Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero

by Ed Ward, Billy F. Gibbons (Foreword by)

Overview

This is the definitive biography of the legendary guitarist whom Muddy Waters and B. B. King held in high esteem and who created the prototype for Clapton, Hendrix, Page, and those who followed. Bloomfield was a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which inspired a generation of white blues players; he played with Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s, when his guitar was a central component of Dylan’s new rock sound on “Like a Rolling Stone.” He then founded the Electric Flag, recorded Super Session with Al Kooper, backed Janis Joplin, and released at least twenty other albums despite debilitating substance abuse. This book, based on extensive interviews with Bloomfield himself and with those who knew him best, and including an extensive discography and Bloomfield’s memorable 1968 Rolling Stone interview, is an intimate portrait of one of the pioneers of rock guitar.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780912777788
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/01/2018
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	728,155
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ed Ward has been the “rock 'n' roll historian” for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross since its inception, and has contributed over 500 stories to it. He helped found the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference, was on one of the early staffs at Rolling Stone and has written for Creem, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Austin, Texas. Billy F. Gibbons is the guitarist and lead vocalist of ZZ Top. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Foreword Billy F. Gibbons xi

Introduction xiii

1 The Devil and Robert Johnson 1

2 Fathers and Sons 5

3 Getting Good 15

4 Blues Folk 21

5 The Fickle Pickle, Big Joe, and Big John's 31

6 The Butterfield Band 45

7 Like a Rolling Stone 53

8 Dylan and Newport 59

9 Butter Days 69

10 Flying the Flag 83

11 "Mike Bloomfield Plugs in His Guitar and His Flag" 91

12 Super Session 101

13 Unplugging 109

14 Terminally Mellow 123

15 Whatever Happened To 127

16 Records for Money, Records for Fun 131

17 Love and Death 137

18 Aftermath 145

Epilogue: Altar Songs 147

Acknowledgments 154

The Rolling Stone Interview: Mike Bloomfield Jann S. Wenner 157

Michael Bloomfield Discography William J. Levay 187

Bibliography 246

Photo Credits 249

Index 251

Editorial Reviews

"A riveting tale of a restless spirit.” —Rolling Stone





"In this chronicle of a life found and lost, Ed Ward writes with deep empathy, and also with a hard-boiled patience that burns off all sentiment. It is the perfect tone for a story Ward never tries to make bigger than it is, so that finally it makes terrible and final sense." —Greil Marcus, author of The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs and Mystery Train


"Michael Bloomfield was brilliant, troubled, flawed, charming, and dauntingly influential, and Ed Ward adeptly balances his strengths and weaknesses, creating a picture of a man who was all too in tune with a complicated time." —Elijah Wald, author of Dylan Goes Electric! and Escaping the Delta


"With all due respect to Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, and so many others who are in the pantheon of blues greats, in this white Jew's opinion, Michael Bloomfield was simply the best blues guitarist I've ever heard." —Rob Reiner, filmmaker and actor


"Michael Bloomfield was such a unique and mercurial character is was like handling hot coals in your mind. You should get to know him because the people that knew him, loved him. His guitar playing was beautiful. His heart and soul were as big as it gets. This remembrance brings to life the amazing story of a young Jewish kid from Chicago's North Side whose unique style of improvisational guitar led the world into the modern age of blues and rock. Hey, folks, he was historic." —Nick Gravenites, singer and songwriter


"A brilliant biography of the ethereal Chicago blues guitar giant who shook the walls down in the '60s and '70s with his soaring art. There is a mother lode of fresh rock 'n' roll history in these pages. The discography alone is worth the price of admission. Highly recommended!" —Douglas Brinkley, author of Rightful Heritage and The Wilderness Warrior


“[A] terrific book, which charts the course of Bloomfield's life and career with style, detail and insight.” —Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher