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John Peel OBE, 1939 - 2004

Max Haymes

Max Haymes is a well respected blues historian based in Lancaster, UK. His interests lie in the socio-historical and economic background of blues music (explored via the lyrics), as well as the philosophical / psychological aspects of the blues, and the evolution of the genre in the 19^th century.

He has a B.A. in Independent Studies (a socio-historical study of the roots of the blues) from Lancaster University, UK. He also spent time in the southern states of the USA studying for his Masters Degree at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

Max is a part-time tutor with the American Studies Department at Lancaster University, specialising in early blues. He also teaches for the Lancaster Department of Continuing Education and is part of the Creative Arts Team.

Some of the blues courses Max has produced and delivered include:

“Towards A Deeper Understanding of the Blues”

“Just Got To Ride” (Transportation and the blues – from flatboats to the automobile)

“African American Women’s Blues From the Deep South”

“I Wrote These Blues, I’m Gonna Sing Them As I Please” (Relevance of blues lyrics to black working-class life in the first half of this century)

“Got My Mojo Working” (Superstitions in the blues)

“Origins of Soul Music” (Early blues and gospel, 1920-49)

“I Want It Awful Bad” (Sexuality in the blues, 1920s-40s)

“Roots of Robert Johnson” (A study in Delta Blues, 1926-42)

“I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” (Urban development of blues from 1920s – 1960s)

“All Shook Down” (Blues roots of Elvis Presley, from 1920s – 1950s)

Max also gives guest lectures, examples are:

“So Glad I Ain’t the Only One” (Universal themes in blues, 1927-40)

“Shake the Shack” (Blues as entertainment, 1920s-40s)

“One Story of the Blues” (1926-53)

“Mr. Undertaker, Fry Your Ham ‘n Eggs Slow” (Attitudes to death in blues, 1920s-40s)

“She Shakes Like The Central, Wobbles Like the L. & N.” (Railroads and the blues, 1920s-40s)

“I Flashed Your Lights, Mama” (Autos, dirt roads and highways, 1920s-40s)

“I Could Have Had Religion” (A study of early blues and gospel, 1890s-1942)

All courses and lectures are illustrated with complete recorded examples, predominantly from the pre-war era (1892-1943), together with OHPs, course / lecture notes and references.

Max has lectured in clubs, pubs, on the radio and at various universities (both in the UK and USA). He has had several articles published in international Blues magazines, and he was Editorial Assistant to the American bi-monthly publication “Living Blues” during his time in Mississippi. Max is at present writing a book on oral transmission of the blues via transportation systems in the Deep South around the 1880s to the early 1900s.

Max has promoted live blues on a non-profit making basis for the last 30 years which now includes a weekly blues jam sessions in Lancaster and organising the acoustic section of the renowned international annual blues festivals at Burnley and Colne in Lancashire.

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Max Haymes

Max Haymes is a well respected blues historian based in Lancaster, UK. His interests lie in the socio-historical and economic background of blues music (explored via the lyrics), as well as the philosophical / psychological aspects of the blues, and the evolution of the genre in the 19th century.

Max Haymes is a well respected blues historian based in Lancaster, UK. His interests lie in the socio-historical and economic background of blues music (explored via the lyrics), as well as the philosophical / psychological aspects of the blues, and the evolution of the genre in the 19^th century.