Quotes from Elijah Wald

Many people in the early 1960s shared a sense that things had gone horrifically wrong, without having a clear idea of how or when they would change.

They say, 'Take some graveyard dirt, you'll be a great guitar player.' Hacksaw Harney told me to try that, he said that's why he play so good. He took me along with him to get some, but I got about halfway there, and I said no. He said, 'You got to do that if you want to be a better player.' I said I guessed I was good enough.

Another common way to define blues is as a tradition that employs a range of tonal and rhythmic practices originating in West Africa.

Johnson was unknown to the vast majority of the blues audience and ignored by all but a handful of his musical peers until the "blues revival" hit in the 1960s.

So, depending on the situation, one can define blues in emotional, musical, cultural, or commercial terms, and these definitions overlap at times and diverge at others.

When did blues emerge? We have all heard variations on a mythic answer: The blues been here since time began Since the first lyin' woman met the first cheatin' man.

As Dylan's reputation grew over the next couple of years, those traits went hand in hand. Shelton had previously called him "one of the most compelling white blues singers ever recorded," but now wrote, "His voice is small and homely, rough but ready to serve the purpose of displaying his songs.

To me, the best that music can be is a medium up-tempo twelve-bar blues in F.