Issue Articles — Bookmark
James Sullivan, The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America (Gotham)
To New York Senator Jacob Javits, trying to praise him, James Brown was “Jamie Brown.” To Boston mayor Kevin White, whom the singer introduced at Boston Garden that fateful night, […]
Sean Manning (ed.), Rock and Roll Cage Match: Music’s Greatest Rivalries, Decided (Three Rivers Press)
Biggest All-Time (Rock/Pop, at Least) Music Rivalry Left Untouched: “Beatles vs. Stones,” maybe because too many readers would find the answer wrong no matter which author wrote which verdict. […]
Randy Poe, Skydog: The Duane Allman Story (Backbeat)
In Skydog: the Duane Allman Story—recently released in paperback—author Randy Poe has written the definitive biography of the late Allman Brother and session guitarist. Since his death, Duane and the […]
Ian McNulty, A Season of Night: New Orleans Life After Katrina (University Press of Mississippi)
Ian McNulty’s eye for detail makes A Season of Night important. He recorded the little things that we all experienced but never thought they were more than trivialities. We all […]
David King Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing? The Ballad of Pete Seeger (Random House)
Among the many anecdotes from David King Dunaway’s anecdote-rich biography of folk music legend Pete Seeger is this one: in the summer of 1955, after a folk festival somewhere in […]
Mick Burns (ed.), Walking with Legends: Barry Martyn’s New Orleans Jazz Odyssey (Louisiana State University Press)
British born jazzman Barry Martyn is a grand storyteller, a good drinking companion, and just the person to have around if you’re new to New Orleans and care about traditional […]
Ned Sublette, The World That Made New Orleans (Lawrence Hill Books)
Four years ago the writer and musician Ned Sublette published his first book, the magnificent Cuba and Its Music. This work single-handedly changed my view, for instance, to the Cuban […]
Marybeth Hamilton, In Search of the Blues (Basic)
Marybeth Hamilton’s In Search of the Blues isn’t a search for the blues per se. More accurately, it’s a search for the people who searched for the blues—the people who […]
Gayle F. Wald, Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock and Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Beacon)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe is one of the unsung heroines of American music. She was a virtuoso female guitar player who moved in both the world of spirituals and blues. Her […]
John Sinclair, Guitar Army
Not a moment too soon does Process Media release a new edition of the radical 1970s classic manual and commentary Guitar Army by former White Panther head honcho and current […]
