Thanks to various Weenies for the kind words and flagging of the newspaper publicity....it is ironic that the attention is given to what IS a "very small slice" of the the book: the Lomax/Fisk controversy.
Much more interesting--and what I prefer to point out--is the wonderful musical/sociological detail in the original manuscripts.
I've been pretty deep into A-A gospel for more than 30 years and I've wondered what "Rocking Daniel" was since I first heard Mahalia sing it. It's explained in the book.
The list of tunes Muddy played at a white dance in Coahoma, 1943?
It's in the book (and supports Elijah Wald's thesis in "Escaping the Delta").
The impact of Thomas A. Dorsey on gospel music? and why?
Work, Jones, and Adams really nailed the musical context and that's the meat....the newspapers, however, aren't mostly read by musicians so the "story" becomes what you see in the Trib and the Times ("Lomax Rips Off Blacks", etc.). ....Sigh.
But all publicity helps, I guess. The book is doing well, and, Lord knows, Fisk can use the royalty.
Sorry to take up so much bandwidth, but people here know the difference and I wanted to let you know I appreciate it.
bruce
