Monday, June 25, 2012

Books And The Blues

I am not a big fan of hot weather. Summer is my least favorite time of year. This week we have a very good chance of reaching temperatures of 100 degrees. During the summer months I have no grandparent duties on the weekends. I did go visit my mother on Saturday afternoon but most of the weekend I stayed at home. I spent most of my time reading, listening to music, and taking naps. I love books. I received a couple for Father’s Day and I’ve already finished one of them. Have you ever enjoyed a book so much that you actually feel a little sad when you have finished it? In the last week I have read the autobiography of Gregg Allman called “My Cross To Bear”. It was like re-living the last 40+ years of my musical adventures. I have seen Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers Band more than any other rock and roll band including the Grateful Dead. I am not so much interested in the personal lives of rock stars as I am in what was going on behind the music. I not only enjoy listening to music, I enjoy studying the history of music. I have already started reading another book which is the autobiography of Buddy Guy. He is the greatest living bluesman. I have seen him many times and at one of his concerts, as I stood in front of the stage, he leaned down and gave me his guitar pick. Both of these books are in some ways a history of the blues. Gregg Allman is considered by many as the greatest white blues singer. Buddy got his start in the south before moving to Chicago and sitting at the feet of such great bluesmen as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Howlin’ Wolf. I can’t wait to get home so I can put some blues on my stereo and continue my reading.






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