| | Acknowledgments | p. xi |
| | Introduction: "Mister Blues, How Do You Do?" / "Can I Change My Mind?" | p. 1 |
| | Elder Spirits | |
| | Junior Wells: "Come On in This House" | p. 21 |
| | Sunnyland Slim: "It Given Me a Tender Heart" | p. 34 |
| | Big Walter Horton: "I Mean It from My Heart" | p. 47 |
| | "We Gon' Pitch a Boogie-Woogie!" | |
| | Florence's Lounge: Memories of an Urban Juke | p. 61 |
| | Maxwell Street: Last Dance at the Carnival of the Soul | p. 75 |
| | "Let's Go, Baby, to the Hole in the Wall": Clubbing along the Current Chicago Scene | p. 93 |
| | Torchbearers | |
| | Jody Williams: Return of a Legend | p. 117 |
| | Bonnie Lee: "When I'm up There, I Lets Everything Out" | p. 136 |
| | Billy Branch: "It's the Most Powerful Music on the Planet" | p. 153 |
| | Sharon Lewis: "I've Lived through Some Treacherous Times" | p. 175 |
| | Lurrie Bell: "God-Give Me Strength to Be Strong" | p. 193 |
| | "The Soul Side of Town" | |
| | Artie White: "It's a God-Gifted Thing" | p. 215 |
| | Cicero Blake: "Give Me What I Have Coming or Give Me Nothing" | p. 231 |
| | Little Scotty: "I'm Not Only a Blues Singer-I'm a Motivator" | p. 249 |
| | Coda: "I Was Looking for the Future, but the Blues Was All I Found"-Thoughts on What Was, What Is, and What Might Be in Store | p. 267 |
| | Notes | p. 287 |
| | Works Cited | p. 301 |
| | Index | p. 305 |