The art teacher who became the preeminent author on Blues music in America, has died aged 90.

Paul Hereford Oliver, who attended and taught at Harrow County School for Boys, is credited with creating an indispensable work on the movement with ‘The Story of the Blues’.

Born in Nottingham in 1927, his family moved to North London when he was young.

After gaining his initial education, he trained as a painter and sculptor at Harrow School of Art but switched to graphic design since most art materials aggravated his various allergies.

A keen music fan, Oliver founded the Harrow Jazz Purist Society, played the mandolin in a skiffle band and wrote his first music article in 1951 – a piece on gospel songs for Jazz Monthly.

His venture into Blues music began when he was hired as an illustrator for record covers by Decca and his skills as an artist and a writer were soon noticed by those in the industry.

He secured a grant from the BBC to travel to the US and record various Blues artists. This journey provided the inspiration for ‘The Story of the Blues’.

His project grew out of a popular exhibition at the British Embassy where he met Blues legend Lightin' Hopkins and arranged an interview at his house in Houston.

Oliver also edited more than one hundred interviews for an oral history on the genre, ‘Conversation with the Blues’, in which he explored its African roots and its wide-reaching influence over American music.

At his death, he left a 1,400-page unfinished manuscript, written with Mack McCormick, on the Texas Blues.

This work is scheduled to be published in 2018 by Texas A&M University Press as ‘The Blues come to Texas: Paul Oliver and Mack McCormick’s Unfinished Book’.

Oliver met his wife, Valerie, while at Harrow School of Art. They remained married until her death in 2002. He leaves no immediate survivors.