The best way to review one of Peter Guralnick’s books is simply to listen to his words. He’s a mesmerizing storyteller who captures the reader’s attention not only with the details of the stories of the musicians he’s met, interviewed, […]
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David Menconi’s Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, From Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk (UNC) tells tales as colorful as the mountain laurel blossoms in the state’s mountains and […]
Two years ago, Jeff Tweedy took us on a little tour of his life up till now in his autobiography Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc. In what was one […]
Elizabeth Elkins and Vanessa Olivarez are Granville Automatic. In the last edition of The Reading Room, I reviewed their new book, Hidden History of Music Row, to which Brian Allison also contributed. The group’s follow-up volume, Lost Music Row (The […]
For many, Nashville means the bars owned by the stars — Blake Shelton’s Ole Red or Alan Jackson’s AJ’s Good Time Bar — or the legendary Tootsie’s, the honky-tonk across the alley from the Ryman Auditorium into which Opry stars […]
Light up a smoke, sit down in your favorite chair, drop the needle on your favorite Willie Nelson album, and let Willie and his sister Bobbie Nelson regale you with tales of life, love, and music in their new dual […]
What is soul music, and what are its origins? What is the relationship between Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Ann Peebles, Beyoncé, Marvin Gaye, and Janelle Monáe? Is there a logic to soul music that transcends the limitations of […]
In 2015, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville mounted an exhibit titled “Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City” that ran for almost two years. As Kyle Young, CEO of the Hall and […]
Soul legend Eddie Floyd wrote, or co-wrote, many memorable hit songs, including “634-5789,” “I’ve Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do),” and “Knock on Wood.” Now, in his autobiography, written with Tony Fletcher, the Alabama native carries […]
Chicago has always been synonymous with jazz and blues. Even now (at least until March 2020) you could head down to the South Loop to Buddy Guy’s club or just north of downtown to Kingston Mines for a night of […]
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