Issue Articles — Bookmark
Daniel Beaumont, Preachin’ the Blues: The Life and Times of Son House (Oxford University Press)
Son House has long been regarded as one of the most authentic Delta bluesmen. His music and performances were as intense as music gets, and his influence stretches from Robert […]
Kevin Avery, Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson (Fantagraphics); Conversations with Clint (Continuum)
Everything is an Afterthought presents a vision of the heyday of rock journalism, times that have long past. The features and reviews by Paul Nelson are longer than anyone would […]
The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll by Preston Lauterbach (W.W. Norton & Co.)
Unlike the vast majority of popular music historians today, first-time book author Preston Lauterbach admirably resists the temptations of “fan club worship”—complexly detailed biographies of popular entertainers— and “the new […]
Ricky Riccardi, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years (Pantheon Books)
A friend I know as intellectual and a roots music aficionado waved off Satchmo, saying the man’s main interests “were pot and Swiss Kriss.” When I told her that the […]
City Songs: John Swenson’s New Atlantis and Keith Spera’s Groove Interrupted
Television before Treme treated musicians as outsiders—frequently as degenerates, at least as self-absorbed and often predatory. The HBO drama implies that they’re just as much a part of a city […]
Preservation Hall by Shannon Brinkman and Eve Abrams (LSU University Press)
Preservation Hall is renowned worldwide for its music and spirit. In their new book about the Hall, photographer Shannon Brinkman and interviewer Eve Abrams capture that spirit in both beautiful […]
Marie-Dominique Verdier, New Orleans Walls: Still Standing (First Light Press)
New Orleans Walls is a collection of portraits of more than 80 “emblematic” New Orleans people posing in front of walls. The walls were chosen by Verdier, born and raised […]
Michael Oliver-Goodwin, Heaven Before I Die (Black Shadow Press)
In the year 2011, there are still plenty of people around who saw James Booker and Professor Longhair perform on multiple occasions, or who caught the Dirty Dozen 20 times […]
Herman Leonard, Jazz (Bloomsbury)
While a legend before he moved to New Orleans in 1991, the late Herman Leonard (1923-2010) did not achieve that legendary status as a jazz photographer until later in life. […]
Dave Thompson, Bayou Underground: Tracing the Mythical Roots of American Popular Music (ECW Press)
Gotta be the succulent-est book to feature the Axeman of New Orleans. If you don’t know the Axeman of New Orleans, feel free to look him up while I wait […]
