The Truman and Eisenhower Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs, 1945-1960

Twenty-six of the songs discussed in the text are available on a CD produced by Agram Blues (ABCD 2018) to accompany this book. Digitally remastered and featuring full liner notes by the author, the CD is a unique historical document of the Truman and Eisenhower presidencies. For full details and order information, please contact Guido van Rijn at Prins Mauritslaan 95, 2051 KC Overveen, Netherlands. Email: guido@worldonline.nl Guido van Rijn presents a fascinating and exhaustive account of the gospel and blues music of the immediate postwar period, shedding much light on the civil rights situation of the time and the experience of segregation as well as events such as the Atom Bomb, the Cold War, Korea and of course the Republican victory in 1956. He concentrates on songs that comment on contemporary political events and issues during a crucial time in the shaping of black consciousness in America. In doing so he uncovers a hidden black history of the eve of the emergence of the civil rights movement a deep insight into the lives and opinions of people who had few other outlets of expression .