"Alcoholic. Epileptic. Severely challenged in music and business. Despite these obstacles, Jimmy Reed became perhaps the most successful R & B/pop crossover artist of the '50s and '60s. The first biography of this legendary bluesman, Big Boss Man traces Reed's life from fields of the Mississippi Delta to the steel mills, stockyards, and blues dives of Chicago and on to nightclubs and recording studios, and finally stages worldwide. Musicians, family members, and others whose lives Reed touched offer revealing and heart-wrenching insights into this now-revered bluesman. From hit records and aborted comeback attempts to insider tales of recording sessions and the road, Big Boss Man brings Reed's story to life."--Jacket.