The blues is an American creation. The somber tones of the Deep South found their rhythms and voices in the genre. It is a category of music that has long been overwhelmed by the surge of mainstream tunes—tunes that lack the one thing blues has always and must always possess: soul. Robert “Mack” McCormick was a blues enthusiast who, perhaps more than anyone else, captured the soul of the blues.
McCormick was born in Pittsburgh in 1930, but moved to Houston at 16. Introduced to Texas blues at a young and somewhat impressionable age, McCormick was completely impressed, going so far as to drop out of high school to pursue a career as a folklorist. Over the course of several decades, he delved deep into the world of the blues and the lives of its artists to produce a treasure trove of American musical heritage. That treasure trove now resides at the National Museum of American History in Washington.
