Mack collected, but respecting the family's wishes and showing consideration for them isn't out of line, IMHO. Hopefully, it will appear in still another RJ book sooner rather than later. One could argue that the interviews given and the photos became Mack's and therefore should be included. However, owing to the improprieties on Mack's part mentioned in the article, what probably started out as a "gentleman's agreement," ended up as anything but. I wasn't there and don't know what really transpired between the various parties, but I'm guessing it left something to be desired.
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This is what happens when we glorify the "cowboys" over the scholars, who have ethical training and standards of research. When the information becomes more important than the people, when following the lead becomes more important than doing the background corroboration and when the monetary value becomes more important than anything, the research suffers. If Mack had been a scholar, attached to a university, all of his work, if gathered ethically, would have been catalogued and available, and untainted by these considerations. I applaud Mr. Troutman for giving the family ethical consideration. We can hope that they eventually receive proper consideration and release the information. But we do not automatically deserve to have it delivered to us just because it was gathered.
Wax
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But we do not automatically deserve to have it delivered to us just because it was gathered.
Wax
Exactly. To paraphrase an old saying, "There may not be any laws against it, but there are rules."
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I don't believe academic researchers are by definition more scrupulous and fair in their dealings with their interview subjects than are researchers without academic credentials or affiliations. A researcher's behavior would seem to be a function of personality and character as much as training or professional safeguards. There have been plenty of instances of academics stealing the work of colleagues or students.
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Amen.
I don't even really wanna read the book anymore, maybe I'll wait for a cheap second hand copy. Or somebody here who read the whole thing carefully have to convince me.
I'd rather order Mance Lipsomb's "I Say Me For A Parable".
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I generally concur, John, but in academia if one gets caught there can be serious professional consequences, so that can act as a deterrent. I agree with your assumption that like every walk of life the individual personalities range from decent, honest and upright people to psychologically maladjusted a******s--and it's the latter who cause the most problems.
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I'd rather order Mance Lipsomb's "I Say Me For A Parable".
That's a great book. If you haven't read it you should!
Chris
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No sense tainting the whole bushel because of a few bad apples, Johnm. I don't think freelancers are necessarily unethical by choice, but more likely due to ignorance. Ethics is complicated and not always mere common sense. In the modern age, academics actually take classes in ethics, as well as interviewing techniques. (Such as not asking leading questions. i.e "Does this sound like Robert Johnson to you?" the like of which I have seen many times in interview transcriptions.) And then there's the benefit of having all work systematically archived instead of being sent to a warehouse in Mexico as a security measure.
Wax
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I argued against tainting on the basis of identification in a group, not for it.
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...I don't even really wanna read the book anymore, maybe I'll wait for a cheap second hand copy. Or somebody here who read the whole thing carefully have to convince me.
I'd rather order Mance Lipsomb's "I Say Me For A Parable".
Hi Blues Vintage: I'll second Chris' recommendation re: Mance's book.
Yeah, reading the Texas Monthly article certainly gives one pause, but I think it is useful to try to put aside Mack's shortcomings and flaws (which were perhaps the manifestations of underlying mental illness) and focus on the information he gathered when reading the book as well as anything else he's written or collected during his researches. Obviously, Mack is always going to be "in there," but he was doing field work and collecting information about music and the people who made it--and as far as I know, not about himself. Simply dismissing it out of hand owing to Mack's involvement does a disservice to the people who were the focus of his researches. My advice is to call time out and wait to see what others have to say about the book after we have had time to read it and have given it some thought. There's no hurry. --Just my 2 cents.
One thing that was mentioned in the article are Mack's notes to the Henry Thomas Herwin LP. Greil Mascus is quoted as saying, [they are] “the best notes of their kind I have ever read.” I have to agree--they're right up there. I have a scan and if anyone wants a copy, send me a PM.
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New York Times review:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/books/mack-mccormick-robert-johnson-biography.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Books
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Thanks lindy, but I can't read it 'cause I don't have acces. For anyone who can, is there groundbreaking info in the article?
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Meanwhile somebody send me the article, thank you.
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This link is a 'gift' version:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/books/mack-mccormick-robert-johnson-biography.html?unlocked_article_code=C3cuhxoRi34ExnG68TBCuH3oiFjCwoYYge2_sCmGD3QklGpUJp8ck5sOPx38cYb41HuZh2dOW7c21FjdTcLqxVXCxlSGdpqplZAUC6uYpoOA-craToFUW2ppD7tADPL_lh5AP2E9XkKT6RQDnLFDPDy_mEiWQEnJNXXoYdVnUnY9A6h3i0ajWTPV30E2M1B3uFHo7oG14_yYaH8-d1RivbDcsIVI-FxbwGLNdNR4jBd_RV7IzQ4I_wCw7n6DLaOq2MQDP9peQfc6MoBNVdPTcHV_lpv1LSEZT7Qh0L5W0czMLi_kEkf_GDeveTYhGDHAOi_4HoPHgiwGyPpBxwRE69b6vZXfPlzwmKiTUmVXDII&giftCopy=3_Independent&smid=url-share
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Blues Vintage, I just now saw your request. David, thanks for forwarding that link.
L
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The book is out. It is immensely readable and confounding at the same time. The foreword and afterword are as essential as the main text. This NOT a biography of Johnson so much as a travelogue of McCormicks's "adventures" in finding more information on Johnson and his family. It is a troubling text in light of what has been revealed about McCormick's mental health and how he may have acquired certain information. There is no photograph, new or otherwise, of Johnson. There is no mention of an unheard recording and many rumors are dispelled.
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I loved reading it. For me, it was more like reading a fiction book and when I approached it that way, it was so enjoyable - I got a real sense of a place, and of people too. And most especially of Mack. Or, perhaps I should say, of "a certain Mack which might actually be a fictional Mack".
I never met him but I heard so much about him from Chris Strachwitz that I feel like I knew him a bit, or at least a lot about him.
Highly recommend as a quick easy read, don't take it too literally though!!!