In incisive portraits based on searching interviews with these legendary performers, Peter Guralnick captures the boundless passion that drove these men to music-making and that kept them determinedly, and sometimes almost desperately, on the road.

    Covering all eras and styles, it features detailed biographies of 571 blues artists, 450 photographs and many pages of facts. Features of the book include various indices (of radio, TV, film, and theatre appearances; song titles; artist and place names), an extensive list of record company names and addresses, and various bibliographies (of out-of-print books and periodicals, and magazines currently available). The account of each artist includes a biographical history as well as a critical evaluation and list of principal influences.