Paul Butterfield Blues Band with Mike Bloomfield at the Newport Folk Festival, July 28, 1965; from left: Jerome Arnold (behind Bloomfield), Bloomfield, Sam Lay, Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop (photo courtesy of Dr. John Rudoff )
From the book: Bob Dylan knew how important Mike Bloomfield had been to the development and expansion of American popular music at a time when Top 40 radio was preoccupied with British invaders, surfer dudes, and lemon twisters. Michael was not only a startlingly original and brilliant player, but also pivotal in introducing a generation to the blues and to those masters who originated it. In a few years, Bloomfield would help Dylan reshape his own music, leading to a pop revolution that would define much of the music of the 1960s and 1970s. Nearly five decades after they first met, Bob was still in awe of his friend’s artistry. “He could just flat out play. He had so much soul. And he knew all the styles, and he could play them so incredibly well,” Dylan told Rolling Stone. Bloomfield was the one guitarist who, for Bob Dylan, set the standard for all the others. The story of Michael Bloomfield’s life is a fascinating tale of musical genius and artistic innovation, a saga punctuated by unorthodox adventures and wild excesses. Its arc parallels a time in American history when pop culture was undergoing a radical change, when politics, drugs, sex, and rock ’n’ roll were growing up. Bloomfield grew with them and contributed to their maturation. His musical ideas, coupled with his extraordinary personality and boundless energy, proved to be irresistible for a generation of young musicians. Certainly they were for Bob Dylan.
Michael Bloomfield (left) makes a point to Bob Dylan (right) during Highway 61 Revisited sessions (photo by Don Hunstein; courtesy of Sony Music Archive)
“An important and compelling book about an important and compelling artist. Bloomfield’s peers—Hendrix, Clapton, Joplin, the Rolling Stones, and of course Dylan—have had their lives chronicled in exhaustive detail, and this biography is long overdue. Dann’s research is excellent, and the writing strong and engaging, tracing Bloomfield’s journey and telling his story with skill and understanding.” —Elijah Wald author of Escaping the Delta and Dylan Goes Electric!
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U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s P r e s s | fa l l 2 0 1 9
U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s P r e s s | fa l l 2 0 1 9
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