Gayle Dean Wardlow (born August 31, 1940) is an American historian of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. He is particularly associated with research into the lives of the musicians

Charlie Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of America ...

and

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

and the historical development of the

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

, on which he is a leading authority. He was born in Freer, Texas, but was brought up from the age of six in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

. In his teens, he began collecting

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

78s. He originally began collecting blues records so as to exchange them for Acuff's. However, by about 1960, he had started collecting blues records for their own sake and realized that very little biographical information existed on the musicians who had created them. By 1963, Wardlow had begun researching a book on

musicians, mainly by making enquiries in black neighborhoods, recording oral histories, anecdotes, songs, and remembrances. He interviewed Ishman Bracey, Charlie Patton's widow, and blues talent broker H. C. Speir, and a few years later, uncovered Robert Johnson's death certificate. Hayes McMullan's musical talents were unearthed following a chance encounter in 1967 between Wardlow and McMullan. Wardlow transcribed the songs and penned the sleevenotes for the 2017 CD release of McMullan's ''Everyday Seem Like Murder Here'', issued over 30 years after McMullan's death. In the process of his overall research work, Wardlow became a leading authority on

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

. He also amassed the world’s largest and most valuable collection of pre-war blues records, many of which are now unique. Wardlow has published many articles on blues history and the book ''Chasin' That Devil Music: Searching for the Blues'', which was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

in 2006 as a classic of blues literature. In 2019, Wardlow co-authored, with Bruce Conforth, the

biography, ''Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson'', which has been called "the definitive Robert Johnson biography". The book won the 2020 Penderyn Prize for being the best music book of any type for 2019. He has worked as an investigative and sports journalist, serving as sports information director at the University of West Alabama and the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. He has also been a journalism professor at various universities.

References

External links

1991 interview with Gayle Dean Wardlow Article by Wardlow on record collecting in the South 2017 podcast interview focusing on Wardlow's record-buying days and on recording Hayes McMullan 2017 podcast interview focusing on Robert Johnson and Wardlow's role in uncovering his death certificate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardlow, Gayle Dean 1940 births Living people American music historians Blues historians People from Freer, Texas People from Meridian, Mississippi University of West Alabama University of Alabama staff