Chicago Folk

“A Treasure that eloquently documents our folk heroes from a long-gone era.” — Sing Out!

Raeburn Flerlage began taking photographs in 1959 and is the most recognized and acclaimed chronicler of the Chicago Blues scene. His photos have appeared in numerous blues magazines; books, such as Urban Blues, Who’ s Who in the Blues, Blues Legends, and Portraits of the Blues; and on record covers for labels like Chess, Delmark, Folkways, Prestige, and RCA. He died in 2002. Ronald D. Cohen is Professor of History emeritus, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, Indiana, and the author of A History of Folk Music Festivals in the United States (2008) and Folk Music: The Basics (2006). Bob Riesman is completing I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy (University of Chicago Press, 2010). He co-produced and co-wrote the 2006 documentary, American Roots Music: Chicago.