The St. Louis Blues.
It’s more than just a slogan or a song. It’s a statement of fact.St. Louis has a long and proud connection to the world of the blues. Indeed, it is the home of much of the music of America and of the men and women who made it.

Devil At The Confluence represents the first comprehensive book ever published on the history of the blues music of St. Louis. Out of ragtime, out of jazz, out of big band music and beyond, American music came into its own at the confluence of the Big Muddy and the Mississippi rivers and out of the talents and experiences of the musicians who lived there.

More than a beautiful coffee-table book, the original illustrations, vintage advertising and rare photographs detail the chronological story of what the St. Louis blues are, who the St. Louis blues musicians were, and how their careers began in St. Louis.

Artist Kevin Belford has combined years of scholarly research and discovery with his well-renowned artwork to present a book that will be equally at home as a lovely coffee table book or in a serious music library.

Included with the book is a special compact disc of recordings by St Louis legends produced by Bob Koester, a foremost authority in the fileld and the founder of Delmark Records. Artists surveyed on the CD include such early bluesmasters as Barrelhouse Buck, Speckled Red, Roosevelt Sykes, St Louis Jimmy, Big Joe Williams, Mary Johnson and many more. The selections offered are rare and often include some of the last recorded performances of these early musicians.

Devil At The Confluence.
By Kevin Belford, foreword by Paul Garon.
Published by Virginia Publishing.
Bonus CD produced by Delmark Records.
9” x 11.5”, hardbound, 210 pages, illustrated. $39.95
DEVILATTHECONFLUENCE.COM