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The Blues Guide to the Knight Library's Music Services Dept.
(A Step-by-step Guide to doing Research
on the Blues)
I. Take a tour of the library.
Contact the Music Librarian, Leslie Bennett, at x6-1930 or by e-mail at lbennett@uoregon.edu
II. Consult a guide about resources in Blues research:
The blues : a bibliographical guide.
New York : Garland Pub., 1989.
[MUSIC REF. ML128.B49 H3 1989]
III. Read about the Blues in the following encyclopedias:
The New Grove dictionary of American music.
New York, N.Y. : Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1986. 4 v.
[MUSIC REF. ML101.U6N48 1986 v.1 -v.4 ]
Encyclopedia of the blues.
Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 1997.
[MUSIC REF. ML102.B6 H413 1997]
IV. Read about Blues artists in the following biographical resources:
The big book of blues : a biographical encyclopedia.
New York, N.Y. : Penguin, 1993.
[MUSIC REF. ML102.B6 H413 1997]
Blues who's who : a biographical dictionary of Blues singers.
New Rochelle, N.Y. : Arlington House, c1979.
[MUSIC REF. ML102.B6 H3]
Nouvelle encyclopedie du blues.
Paris : J. Grancher, c1984.
[MUSIC ML102.B6H43 1984]
The rock who's who. 2d ed.
New York : Schirmer Books ; London : Prentice Hall International, c1996.
[MUSIC REF.ML102.R6 H5 1996]
V. Read the back of recordings and discographies for information on the Blues, as listed in the following resources:
African American Song
An online audio database available to UO community members that features recordings from African American history, including cuts from Memphis Minnie, Huddie Ledbetter, as well as gospel and jazz recordings.
Each recording comes with liner notes and information about the performers.
Access to this collection is found by going to the UO Library's Videos & Music site, then clicking on Audio Resources Online.
San Francisco : Backbeat Books, 2003.
[MUSIC REF. ML156.4.B6 A45 2003]
Atlantic Records: a discography.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1979. 4 v.
[MUSIC REF. ML156.2 .R78 v.1 -v.4 ]
The Blackwell guide to recorded blues.
London: Blackwell Publishing, 1991.
[MUSIC REF. ML156.4.B6 B6 1991]
Blues in the Knight: a Discography of the holdings of the Knight Library's Douglass Listening Room.
Available on the web at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/Discographies/Blues/bluesdisco.html
The Chess labels: a discography.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1983. 2 v.
[MUSIC REF. ML156.2.R783 1983 v.1 & v.2]
Guide des disques de jazz; les 1,000 meilleurs disques de spirituals, Gospel songs, blues, rhytm [sic] and blues, jazz, et leur histoire.
[Paris] Buchet/Chastel [1971]
[MUSIC ML156.4.J3 C84]
The Prestige label: a discography.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1980.
[MUSIC REF. ML156.2.R786]
The Rolling stone record guide: reviews and ratings of almost 10, 000 currently available rock, pop, soul, country, blues, jazz, and gospel albums.
New York: Random House, c1979.
[MUSIC ML156.4.P6 M37]
Smithsonian Global Sound
Another online audio database the provides access to the complete Folkways and Smithsonian recording archives, with copious liner notes and access to early recordings of blues singers, as well as all other genres of folk music.
Access to this database is the same as described in the African American Song description>
VI. Search the following indexes for articles on Blues makers and the Blues in general.
Music Article Indexes:
The Music index.
Paper = 1949- 2001
(On the MUSIC REFERENCE INDEX TABLE for last 10 years)
[MUSIC REF. ML 118 .M84 ]
Also searchable on the UO Library's web site in Music under the Databases & Indexes section of the catalog.
RILM Abstracts [Repertoire international de litterature musicale]
Paper = 1(1967)- PRESENT
(Last 10 years on MUSIC REFERENCE INDEX TABLE)
[MUSIC ML REF. 118 .R4]
Also searchable on the UO Library's web site in Music under the Databases & Indexes section of the catalog.
Music Article Guide.
LIBRARY HAS: 1(1966)-23(1988),25(1990)-38(1996)
[MUSIC REF. ML 118 .M842 ]
Academic Search Premier
[A generic article index that provides full-text access to online journals.]
(search Subject= su:Blues- Music)
MLA International Bibliography
[The Modern Language Association's index-for literary and folklore references]
(search Subject= su:Blues- Music or su:blues- lyrics)
Sociological Abstracts
(search Subject= su:Blues- Music or su:blues- lyrics)
VIII. Browse the following specialty journals and magazines for articles on the Blues:
Blues-Specific:
Blues unlimited.
Library has 1972 - 1987
[MUSIC ML1.B58]
Jazz journal and jazz & blues.
Library has 1974 only.
[MUSIC ML5 .J316]
Living blues.
LIBRARY HAS: 3(1970),35(1977)-37(1978),43(1979),47(1980)-present.
[MUSIC ML 1 .L57]
General resources on the music industry and the Blues:
Billboard.
LIBRARY HAS: ...,80(1968)-87(1975)
[MUSIC ML 1 .B512]
An historic archive of the magazine is available in the Microforms Department of the Knight Library.
More recent copies are available on the UO web catalog in full text on Academic Search Premier, since 1994.
Black Grooves (Archives of African-American Music and Culture)
Available online at http://www.blackgrooves.org/
Down beat.
LIBRARY HAS 1974 - Present.
Current issues retained until microfilm is rec'd.
[MUSIC ML 1 .D6]
Rolling stone.
LIBRARY HAS: ...1983)-580(1990);
Current issues are kept until microfilm is received.
[MUSIC ML 1 .R6]
Historic collection is available on microfilm in the Microforms Department of the Knight Library.
Also available on the UO web catalog in full text on Academic Search Premier, since 1990.
[Note: The Rolling stone index : twenty-five years of popular culture, 1967-1991. is available at MUSIC ML1 .R65]
VIII. Research Blues lyrics in the following resources:
Blues lyric poetry : a concordance.
New York : Garland Pub., 1984. 3 v.
[KNIGHT PS309.B55T33 1984 v.1- v.3]
Downhome blues lyrics : an anthology from the post-World War II era. 2nd ed.
Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1990.
[KNIGHT PS591.N4 D6 1990]
IX. Surf the following Blues and Music-related Web Sites:
The Blue Highway
A great source for blues history and personalities.
Last Modified: 07/27/2007