About the Author

Robert Sacré, Liege, Belgium, worked in Africa in the 1960s and '70s, where he took an interest in Western African music and the roots of African American music. Since 1983, he has taught the ""Story of African American Music & Literature"" at the University of Liege. He has conducted field trips nearly every year since 1975 to the US, researching blues, R&B, black gospel, and folk styles. He is author of articles in journals of musicology, entries in blues and gospel encyclopedias, and books for many publishers in America and abroad.

Reviews

On the fiftieth anniversary of Charley Patton's death, a distinguished group of blues scholars gathered in Liège, Belgium, at a conference organized by Robert Sacré, to discuss Patton's life and work and his importance in the history and evolution of the blues. Three years later, the conference papers were published in a no-frills, limited edition of two hundred copies, which quickly became an elusive and much sought-after collector's item. This updated and amended reprint, which is enhanced by the inclusion of unpublished photographs from the archives of David Evans, makes these important essays on Charley Patton generally available for the first time.--Guido van Rijn, author of Roosevelt's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on FDR and Kennedy's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on JFK, both published by University Press of Mississippi

The publication works both as a record of conference proceedings and as a historical snapshot of significant blues scholarship.--Gregory Hansen, Arkansas State University "Journal of Folklore Research"