Hidden History of Mississippi Blues book (The History Press)
by Roger Stolle with photos by Lou Bopp and forward by Jeff Konkel
Book Signing event & Photo Exhibit reception – 3PM
@ Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art
252 Delta Avenue, Clarksdale, MS 38614
662-624-5992 – www.cathead.biz
View the book cover or pre-order:
The History Press, https://www.historypress.net/indexsecure.php?prodid=9781609492199
About the event:
Roger Stolle (author), Lou Bopp (photographer) and Jeff Konkel (‘forward’) will sign first editions of the new book. Bopp will also be featured during an exclusive photography exhibit at Cat Head. FREE refreshments and live blues entertainment during event. 3pm.
About the book:
Hidden History of Mississippi Blues begins with author Roger Stolle’s own personal journey from Midwestern white suburbia and big-city corporate America to a fascinating foreign land so close to home — the Mississippi Delta. Then, through both ancient and recent history, the book tells the compelling story of blues — sometimes in Stolle’s own voice, other times in the words of the men who were there and lived to tell about it. It is aimed at both new blues listeners as well as longtime fans, Stolle said. “Hidden History of Mississippi Blues is an overview of the music’s earliest days, height of popularity and current state of things,” explained Stolle. “One ‘hidden’ aspect of Mississippi blues is that it isn’t quite dead yet. It survives just under the radar in the juke joints and house parties of the Delta. It occasionally sticks its head out and gets on TV or goes on tour, but even then, it is such an archaic art form that many of the uninitiated aren’t really sure what to do with it once they’ve experience it. You need to either find it where it still lives naturally or have a tour guide to help you make a virtual journey. This book attempts to do a bit of both.”
About the photographs:
Commercial photographer and blues fan Lou Bopp has spent the last few years capturing the last of the true Delta bluesmen on film. After meeting author Roger Stolle in a juke joint and learning of the forthcoming book Hidden History of Mississippi Blues, Bopp signed on with The History Press as the book’s photographer. The results are stunning. From juke joints to cotton fields, from elderly bluesmen to the younger generation… Lou Bopp has sought to present the contemporary Mississippi blues scene… a hidden history unveiled. Bopp’s limited/signed/numbered photographs will be presented for sale during this event.