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Taj Mahal

Autobiography of a Bluesman
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Over the course of a remarkable sixty-year career, Taj Mahal has forged his own path, embracing a bold musical hybridity that fuses West African and Caribbean sounds with Delta blues, jazz, gospel and rock 'n' roll. In retracing his ancestral roots, Taj has remapped the foundational influences of popular music and reimagined the possibilities of a truly 'global' sound. In this, the updated and remastered edition of his memoir, Taj steps out from the shadows, revealing parts of himself previously unseen. From collaborations with legends like John Lee Hooker, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bonnie Raitt, and Bob Marley, to musical adventures spanning Santa Monica, Kaua'i and even tours through African war zones, he recounts a life lived in fearless pursuit of his passions and creative calling. The result is an astonishing - and above all, honest - account of the life of a bluesman.
Taj Mahal, born Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. in Harlem, New York City in 1942, is an American blues musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Renowned for reimagining the traditional blues with global influences from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and beyond, he has expanded the genre's reach while honoring its roots. A multiple Grammy Award winner, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025 . He lives in Berkeley, California. Stephen Foehr's novels and nonfiction probes mystery, travel, and music. The novels include varied and esoteric subjects such as: the London heist of tea worth millions; ways to resist an authoritarian government without being beaten, jailed, or killed; how to solve a murder using Einstein's theory of quantum entanglement theory, with the aid of a female heavy metal guitarist and a burglar of peoples' presumptions, expectations, and assumed truths. His nonfiction books explore how music influences the culture and history of Jamaica, Cuba, and Nashville.
'Glimpses of a fascinating career' Uncut 'An engrossing read that confirms Taj Mahal is not just a great musician but a great storyteller too.' Waterstones
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