|
Lost Highway tells the story of a special group of American artists: the musicians
who create and perform country and blues music and those who mixed the two
to create the explosive sound called rockabilly, which was virtually defined
by Elvis Presley and Sun Records in the mid-fifties. These were the styles that transformed American
popular music and transfigured its audience.
Through biographical sketches, first-person narratives by the musicians, and a striking gallery
of photographs, Guralnick has woven twenty-two extraordinary individual portraits
of artists both celebrated and little known. From Elvis Presley to Sleepy LaBeef, Charlie
Feathers to Charlie Rich, Waylon Jennings to Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Merle Haggard to Howlin' Wolf,
Guralnick tells the story of how the working American musician lives, what it's like to be on the
road day after day, playing nightly before one new audience after another, all on the chance of making
it, cashing in, of achieving a success that all too often will
be temporary, elusive, or even cruelly debilitating.
About the Author
Peter Guralnick is the author of Feel Like Coming Home, a contemporary
classic in the popular music field. He has written about music for Rolling Stone, The Village Voice,
The New York Times Magazine, Country Music, Living Blues, and many other publications.
|