Michael Erlewine, the award-winning archivist of popular culture, who founded and built the largest music review database in the world, All-Music Guide, has written a fascinating new book that chronicles the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.

The first Ann Arbor Blues Festivals, in 1969 and 1970, brought together the greatest-ever selection of blues performers and helped bring modern blues music to a wider audience. Never before had such a far-reaching list of performers been assembled. These groundbreaking festivals were the seed that grew into the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, which was continued annually for many years.