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

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 ...

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

Charlie Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie 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 American musi ...

and

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

and the historical development of the Delta blues, on which he is a leading authority. He was born in

Freer, Texas Freer is a city in Duval County, Texas, Duval County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,818 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 3,241 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Like Sweetwater, Texas, Sweetwa ...

, but was brought up from the age of six in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

. 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 A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

. 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 realised that very little biographical information existed on the musicians who had created them. By 1963, Wardlow had begun researching a book on Delta blues musicians, mainly by making enquiries in black neighbourhoods, recording oral histories, anecdotes, songs, and remembrances. He interviewed

Ishman Bracey Ishmon Bracey (January 9, 1899 or 1901 – February 12, 1970), sometimes credited as Ishman Bracey, was an American Delta blues singer-guitarist. Alongside his contemporary Tommy Johnson, Bracey was a highly influential bluesman in Jackson, M ...

, 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 located 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 blues music. Started in 1 ...

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 The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called Livingston Female Academy. The original Board of Trustees of Livingston Fe ...

and the

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

. 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 Blues historians People from Freer, Texas People from Meridian, Mississippi University of West Alabama University of Alabama staff