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Anyone who thinks they know something about American music could stand to spend a few hours pawing through Hard Luck Blues, Rich Remsberg's stunning collection of Farm Security Administration photographs. These beautiful, unprompted shots remind us of what things looked like--sad, wild eyes, hands pressed to steel strings, an instrument in every room--back when music was as necessary (and as instinctive) as breathing. --Amanda Petrusich, author of It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music Rich Remsberg's brilliant selection of photographs broadens and deepens our understanding and appreciation of American music. It is a potent reminder of the wealth and variety of music played by ordinary folks, from church singers and hoedown fiddlers to brass bands and barroom entertainers. The result is a moving historical document, a feast for the eyes, and spur to the imagination. --Elijah Wald, musician and author of Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues These photos ... strike universal chords ... with both sweet and bittersweet romance. --Oxford American The vitality of musical life at a time of such economic hardship is both poignant and surprising. For what it wordlessly reveals about the history of US music and the history of a critical time, this book is a treasure. --Choice Hard Luck Blues is more than a tribute to the capturing of an important moment in American history. The book is a testimony to the universal human conditions of struggle and hope and to the necessity of music not only to see us through but to map out who we become. --Abigail Washburn, musician Amazing time-capsule collection. --AmericanProfile.com

Anyone who thinks they know something about American music could stand to spend a few hours pawing through Hard Luck Blues, Rich Remsberg's stunning collection of Farm Security Administration photographs. These beautiful, unprompted shots remind us of what things looked like--sad, wild eyes, hands pressed to steel strings, an instrument in every room--back when music was as necessary (and as instinctive) as breathing. Amanda Petrusich, author of It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music Rich Remsberg's brilliant selection of photographs broadens and deepens our understanding and appreciation of American music. It is a potent reminder of the wealth and variety of music played by ordinary folks, from church singers and hoedown fiddlers to brass bands and barroom entertainers. The result is a moving historical document, a feast for the eyes, and spur to the imagination. Elijah Wald, musician and author of Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues

These photos ... strike universal chords ... with both sweet and bittersweet romance. --Oxford American The vitality of musical life at a time of such economic hardship is both poignant and surprising. For what it wordlessly reveals about the history of US music and the history of a critical time, this book is a treasure. --Choice Hard Luck Blues is more than a tribute to the capturing of an important moment in American history. The book is a testimony to the universal human conditions of struggle and hope and to the necessity of music not only to see us through but to map out who we become. --Abigail Washburn, musician Amazing time-capsule collection. --AmericanProfile.com Anyone who thinks they know something about American music could stand to spend a few hours pawing through Hard Luck Blues, Rich Remsberg's stunning collection of Farm Security Administration photographs. These beautiful, unprompted shots remind us of what things looked like--sad, wild eyes, hands pressed to steel strings, an instrument in every room--back when music was as necessary (and as instinctive) as breathing. --Amanda Petrusich, author of It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music Rich Remsberg's brilliant selection of photographs broadens and deepens our understanding and appreciation of American music. It is a potent reminder of the wealth and variety of music played by ordinary folks, from church singers and hoedown fiddlers to brass bands and barroom entertainers. The result is a moving historical document, a feast for the eyes, and spur to the imagination. --Elijah Wald, musician and author of Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues

Author Information

Rich Remsberg is an Emmy Award-winning image researcher and a documentary photographer. His credits include Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home and Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, as well as other PBS programs and independent films. He lives in North Adams, Massachusetts.

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