Down in Houston

In the clubs, ballrooms, and barbecue joints of neighborhoods such as Third Ward, Frenchtown, Sunnyside, and Double Bayou, Houston's African American community birthed a vibrant and unique slice of the blues. Ranging from the down-home sounds of Lightnin' Hopkins to the more refined orchestrations of the Duke-Peacock recording empire and beyond, Houston blues was and is the voice of a working-class community, an ongoing conversation about good times and hard times, smokin' Saturday nights and Blue Mondays. Since 1995, Roger Wood and James Fraher have been gathering the story of the blues in Houston. In this book, they draw on dozens of interviews with blues musicians, club owners, audience members, and music producers, as well as dramatic black-and-white photographs of performers and venues, to present a lovingly detailed portrait of the Houston blues scene, past and present. Going back to the early days with Lightnin' Hopkins, they follow the blues from the streets of Houston's Third and Fifth Wards to its impact on the wider American blues scene. Along the way, they remember the vigorous blues community that sprang up after World War II, mourn its decline in the Civil Rights era, and celebrate the lively, if sometimes overlooked, blues culture that still calls Houston home. Wood and Fraher conclude the book with an unforgettable reunion of Houston blues legends that they held on January 3, 1998.

Roger Wood's articles on Houston's blues, zydeco, and jazz history have appeared in numerous books, periodicals, and CD liner notes. A Houston resident, he has taught literature and writing at Central College (Houston Community College System) in Third Ward since 1981 James Fraher's photographs have appeared in many publications, including on the cover of Living Blues magazine and on over one hundred music recordings. He is the author of Blues Is a Feeling: Voices and Visions of African-American Blues Musicians. In 1996, he was given a Keeping the Blues Alive Award by the Blues Foundation. He resides in Grayslake, Illinois