The stage and film actor Peter Holden (Parkhurst) has called Dayton Lummis a cosmic town crier. Indeed, that he is, and more. This latest volume, Ramblin Bob, will reveal that. Read it! The California social critic Tom Englezos said of Lummiss previous collection of acerbic thoughts and often politically incorrect observations: I thoroughlyand absolutelyenjoyed NOTES. I was informed, andoftenoutraged! Great stuff. Damn! I hope you have more coming. A lot more! Ramblin Bob is more. And still more

This compilation of essays takes the study of the blues to a welcome new level. Distinguished scholars and well-established writers from such diverse backgrounds as musicology, anthropology, musicianship, and folklore join together to examine blues as literature, music, personal expression, and cultural product. Ramblin' on My Mind contains pieces on Ella Fitzgerald, Son House, and Robert Johnson; on the styles of vaudeville, solo guitar, and zydeco; on a comparison of blues and African music; on blues nicknames; and on lyric themes of disillusionment. Contributors are Lynn Abbott, James Bennighof, Katharine Cartwright, Andrew M. Cohen, David Evans, Bob Groom, Elliott Hurwitt, Gerhard Kubik, John Minton, Luigi Monge, and Doug Seroff.

Examining the blues genre by region, and describing the differences unique to each, make this a must-have for music scholars and lay readers alike. A melding of many types of music such as ragtime, spiritual, jug band, and other influences came together in what we now call the blues. Blues: A Regional Experience is the most comprehensive and up-to-date reference book of blues performers yet published, correcting many errors in the existing literature. Arranged mainly by ecoregions of the United States, this volume traces the history of blues from one region to another, identifying the unique sounds and performers of that area. Each section begins with a brief introduction, including a discussion of the region's culture and its influence on blues music. Chapters take an in-depth look at blues styles from the following regions: Virginia and the tidewater area, Carolinas and the Piedmont area, the Appalachians and Alabama, the Mississippi Delta, Greater Texas, the Lower Midwest, the Midwest, the Northeast, and California and the West. Biographical sketches of musicians such as B.B. King and T-Bone Walker include parental data and up-to-date biographical information, including full names, pseudonyms, and burial place, when available. The work includes a chapter devoted to the Vaudeville era, presenting much information never before published. A chronology, selected artists' CD discography, and bibliography round out this title for students and music fans.

The American singer and guitarist Ramblin' Jack Elliott (1931- ) is a seminal figure in the folk music revivals of the United States and Great Britain. Declared an American treasure by former President Bill Clinton, Elliott has traveled and performed for more than 50 years, and his life and career neatly parallel the ascension of folk music's 'renaissance' from the 1940s through the present day. Ramblin' Jack Elliott: The Never-Ending Highway is the first complete biography of this important figure in the history of folk music. Elliott's music and Beat-era sensibility influenced countless artists in the fields of folk, rock, and country and western music, and Hank Reineke provides the full story of Elliott's relationships and influences. Most notably, his associations with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan are well-documented: Elliott is considered Guthrie's most famous protZgZ and Elliott mentored Dylan in his early career. Reineke also recounts how Elliott's life intersected with Derroll Adams, Jack Kerouac and the Beats, Princess Margaret, James Dean, and scores of others. The book examines the full breadth of Elliott's career, discussing how the rough-edged cowboy singer survived in the music industry and eventually won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording and the prestigious National Medal of the Arts. In addition to the biography, Reineke has amassed the first exhaustive and comprehensive discography of albums from the singer's notable back-catalog (1955-2009), including nearly 60 LP and CD issues, many rare and sought-after 78rpm discs, EPs, and 45rpm recordings, as well as a number of contributions to compilations, soundtracks, festival recordings, and guest appearances. This impressive volume is rounded out with a bibliography, an index, and more than 30 photographs, making this a must-have for scholars and fans of American folk music.

Forged on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers during the nineteenth century, jug band music was the early soundtrack for a new nation. Louisville was at the heart of it all. German and Irish immigrants, former slaves en route to Chicago and homesteaders moving into the city created a fertile ground for this new sound. Artists like Earl McDonald and his Original Louisville Jug Band made the city legendary. Some stayed in this so-called money town, passing on licks and melodies that still influence bands like the Juggernaut Jug Band. Tune in to Louisville's jug band music history with local writer Michael Jones and discover a tradition that has left a long-lasting impression on America's musical culture.

Upon his return to the U.S. after a seven year stint in Germany and Taiwan, a young, native Floridian, a victim of unexpected vississitudes, finds himself teaching in a prison deep in the north Florida Panhandle. The economic crisis of the mid-seventies has led to a massive increase in the number of prisoners facing incarceration. Instead of beginning work on his Ph.D, as planned, the young man is suddenly confronted with the reality of recalcitrant inmates, an arch-conservative administration, plus a whole kaleidoscope of personalities ranging from KKK guards, born-again Christians, black Muslims and a colorful mixture of staff members. Living together with his older brother, who was working at the local Social Security office, he slowly begins to adjust to a completely different world than the one he had experienced abroad, forcing him to accept the stark reality of those social changes which were transforming US society. While struggling to gain a semblance of order in the classroom, he found himself constantly battling his "old south" supervisors, who are suspicious of this liberal newcomer, who, later, seemingly far too often, sides with the inmates. In short, one finds here a microcosm of the US in the mid-seventies, with the young teacher himself raising the unresolved question - quo vadis?

“It’s the scenery—and the big guy standing in front of the scenery—that keeps us coming back to Craig Johnson’s lean and leathery mysteries.” —The New York Times Book Review Walt journeys into the northern Mexican desert alone to save his daughter Cady, who has been kidnapped by the cartel Welcome to Walt Longmire's worst nightmare. Winter is creeping closer, but for Sheriff Longmire this one is looking to be harsh in a way to which he is wholly unaccustomed. He has found himself in the remotest parts of the northern Mexican desert, a lawless place where no horse or car can travel, where no one speaks his language or trusts an outsider, far from his friends and his home turf back in Wyoming. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Tomas Bidarte, the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico, has kidnapped Walt's beloved daughter, Cady. The American government is of limited help and the Mexican one even less so. Armed with his trusty Colt .45 and a father's intuition, Walt must head into the 110-degree heat of the desert, one man against an army.