Bayou Underground

Description

Explores the music of the region from the House of the Rising Sun to gator hunting with Amos Moses (the one-armed Cajun backwoodsman created by country songwriter Jerry Reed) to Bo Diddley, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan and Creedence Clearwater Revival to unsung heroes of the Bayou like folklorists Mina Monroe and Alan Lomax. Part social history, part epic travelogue and partly a lament for a way of life that has now all but disappeared, Bayou Underground is the gripping story of American music's forgotten childhood and the parentage it barely even knows about.

Dave Thompson is the author of more than 100 books on rock, cinema, and pop culture, including I Hate New Music, London Burning, Never Fadeway, and Smoke on the Water. He lives in Newark, Delaware.

"A jolting 18-track joy ride [that] unlocks secrets and back-stories worth savoring." -- The Wall Street Journal "Bayou Underground is a must-read for any serious scholar of American pop music, or American pop culture, as well as for anyone who just wants to know where Louisiana music got it's distinctive sound." -- Bibliotica "An intriguing folklore travelogue ... the focus is on the filter through which writers (sometimes thousands of miles away) view the southern states of the U.S. This neatly illustrates the far-reaching impact that New Orleans continues to have on the wider music community." -- Record Collector Reviews "In this part travelog, part music history, and part personal reminiscence, prolific rock writer Thompson ... conjures up images of a mythical Louisiana. He uses 18 rock 'n' roll songs as a backdrop to weave a tale of voodoo queens, riverboats, swamps, crocodiles, prostitutes, and pirates. To add flavor, he sprinkles food recipes, such as Alligator Broulettes and Hummingbird Cake, throughout ... Thompson clearly knows his music history." -- Library Journal "One of the best music books to come out in the past year. Hell, it may be one of the most distinctive on Southern music and culture to come along in quite a while.... a tremendous piece of work." -- Crawdaddy!