Greg Johnson accepts the ARSC award for Best Historical Research in Blues, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues in Bloomington, Indiana. Photo by Michael Devecka. Submitted Photo
Greg Johnson, University of Mississippi blues curator and associate professor, is the recipient of two prestigious awards for co-authoring “100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own” with Ed Komara, former UM blues curator.
The duo received the Vincent H. Duckles Award, the Music Library Association’s annual prize for the best book-length bibliography or reference work in music, and the Association for Recorded Sound Collections award for Best Historical Research in Blues, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues.
The Music Library Association’s website offers praise of the authors’ work.
“The authors’ essays are delightful and extremely informative reading. The methodology and organization are clearly explained. The volume includes a healthy amount of added value, including a playlist that demonstrates something about each entry and a chapter describing the resources used to compile the list of 100 titles. The arrangement of the listing – by time coverage – allows the reader to construct a clear understanding of blues history.”
Johnson said he was shocked and thrilled to receive the awards.
“When I was studying music history in college and later taking a Music Bibliography course in library school, we constantly used the Vincent Duckles book ‘Music Reference and Research Materials: An Annotated Bibliography,’” Johnson said. “To receive the Music Library Association’s award named after Vincent Duckles is a huge honor. And to receive the Association for Recorded Sound Collections award for Best Historical Research in Blues, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues . . . wow!”
Although Johnson’s and Komara’s paths did not cross at UM, Komara reached out to Johnson shortly after his arrival at the university for assistance with his project “Encyclopedia of the Blues.” Komara liked Johnson’s writing and asked him to join him as a consulting editor. Several years later, Komara approached Johnson to co-author “100 Books.”
Johnson said writing the book required a lot of reading, which was made more manageable by partnering on the project. His favorite books included the biographies and autobiographies.
“The ones that are the best are the ones that tell a larger story, more than just about the musician her/himself,” Johnson said. “For instance, in Willie Dixon’s ‘I Am the Blues,’ you learn almost as much about the recording industry in Chicago as you do about Dixon personally.”
Johnson’s first exposure to the blues was listening to the “Highway 61” radio show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting as a child. As a musician, he played bass and trombone in several big bands and jazz combos. He received his master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2002, where he also received a Bachelor of Music in history and literature in 2000. It wasn’t until he accepted the position at UM that he began immersing himself in the blues.
“I have learned so much since I started working here,” Johnson said. “Coming from the Meridian area and going to college in Hattiesburg, I didn’t know anything about Otha Turner or the North Mississippi hill country traditions. It’s really humbling when you discover something new for yourself, and you wonder, ‘How did I not know this? This is incredible!’”
The national recognition of Johnson’s publication is well deserved and highlights the importance of his research, said Jennifer Ford, head of the UM Department of Archives and Special Collections.
“These awards not only reflect his reputation as a scholar but draw even more attention to the treasures held within the university’s Blues Archive,” Ford said.
In addition to his work at the archives, Johnson’s article “Exploring Civil Rights through Mississippi Collections,” co-written with Jennifer Brannock at the University of Southern Mississippi, was recently published in the Urban Library Journal.
The Blues Archive is located in the Department of Archives and Special Collections on the third floor of the J.D. Williams Library. The collection preserves blues and blues-related materials in a variety of formats for scholars of the blues, African- American studies and Southern culture. It serves not only students and faculty within UM but also researchers worldwide. The archive is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. except during official university holidays.