The high times and hard times of six of the greatest living rhythm and blues artists unfold in the pages of Blue Rhythms. In this vivid slice of oral history. Chip Deffaa profiles Ruth Brown, the most popular female black singer of the early 1950s; LaVern Baker, who succeeded Brown; Little Jimmy Scott, who Madonna calls the only singer who ever really made her cry; Charles Brown, master of the "club blues" style he popularized; Floyd Dixon, a more rambunctious fellow traveler; and Jimmy Witherspoon, whose blend of earthiness and urbanity helped earn him as big an r&b hit as was ever recorded. Deffaa deals not only with the performers' music but also with their struggles against racism and financial exploitation. The work is illustrated with more than forty photographs.