Adam Gussow
Adam Gussow (born April 3, 1958) is an American blues harmonica player and author, best known as a member of Satan and Adam.
Adam Gussow

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- Name
- Adam Gussow
- Born
- 3 April 1958
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Musician
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- rock music · blues
- Education
- Rockland Country Day School
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Adam Gussow (born April 3, 1958) is an American blues harmonica player and author, best known as a member of Satan and Adam.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q349622 · wikipedia · Adam Gussow
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Adam Gussow • Born — 3 April 1958 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Instrument — Harmonica • Genre — Blues • Occupation — * Musician • author • Years Active — 1986–present • Past Member Of — Satan and Adam • Website — https: www.modernbluesharmonica.com/
Early life
Early life
Gussow was born in New York City and grew up in nearby Congers, the son of a Jewish father and Protestant mother. He earned an undergraduate degree in 1979 and a doctorate in 2000, both from Princeton University.
Music
Music
Between 1986 and 1998, Gussow played harmonica in the blues duo Satan and Adam, alongside guitarist and vocalist Sterling Magee. Beginning as street performers in Harlem, they released five albums from 1991 to 2011, including Harlem Blues (1991), which was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award. A clip of the duo performing on 125th Street appeared in the U2 documentary Rattle and Hum. Since 2010, Gussow has performed as a one-man band, using foot-operated percussion while playing harmonica. He released the solo album Kick and Stomp in 2010. He also performs with Sir Rod & the Blues Doctors, a trio that includes Sterling Magee's nephew, Roderick "Sir Rod" Patterson.
Academia
Academia
Gussow is a professor of English and southern studies at the University of Mississippi. His scholarship focuses on the blues as a response to social violence and the cultural mythology of the music. His book Seems Like Murder Here: Southern Violence and the Blues Tradition (2002) was awarded the Holman Award from the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. In 2017, he published Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition, an investigation into the "blues devil" motif, which won the Living Blues Critics' Poll for Best Blues Book.
Identity
Identity
Adam Gussow is recorded as a citizen of United States. Recorded with the occupation musician. Classed in the genre rock music. Classed in the genre blues.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Adam Gussow”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q349622: Adam Gussow
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Colin Larkin. The Guinness Who's Who of Blues. Guinness Publishing. 315. 1995. 0-85112-673-1.
- 2.Gale Group. Contemporary Authors. 153. 2000. 0-7876-3241-4.
- 3.Tenorio, Rich. The devil went down to Harlem — to team up with a Jewish harmonica player. Times of Israel. 2018-11-17.
- 4.Princeton Alumni Weekly. Giving the devil his due. paw.princeton.edu.
- 5.Whiteis, David. Featured Interview – Adam Gussow. bluesblastmagazine.com. Blues Blast Magazine. 2022-07-26.
- 6.To The Best Of Our Knowledge. Adam Gussow Profile. ttbook.org.
- 7.Buckley, Brant. Adam Gussow: Apprentice of Satan. americanbluesscene.com. American Blues Scene. 2019-08-09.
- 8.Richmond, Bucky. Adam Gussow – Kick And Stomp: Album Review. Blues Blast Magazine. 2011-01-14.
- 9.Sir Rod & The Blues Doctors.
- 10.University of Mississippi. Adam Gussow. Department of English.
- 11.Seems Like Murder Here. University of Chicago Press.
- 12.2018 Living Blues Awards. Living Blues. 2018-08-01.
- 13.University of Chicago Press. Seems Like Murder Here: Southern Violence and the Blues Tradition, Gussow.
- 14.Mister Satan's Apprentice — University of Minnesota Press. Upress.umn.edu.
- 15.List | University of Tennessee Press.
- 16.Adam Gussow. Busker's Holiday. BookBaby. 15 October 2015. 9780996712408.
- 17.Adam Gussow. Busker's Holiday. Modernbluesharmonica.com.
- 18.Adam Gussow. Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition. University of North Carolina Press. 2017. 978-14696-33664.
- 19.Adam Gussow. Whose Blues? Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music. University of North Carolina Press. 2020. 978-1469660363.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 6
- University of Chicago Press. Seems Like Murder Here: Southern Violence and the Blues Tradition, Gussow.
- Mister Satan's Apprentice — University of Minnesota Press. Upress.umn.edu.
- List | University of Tennessee Press.
- Adam Gussow. Busker's Holiday. Modernbluesharmonica.com. BookBaby Modern Blues Harmonica: 2015 cite web. 15 October 2015. 9780996712408.
- Adam Gussow. Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition. University of North Carolina Press. 2017. 978-14696-33664.
- Adam Gussow. Whose Blues? Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music. University of North Carolina Press. 2020. 978-1469660363.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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