1. Why is there no mention in your article about the book on Johnson by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow that was published a few years ago and is considered by many to be the definitive work on Johnson? Does McCormick's work add to their work or contradict it? If the latter I would be leery of the contradictions.
1. Why is there no mention in your article about the book on Johnson by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow that was published a few years ago and is considered by many to be the definitive work on Johnson? Does McCormick's work add to their work or contradict it? If the latter I would be leery of the contradictions.
2. The book does not include the fourth photograph of Johnson or the interviews with Johnson's sisters because he "borrowed" the photo and never returned it and the sisters had a contract with Steve LaVere.
3. McCormick was responsible for the fact that the box set of the complete Robert Johnson was delayed by 15 years because he claimed rights that, in some cases, were forged. Eventually Columbia decided to go ahead anyway.
4. For me, the most disturbing thing in Hall's article is that McCormick falsified information so it would humiliate people who tried to publish it without his approval which includes his contribution to the book on Texas blues that he worked on for a number of years in the 1960s with the most highly regarded and respected writer on blues, Paul Oliver. A few years ago the book was published which includes fabrications created by McCormick. He was still alive when the book was published and could have corrected these fabrications but never did. Maybe he was pissed off at Alan Governor who was supervising the project because Governor refused McCormicks request that Paul Oliver's name be removed even though Paul was the one who did the actual writing. I don't care what mental illness McCormick suffered from - what he did to Paul Oliver is unconscionable .
Mack was seriously impaired by mental illness. "He could have..." seems to miss the reality of the profound, chronic mental illness he struggled with. Please, let's all show compassion for Mr. McCormack. -Doug Pratt, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
When someone with mental problems hurts someone else who should one feel more compassion for - the perpetrator or the victim? McCormick's mental problems may explain some of his actions but it doesn't excuse them.
The question has always been, do mental health problems entrench egotism or the other way round? The present day answer seems to tend towards excusing anyone with a diagnosis, while at the same time expanding the panoply of recognised illnesses.
A few comments
1. Why is there no mention in your article about the book on Johnson by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow that was published a few years ago and is considered by many to be the definitive work on Johnson? Does McCormick's work add to their work or contradict it? If the latter I would be leery of the contradictions.
2. The book does not include the fourth photograph of Johnson or the interviews with Johnson's sisters because he "borrowed" the photo and never returned it and the sisters had a contract with Steve LaVere.
3. McCormick was responsible for the fact that the box set of the complete Robert Johnson was delayed by 15 years because he claimed rights that, in some cases, were forged. Eventually Columbia decided to go ahead anyway.
4. For me, the most disturbing thing in Hall's article is that McCormick falsified information so it would humiliate people who tried to publish it without his approval which includes his contribution to the book on Texas blues that he worked on for a number of years in the 1960s with the most highly regarded and respected writer on blues, Paul Oliver. A few years ago the book was published which includes fabrications created by McCormick. He was still alive when the book was published and could have corrected these fabrications but never did. Maybe he was pissed off at Alan Governor who was supervising the project because Governor refused McCormicks request that Paul Oliver's name be removed even though Paul was the one who did the actual writing. I don't care what mental illness McCormick suffered from - what he did to Paul Oliver is unconscionable .
Mack was seriously impaired by mental illness. "He could have..." seems to miss the reality of the profound, chronic mental illness he struggled with. Please, let's all show compassion for Mr. McCormack. -Doug Pratt, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
When someone with mental problems hurts someone else who should one feel more compassion for - the perpetrator or the victim? McCormick's mental problems may explain some of his actions but it doesn't excuse them.
The question has always been, do mental health problems entrench egotism or the other way round? The present day answer seems to tend towards excusing anyone with a diagnosis, while at the same time expanding the panoply of recognised illnesses.
"The Blues Come to Texas" was published in 2019.
Mack McCormick died in November 2015.