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Lil' Choo-Choo Johnson, Bluesman
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Lil' Choo-Choo Johnson, Bluesman (2010) (edit title/settings)

by Bryan Krull (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Historical fiction about blues music, and the men who played it. Fictional title character intermingles with real historical figures from the history of this bedrock American musical style.

Summary edit see section history

Earl "Lil' Choo-Choo" Johnson left home at the age of 10, with only his father's guitar, and stepped into the world of the Delta blues. A guitar prodigy, his music led him to play with blues legends like Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. Lil'... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Earl "Lil' Choo-Choo" Johnson left home at the age of 10, with only his father's guitar, and stepped into the world of the Delta blues. A guitar prodigy, his music led him to play with blues legends like Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. Lil' Choo-Choo's story is a history of the blues, from sharecroppers' shacks on Dockery's Plantation and whiskey-soaked juke joints in Depression-era Mississippi to the swinging clubs of post-war Memphis and Chicago. It encompasses the heyday of Delta blues, the birth of rock and roll, the British invasion, the blues revival of the 1960s, and beyond.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Earl "Lil' Choo-Choo" Johnson: Starts the novel as a 10 year-old boy. Leaves home with his uncle. Travels around Mississippi playing the blues, and meets many of the genre's best musicians. Grows into a man over the course of the novel.
  • Howlin' Wolf: blues great, and bandmate of Lil' Choo-Choo Johnson in Memphis and Chicago.
  • Robert Johnson: blues legend, plays with Lil' Choo-Choo
  • Charley Patton: blues great who tutors Lil' Choo-Choo on Dockery's Plantation
  • Son House: blues great who takes Lil' Choo-Choo under his wing
  • Big Choo-Choo Williams: hobo who rides the rails throughout Mississippi, and teaches Lil' Choo-Choo about the blues (and life)
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First Sentence edit see section history

Earl "Lil' Choo-Choo" Johnson was a child prodigy and a blues guitar legend.

Table of Contents edit see section history

1- Murder Creek Blues
2- Houndtooth Blues
3- Hear That Lonesome Whistle
4- The Way Charley Play
5- Death Letter Blues
6- Love in Vain
7- Hell Hound On My Trail
8- Jolene
9- Workin' for Uncle Sam
10- Ain't Goin' Back to Canton
11- Smokestack Lightnin'
12- Sweet Home Chicago
13- Killing Floor
14- The Heart of Cleveland
15- Revival
16- Bluesman's Lament
17- Live at Leo's
18- Trouble in Mind
19- The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll
20- Goin' Down Slow

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Bryan Krull (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Todd Krull (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Dogear Publishing
Country: USA
Publication Date: June 2010
ISBN: 978-160844-355-0
Page Count: 209

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

A good, historically accurate introduction to the world of the blues, a uniquely American art form. It is also useful in understanding the lives of African-Americans in the era from the Depression through World War II and beyond. Also a positive book for young readers because the title character (10 years old when the novel starts) overcomes adversity and challenges to achieve his goals and make his way in the world.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

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