''BLOCK Magazine'' is a quarterly magazine about the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

tradition. It is the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

' oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded in

Almelo Almelo () is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie, and Bornerbroek. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle of the rolling countryside of Twente, ...

, in the east of the Netherlands in 1975, by Rien and Marion Wisse. They frequently tour the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and visit record companies and artists. They have interviewed more than 200 blues artists, including

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

, and

Zora Young Zora Young (born January 21, 1948, West Point, Mississippi, United States) is an American blues singer. She is distantly related to Howlin' Wolf. Young's family moved to Chicago when she was seven. She began singing gospel music at the Greater ...

. Rien and Marion own a collection of approximately 30,000 blues related images. In 1995, they produced the acoustic CD ''No Less Than Wireless'', containing recordings by Maybe It's The Blues, The Taildraggers, Greyhound and Champagne Charlie. In January 2010, ''Block Magazine'' received the KBA (Keeping the Blues Alive) Award from the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

in the category of Print Media. According to the board of the Blues Foundation: Print Media: ''Block'', Netherlands: "What began as a small fan magazine in 1975 has grown into one of Europe’s finest blues magazines. ''Block'', an amalgam of blues and rock, was first published 35 years ago by Rien Wisse and his wife Marion in the Netherlands. Like most of these efforts, the magazine is mostly financed by their love of the blues and their own money. In 1982, Rien dropped rock coverage and turned ''Block'' into THE Dutch blues magazine. The magazine is published four times a year and features articles written by American blues journalists like Bill Dahl,

Dick Shurman Richard L. Shurman (born May 23, 1950) is an American record producer, sound engineer, music journalist, music historian, and backing vocalist. He has produced numerous recordings by notable musicians including Johnny Winter, Lurrie Bell, Eddie ...

and Scott Bock. The beautiful photos are part of ''Block''’s 30,000 photo file which dates back to its early days. Finally, its 64 pages concentrate on profiles, reviews of records and performances, and the Wisse’s travels throughout the American blues landscape."

References

{{reflist

External links

Block Magazine.nl
magazine's official website
The Blues Foundation

"About Tim Holek".
1975 establishments in the Netherlands Blues music magazines Music magazines published in the Netherlands Dutch-language magazines Magazines established in 1975 Quarterly magazines published in the Netherlands