True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed

by Monte Dutton

Americana music isn’t just a musical form--it’s a state of mind. In this book, Monte Dutton charts the coordinates of this state of mind with a series of interviews and intimate portraits from the heart of alternative country, often known to its adherents simply as Our Kind of Music. In places such as Austin and Nashville, Las Vegas and Key West, Dutton finds the voices of the genre that the Americana Music Association defines as “American roots music based on the traditions of country.” True to the Roots profiles Grammy-nominated performers (such as Brad Paisley and Pat Green) as well as those who sing for tips in local bars, and bands such as Those Guys, Reckless Kelly, and Cross Canadian Ragweed. In these pages the reader encounters Vince Pawless, a guitar maker in Gainesville, Texas, and James White, owner of the Broken Spoke, a historic honky-tonk in Austin; and musicians such as Robert Earl Keen and James McMurtry. Each of these portraits provides a unique story about this music and explains why it not only survives but thrives outside a mainstream increasingly controlled by corporate culture and commercial constraints.

Genres: Music

212 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Monte Dutton lives in Clinton, South Carolina. In high school, he played football for a state championship team, then attended Furman University, Greenville, S.C., graduating in 1980, B.A., cum laude, political science/history.

He has written regularly about NASCAR since 1993, and has written for the Gaston Gazette (Gastonia, NC) since 1996. He was named Writer of the Year by the Eastern Motorsports Press Association (Frank Blunk Award) in 2003 and Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association (George Cunningham Award) in 2008. His NASCAR writing has been syndicated by King Feature Syndicate in the form of a weekly page, “NASCAR This Week.”

Monte Dutton is also the author of Pride of Clinton, a history of high school football in his hometown, 1986; At Speed, 2000 (Potomac Books); Rebel with a Cause: A Season with NASCAR’s Tony Stewart, 2001 (Potomac Books); Jeff Gordon: The Racer, 2001 (Thomas Nelson); Postcards from Pit Road, 2003 (Potomac Books); Haul A** and Turn Left, 2005 (Warner Books), True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed, 2006. (Bison Books); and is an Editor/Contributor of Taking Stock: Life in NASCAR’s Fast Lane, 2004 (Potomac Books).

The Audacity of Dope, 2011 (Neverland Publishing) is his first novel, and he is hard at work on his second.