Copyright © 1980, 1988 by Peter Guralnick

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Originally published in hardcover by Seaview Books, November 1980 First Back Bay paperback edition, October 2003

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts for financial assistance with the publication of this work. Permission to reprint lyrics from the following songs is gratefully acknowledged: “Don’t Deceive Me” by Chuck Willis © 1954 by Tideland Music Corp.; “How Long, How Long Blues” words and music by Leroy Carr © copyright 1929 by MCA Music, a division of MCA Inc., N.Y., N.Y., copyright renewed. All rights reserved.

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First eBook Edition: April 2009

ISBN: 978-0-316-07544-2