Over the years the history of the blues through to it`s electrification in Chicago in the 50s and 60s has been well documented.  Until now, few attempts have been made to tell of the link between the legendary bluesmen of that time and the current generation who are following in their footsteps.  Chris Kerslake spoke to Art Tipaldi about his new book - Children of the Blues.

Around two years ago I was in the departure lounge for a flight from Chicago to Memphis when I noticed a guy wearing a Manny`s Car Wash T-shirt waiting for the same plane.  We didn`t talk.  The next morning on Union Avenue the same guy spotted me and, remembering me from the flight, crossed the road to introduce himself.  As a keen amateur blues writer, finding out that I was talking to Art Tipaldi was, I guess, pretty much the equivalent of a local blues guitarist bumping into BB King.

I discovered the blues around ten years ago and for me Art Tipaldi has been a constant presence.  As well as being a senior writer at Blues Revue - the largest blues magazine in the world - he is a prolific writer of liner notes for CDs and his photographs are used widely in a large number of publications.  It was, then, a massive surprise to find out that Tipaldi has only been writing professionally since the early 90s.  “As a literature teacher I`ve been teaching kids to write for years and I`ve read a lot of good stuff, but apart from a few sports reports and newsletters I`d never really written anything before then.”

The writing started with CD reviews for local blues magazines and soon afterwards, in 1994, Tipaldi was asked by Blues Revue to write for them.  “Again, it started with CD reviews.  My first feature for them was in November 1995 when I produced an article on Guitar Shorty.  It was reassuring that even someone as accomplished as Tipaldi started at the same place as all of us budding writers.  “I was so nervous - I thought to myself 'Oh God, what do I ask him?`.  I had an interview with James Harman years ago - possibly my second or third interview ever - and I remember traveling to Boston to meet him with my notebook open memorising the questions!”

“The idea for a book came in 1997.  I started to look at the interviews that I had on my computer and I thought 'What am I going to do with all of these?'.  The interviews - approaching 100 in total - comprised material produced for Blues Revue along with articles written for local papers and arts magazines when national acts were in town.  “Every writers dream is to do a book but you`ve got to work out an angle.”  Tipaldi`s angle was to look at the blues giants such as Albert Collins and Muddy Waters, but through the eyes of current bluesmen and women.  “I always used to ask people I spoke to 'What was Muddy like?, what was Albert like?, what was Otis Spann like?`.  I could sit for hours and listen to Dick Waterman tell me about Son House, or Bob Margolin reminiscing about Muddy, or Bruce Iglauer talk about Hound Dog Taylor - and it`s like 'Oh wow!'.

So on the one hand this is a book for anyone who wants to find out what the old guys were like.  It is also for fans of the current generation, with fan being the key word.  “The first publisher I took the book to, and who ultimately rejected it, said 'This is nothing more than a fan book.  There`s no ground breaking thesis here`.  I thought to myself 'That`s exactly right - this is a book for the fans.  It`s for people who have seen James Harman, think he was really cool, and want to know his story.  If they buy the book because they`re a fan of Charlie Musselwhite or Taj Mahal or Robert Cray then they`re going to learn about Rod Piazza or Rory Block or Bobby Rush.  Hopefully they`ll then buy one of their CDs and go and see them next time they`re in town.”
Knowing Tipaldi, it is almost certain that this book will go well beyond simply telling the artists` story.  His personality, mixed with his enthusiasm for and love of the blues, has enabled him to develop close friendships with most if not all of the major blues artists today and it would be a major surprise if this didn`t result in more enlightening interviews than would ever have occurred had this closeness and respect not existed.  As Tipaldi himself says “The friendships that have developed enabled us to get into a very deep zone very quickly.  We tended not to talk about the bios, which everyone knows, and the questions that would happen as we spoke would take us down some amazing roads.  Hopefully there is a truth and a soulfullness to what I then write - like a good blues song.  It`s certainly come from a soulful, honest and truthful place within me, and a place of honour and respect.”     
One recurring theme is the relationship between the artist and the listener.  “These guys know the magic that happens when you touch somebody with the music.  They saw BB do it, they saw Muddy do it, they saw Son House do it, they saw Luther do it - and they do it, and they want to do it.  That`s what keeps coming through in a lot of the stories.”

The artists included in the book - some 49 in total - are bound to be a subject for debate, but despite the formidable line-up it isn`t meant to be a 'Best of` list.  As Tipaldi explains, “I wanted to put in a couple of big names that people know such as Robert Cray and Delbert McClinton.  They have great blues roots and they belong in there.  A lot of it was also down to availability and sometimes, much as I might want to include an artist, we couldn`t make the interview happen.”   The list of artists not in the book - such as Larry Garner, Eddy Clearwater, Little Charlie, Rick Estrin, Corey Harris - makes impressive reading and shows the depth of current blues talent as well as the potential for a second book!

The first book though is aimed not only at the converted who will already know many of the featured artists, but at the many who have lost the blues.  “Blues is the music we all loved.  It was the first music we came across and it was nasty and dirty.  However, in our teens and 20s the pop culture of the world led us to other places.  Now people will hear Stevie Ray Vaughan or Eric Clapton and will say 'This is the music we loved, where has it been?`.  Well, it`s always been here.”  Tipaldi hopes the book will help those that have lost the blues not only re-find them, but re-define them.  “A lot of people think that blues is a 20 minute guitar solo.  They think they know what the blues is, but they haven`t found the real blues.  Hopefully when people buy the book and they read about Kim Wilson or James Harman they`re going to find out that there is a lot more to the blues than guitar.”   
  
So, having just completed a book on some of the greatest living bluesmen and women, and being in the happy position of knowing so many of them, who are Tipaldi`s personal favourites.  “I like them all - that`s my problem.  Piazza is certainly in my Top 5, Shemekia Copeland is too, so is Keb` Mo.  Taj Mahal is definitely in my Top 5, and Kim Wilson, and Rory Block ….. oh man, there`s just too many!.  The best shows I`ve ever been to would be Luther Allison, Rod Piazza, Shemekia Copeland and Kim Wilson - those were unbelievable and I could tell you about them right now.  But after every show I go to I`ll come home and my wife will ask me how it was and I`ll say 'Best show ever` and for me it is because can you imagine any better way to experience music?”  No, I can`t.  And I can`t imagine a better person to write about the blues.

Art Tipaldi is senior writer for Blues Revue magazine and a member of the Blues Foundation`s Board of Directors.  In 1996 he won the Keeping the Blues Alive award for excellence in journalism.  By day he is a teacher and has pioneered a new course entitled Blues and Literature which focuses on Southern culture and which has seen visits to his classes by BB King and Keb` Mo, amongst others.  His first book - Children of the Blues - was published by Backbeat Books.