The noted blues scholar Paul Oliver here examines the many different skeins of the blues form, relating them to other black traditions--musical and religious--and tracing the origin of the blues through the dense, many-colored warp and weft of influences and inspiration. He describes "the dozens," Christmas rituals, and the coded (as well as blatant) sexual imagery that has always been a vital element of every popular song tradition. With extensive source notes, photographs, a discography, and two indexes of song titles and singers, this book serves as a sound, serious, and entertaining guide to the blues heritage that has vitalized so much of the world's musical culture.