Preachin' the Blues - The Life and Times of Son House by Daniel Beaumont

As with many older, somewhat obscure bluesmen, Son House came to prominence mostly due to the 50's and 60's blues and folk revival embraced by young white folks. House was "rediscovered" by three white men who, buoyed by the recent reappearance of the likes of Mississippi John Hurt and Bukka White, went on a search for House and, after a few detours and false leads, they found the man in Rochester, New York, of all places. House, though, had put his guitar aside but keep his liquor on hand, so his newfound career had a few more bumps in the road than some of the other older musicians. Undaunted, the friends did manage to bring him back and to prominence with a new audience and a new recording career.

House's younger days are a bit more vague, as was common for older blacks, but the vagueness was exacerbated by House's drinking and general confusion with time - dates, length of time spent in one place, and ages - and lack of details in his storytelling. Despite all of this, Beaumont gathers enough different sources to put together a reasonable depiction of the man's life, from working as a sharecropper to a blues-disdaining preacher to a slide-guitar bluesman, and all of the various contradictions and demons that accompanied these changes.

During House's career he crossed paths and worked with many famous bluesmen - Willie Brown was a working partner, Robert Johnson would sit at his feet trying to learn guitar, Howlin' Wolf was also a disciple who would play harp with House and Brown (love the story of the three of them dating three sisters!) and even Muddy Waters was captivated by the man. But eventually, House stopped playing for a variety of reasons and, after working various jobs, he ended up retiring in Rochester, New York, where the afore-mentioned young men found him in a apartment in the poorer, black section of town.

When Beaumont concentrates on House's "rediscovery" he recounts House's continued addiction to alcohol but even with this drawback, House records, plays throughout the States and even tours Europe more than once. The Rochester connection leads to an interesting interaction with Armand Schaubroeck, known in underground rock'n'roll circles for his band, Armand Schaubroeck Steals, and his House of Guitars store (with its connections to the Chesterfield Kings and the Gizmos), but in the late 60's/early 70's, he also ran a coffee house, Studio 9, where Son House would play and pack the place. Later, after a bout of frostbite - due to passing out drunk in the snow while walking home from a bar - House's dexterity was never the same and he toured Europe one final time, in which he had to takes breaks after a few songs, before essentially retiring from his newfound fame. He would continue to play locally with younger musicians, though, as long as they would "prime the pump" by providing him with booze. This lasted a few years until, while battling dementia, he moved to Detroit to stay with his wife's children, until he eventually passed.

Beaumont does a terrific job with a difficult subject and keeps the story flowing even throughout the years when the tale becomes a little clouded. But, he obviously has a love for the man's music and really did his best to give a true picture of the man's life. Well done!