| 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 |