Country: The Twisted Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll

by Nick Tosches

Celebrating the dark origins of our most American music, Country reveals a wild shadowland of history that encompasses blackface minstrels and yodeling cowboys; honky-tonk hell and rockabilly heaven; medieval myth and musical miscegenation; sex, drugs, murder; and rays of fierce illumination on Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others, famous and forgotten, whose demonology is America's own. Profusely and superbly illustrated, Country stands as one of the most brilliant explorations of American musical culture ever written.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, Criticism, Cultural Studies, 20th Century

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Nick Tosches was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire, was praised by Rolling Stone magazine as "the best rock and roll biography ever written."

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five foot stomping, hand clapping stars. Mr. Tosches is a man after my own heart, tracing the lineage of country songs back to their origins. This exhaustive book is a work of love about country and roots music. It is an account of certain mystiques, and the folklore surrounding some of the artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams, and many others. Some who were a revelation to me, and led me on a music hunting voyage of discovery on You Tube and iTunes. It is written in a wonderful, non pretentious, non academic style and is filled with lists of songs,the year they were recorded or performed, and the artists that performed them. I loved it and the music history journey it took me on. It will be a valuable resource. 5 stars, best reads pile. I recommend it to all people interested in the history of country and roots music. It is not for those wanting an academic study though, as Mr. Tosches enjoys the darker folklore of some of the songs and people, he holds back no sordid details in his history.

[Andrew]

I was really hoping for a comprehensive history of country music up to that point, complete with weird and wild anecdotes from the American fringe... and we're halfway there?

OK, this isn't a comprehensive history, it's a few stories of country music, and particularly the raunchier and rougher strains of country. My elderly and proudly Southern father used to put on a hillbilly voice when he said thoroughly inappropriate things -- like really Dad, did you need to say "if there's grass on the field, play ball" to your 12 year old son? -- but that speaks to the fact that for men of his generation, the hillbilly sensibility was stereotyped primarily as sexually deviant and alcoholic, rather than as evangelically Christian and politically reactionary. And it is hillbilly songs in this vein, along with minstrelsy that is honestly pretty hard to swallow in 2022, that Tosches mines.

Unfortunately, he does so mostly by listing off vast numbers of 7" records and forgotten labels that will appeal to your inner crate-digger but is frankly too long to research (although I did find myself listening to a lot more classic country and blues while I was reading this). There is some great stuff in here, but it's sandwiched by tedium.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

OH.
MY.
GOD.

First of all, let me say that I worked in indie/collector record stores off and on for over 10 years. I've seen record collectors up close and personal, and honestly I really admire their passion for their interest. I've verged on it myself. Until I did it for a living for more than, say, 6 months.
My issues with this book:
This is not about country music. It is about blues, minstrelry, and Jerry Lee Lewis. And it's a lot of "...and this can be seen when [artist:] recorded [song:] in [year:] (label), and [artist:] recorded [song:] in [year:] (label), then [artist:] recorded [song:] in [year:], ..." etc. etc. ad nauseum. Any connections between country (let alone, the "twisted roots of rock and roll") are not really made. As a matter of fact, even his long diatribe in the second chapter ("Orpheus, Gypsies, and the Origin of Rock 'n' Roll"), meant as scholarly I suppose, is a long string of bullshit.
I read these books to get more information on the artists I do know, and to be intrigued enough about folks I don't know to seek them out. Even my interest in the wonderfully mysterious Emmett Miller was absolutely snuffed out by his Appendix, where the mystery was distilled into "[artist:] recorded [song:] in [year:] (label), which was then covered by [artist:] in [year:] (label), ... oh yeah, and MINSTRELRY, YEAH, THAT WAS SOME BADASS SHIT!!!" You get the idea.
The man obviously knows his shit about artists, records, labels, etc. but this book is incoherent, reads like a barely (and poorly) edited version of his 3x5 notecards from his research, and the ties to the supposed premise/theme of the book (i.e., country music and its ties to early rock and roll) are tenuous at best. This would be a great resource book for others that are, like the author, huge record collectors. Maybe they would get more than 20% of the references to [artist:] recording [song:] in [year:] (label) and it would be meaningful to them, but for the rest of us mortals it's just snooze city.

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Tosches is a very good writer (and a very good music writer specifically), but this collection of essays is all over the place, quality-wise. Some essays are overly academic and obsessed with making connections between seemingly disparate thoughts, songs, concepts, or moments; Tosches loves nothing more than a long list of song titles, including the artist, year, and record label. Sometimes this feels less like an attempt at sharing pertinent info and more like an attempt to be as encyclopedic as possible, without actually saying much about the songs he mentions.
But when he is on fire, such as his essay Loud Covenants, which is mostly about rockabilly stars and devious characters (both at once in the case of Jerry Lee Lewis), his writing crackles with energy. This book is about pre-70s country, and often much older than that, pulling in most forms of early 20th century American music. Tosches knows his stuff, and can write like a demon when he wants to, but I suspect he has other, better books (I’ll be reading his book on Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire, soon).

[James Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated review: 9/3/20
So I have been thinking about this book and my review of it and think in light of the recent events that have been happening in the US, I wanted to come back and reassess.

Nick Tosches Country has a race problem. In my first review I just kind of happily ignored it as I am a privileged white male and when things are unjust I have been conditioned to just ignore them until they go away because I have the privilege to do so. My enjoyment of this book has been weighing on me because while it is a hybrid of academic overview and unfiltered opinion, the former of which I enjoyed immensely, it is the latter that I am wrestling with.

When researching this time period and when talking about it, it’s tough to not run across extremely racist language, because of how prevalent it was during the time being discussed. This is not what is at issue for me. For me it’s these vicious opinions that makes Tosches such a fiery writer that have both captivated me and appalled me simultaneously.

A large portion of the book Tosches revels in some historical racism, obsessed with Emmett Miller a minstrel show performer who’s career was made on black face performances. Another point he clearly thinks Jerry Lee Lewis is a badass for calling Chuck Berry the “n” word, and at one point even casually tosses off the word seemingly in an attempt to either be controversial or wry. He succeeds at neither.

After finishing I was on the fence about this book. I was so impressed with the lightning bolt prose and vast research that I kind of wrote some of Mr Tosches’ racism off as “I’m not racist, Look at all the work I’ve done proving we’re equals” considering the whole point of the book seems to be that rock and roll wasn’t “stolen” from black people and that it evolved devoid of color. I guess after thinking about it for a handful of months now I’m just undecided if it was more “look we’re all equals here” or “in defense of white rockers” I’m not outright saying “Nick Tosches was flat out racist” but he undeniably has published an authoritative tome here containing allusions that he at the very least was deeply interested in in racist history.

Either way. What I’ve come to realize is that I shouldn’t glaze over these things. I should confront them. I should talk about them. I should feel uncomfortable by them, and have uncomfortable discussions and most of all admit when I was wrong. This is my attempt.

I am leaving my initial review intact below, If only as an example to myself of how I have grown. I maintain that everyone has the right to enjoy things the were made by bad people. John Lennon and Chuck Berry abused women, Lewis Carrol was a pedophile, we can’t erase certain things from our cultural identity/experience. But I believe if we work together and talk about these things, humanity has a chance to change for the better.

Original Review(5/23/20):
The depth research that went into this book is astounding. Tosches’ voice is clear and opinionated and his prose is unmatched in non-fiction. A bit heavy on the record collector release and date information, I think this may be an arduous read taken just as it is. I combatted this by finding a Spotify playlist by groovekit (search Nick Tosches Country, you’ll find it) and even though some of the songs are not available(most can be found on YouTube), enough were there that the companion playlist illustrated the writings perfectly and made for an exceptional reading experience. A very important note, this book came out in the 70’s and talks about an era where racism was much more prevalent in culture so if you are sensitive to some of that language I’d skip this. This book is top notch for anyone interested in the true history of American Roots music.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a long time to get a handle on the way that British and American music developed in the last century. Well, it's a big subject. In America you had a mindbending wealth of popular music recorded from the early 1920s onward, thanks to such entrepreneurs as Ralph Peer. You had blues, ragtime, jazz, gospel, cajun and old timey in their multifarious genius recorded on thousands of 78s which were subsequently rescued from total oblivion in the 1950s and 60s by such collectors as Joe Bussard (see the great Dust to Digital dvd release called "Desperate Man Blues" which i just watched again today, it's a hoot). In Britain : nothing. Nothing. No records. Instead you got the vast ocean of unrecorded folk music which at last began to be recorded in the 1950s.

So in America you had the fascinating intertwining and development of the different strands, as when the country blues became urban blues became rhythm & blues became soul. And for the white folks, you got folk songs transplanted from Britain to Appalachia sung almost unchanged into the 1920s, but with the addition of the banjo first and the guitar later (they think that came in via Spanish America around 1880) they did change and became what we now call old timey (originally hillbilly). That music gradually moved to the city (mirroring the urban drift of black music) in the 1940s and 50s and became : Country. And what happened to Country in the city wasn't good. Somebody spiked its drink.

Nick Tosches in this book takes the Greil Marcus paradigm of "the secret history" and marries it with Dave Marsh's encyclopediamania and produces a book of essays which are the coolness of cool cool. So this is pretty much for country fans who like it like it used to be.

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nick Tosches' music writing, and though this is a touch scattered compared to some of his work (it's an early book), it's a great and entertaining history of country music up through the 1950s with some scattered material touching on 60s and 70s material. To be sure, it requires a solid understanding of country to really understand it (or a willingness to listen to a LOT of YouTube videos), but for people that enjoy the first couple of generations of recorded country, it's a fun and insightful work.

[Peycho Kanev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helluva book. Twisted.

[Sam Risdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 - 4 stars. At its best, this book glides in prose of the drunkard underbelly of early 20th-century country music. Unearthing the dirtier origin stories of rock n roll, the author's dismissive snaps at where country music has arrived, neglecting its collaborative, progressive beginnings. Tosches is fearless in confronting the uglier, less Nashville-ready elements of the genre's history. His fascination with Emmett Miller, the best example, a black-faced yodeler of the 1920s. Miller is the epitome of Toshes' country music; a sponge, a radical, an enigma, forgotten and dismissed. Miller, to Tosches, is the foundational block of rock n roll. He synthesised/bastardised country, jazz and blues. While tricky in parts, this book is the antidote to the stadium country of the 1980s onwards. Just as Elvis became 'The King', Riot Grrrl became Spice Girl, and the commodification of country music has dislocated it from its origin. Country was never about million-dollar cowboy boots or corporate beer labels facing out. Tosches proves that.

[Alek Fleury · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Some things have not changed in these twenty years. The obsessiveness is still there, the compulsion to research every fleeting detail down to its most tenuous root. I believe in the power of origins, a belief that, as Ecclesiastes put it, "that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun"; that what we claim as originality and discovery are nothing but the airs and delusions of our innocence, igno-rance, and arrogance; that whatever is said was said bet-ter-more powerfully, beautifully, and purely-long ago. Homer's rosy-fingered dawn is the greatest rosy-fingered dawn; Sappho's rosy-fingered moon, the same. There is no new wisdom, only new fools who find their way to the old; no new poetry, only new poets drawing breath as old as time.”

“In that same preface, written a dozen years ago, l said that much had changed in country music since the first publication of the book. Much again has changed.
The masses, recoiling from the mainstream's inundation by rap, have turned to contemporary country as the whitebread alternative, raising it to its greatest popular-ity. In their international success Garth Brooks and Michael Jackson have become the Janus paradigm of a sense of authenticity and soulfulness that only a false and soulless age could embrace as its own. Choose your phony accent, your affectation, the Stetson of country or the hoodie of rap.

I still like the old stuff. At once so real and so fraudulent, so repressed and so uncontrollable, it's like the species itself. And ultimately there's something about the depths of the human soul expressed in the context of a rhinestone-embroidered puce suit-something not only of innocence and demonology but of proper perspective as well-that can't quite be found elsewhere in the garbage heap that we call culture.

But I digress. Hank Williams inhales, Hesiod ex-hales. Jimmie Rodgers yodels, and I follow its spiral of synaesthesia into the air, endlessly. Enough.

I write these words at a time when my latest novel in progress has been deemed beyond the pale of pub-lishing: too disturbing, too "foul and distasteful." So as far as job security goes-ask any Sub-Sub, any customs inspector who realizes only too late that he went down with that big white whale-not much has changed. Except that now I don't give a fuck. They're all the first, they're all the last.”

“The wonder of Elvis will never die; no carrion bird can kill it. There was more mystery, more power, in Elvis, singer of "Danny Boy," than in Bob Dylan, utterer of hermetic ironies. It is the sheer, superhuman tastelessness of Elvis that shakes the mind. In 1965, as Western civilization lay on its tummy peeking over the brink at the rapids of psilocybin and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Elvis, for all the world to see, was hopping about singing "Do the Clam." And the same week "Do the Clam" was re-leased, Dean Martin came out with "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On," a Hank Locklin country hit from 1958. A few years later people began speaking of the revolutionary pop-country fusion wrought by the Byrds and Bob Dylan. Could Bob Dylan do the Clam? I bet Dino could.

One thing is certain. In an age bereft of magic, Elvis was one of the last great mysteries, the secret of which lay unrevealed even to himself. That he failed, fatally, to understand that mystery, gives anyone else little hope of doing so. After all, the truest mysteries are those without explanations.”

“What made rockabilly such a drastically new music was its spirit, a thing that bordered on mania. Elvis's “Good Rockin' Tonight" was not merely a party song, but an invitation to a holocaust. Junior Parker's "Mystery Train" was an eerie shuffle; Elvis's "Mystery Train" was a demonic incantation. Country music in recent years had not known such vehement emotion, nor had black music. Rockabilly was the face of Dionysos, full of febrile sexuality and senselessness; it flushed the skin of new housewives and made pink teenage boys reinvent themselves as flaming creatures.”

I love finding a new writer that I love, and from NEW JERSEY

[Garrett Cash · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is without a doubt the absolute worst book I’ve read in the entire genre of music-related books. I already knew that I wasn’t a fan of Tosches going into it, but had an open mind on it because of this book’s impact on the interest in country music’s early years.

The only positive thing I can say for this book is that in its encyclopedic exhaustiveness that if you have a phone in hand and are willing to spend the time on it you could find lots of songs that would be time well spent.

The book however is a monstrosity. It only operates on five levels:
1. A catalog of every song, lyrical scrap, artist, record label, etc. that Tosches found in his research and threw in there somewhere.
2. A teenage-boy-worthy focus on only taboo subjects: sex, drug abuse, violence, racism, mental illness, and general bad/illegal behavior.
3. A discussion of seemingly every early musical genre (primarily early rock n roll, blues, and minstrelsy) that is not commercial country music, which I remind you is in a book titled Country .
4. Digressions that truly have nothing to do with music at all that are pretentious and smug.
5. Facts and dates concerning the subject at hand that are all so hilariously wrong that it appears Tosches must have either been a terrible scholar or intentionally yanking everybody’s collective chain.

Bonus: Tosches has a mean, spiteful contempt for most country artists. He either praises them if they appear to be “psychotic hillbillies” enough to suit his taste (George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis), or condemns them for being too self respecting and upstanding (Johnny Cash, Charley Pride).

Nick Tosches continues to have some kind of an influence on people who study early country and rock n roll, and I really wish this were not the case. There are many authors who have done the same subjects in a much more satisfying way. I believe that Tosches’s masturbatory work is thankfully no longer necessary for those who love this music, and should be expunged from the record.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for a concise, comprehensive history of country music, look elsewhere: Nick Tosches is way too idiosyncratic & original to stick to any subject for too long. Basically he is a music lover who also happens to write and his writing is mostly delightfully random - he goes where his muse leads him, never mind the chronology, subjects or logic. While 1984 book "Unsung Heroes Of Rock 'n' Roll" is a genuine masterpiece, this one, published in 1977 is unfortunately not as brilliant - it feels as almost general rehearsal for things to come - but dear reader, even a unpolished Tosches is still towering above other, mediocre authors. Its just pity that this particular book is not quintessential as the other one.

While the title promises this will be a book about country music, this is merely an idea and from here Tosches goes on, musing about the earliest influences, Appalachian songs, Scottish murder ballads and so on - then he gets inspired and writes whole chapter about obscure vaudeville singers in a blackface or early rockers like Jerry Lee Lewis - mostly he rambles about lesser known musicians who have left almost no trace and never ever discusses Nashville, Grand Ole Opry or anything you would expect from this book - he mentions Jonny Cash only to laugh at his teetotalism and says "There are several offensively pious men in country music. Johnny Cash and his God are a particularly tedious act. The strongest drink Cash serves at his parties is nonalcoholic fruit punch." In other words, read if you are already familiar with the author but don't expect something that this book is not. It is a collection of random essays, connected with the IDEA of country music but not exclusively about it.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to be as positive about Tosches' book as much as I would've liked due to the gap between premise and delivery. Ostensibly a deep dive into the forgotten and strange relations between country and rock'n'roll, accompanied with some side musings on pop, jazz and blues, this book has a great starting point. However, whilst there is much to be said in favour of the idiosyncratic essays as a form of tackling the subject Tosches writes in an almost impenetrable prose that seems overly obsessive with listing who did what when and where. Instead of reading a clear and insightful narrative argument that explores and expands each chapter's subject, 'Country..' is mostly a catalogue of recording artists and releases where the reader gets lost in the minutiae.

It is perhaps too much to expect that one book can unravel the twisted roots of rock'n'roll and how it emerged out of all the different music genres that dominated the US pop culture landscape in the first half of last century. Tosches is to be commended for giving this task a red hot go, and there are moments where he does do what one might expect. For example, there is much to be said in favour of his revision of orthodoxy regarding what constituted the earliest rock'n'roll song. He also writes a stellar character study of the life and career of Jerry Lee Lewis. His efforts to revisit the place of Emmett Miller in popular song history are to be praised.

However Tosches lets himself down by engaging in endless listings of who sung what where and when, as if he is Homer reciting all the ships and combatants that fought in the Trojan War (and by the way, I do like the author's classicist notes). One of the worst examples of this flaw in the book is when he recites the tortured history of recording labels in the US up to c.1970. After reading such a list I found myself wondering what the hell I had just read and more importantly what did it all signify. There was not much to take away from this extensive passage aside from a glazed look of indifference and a slight marveling at Tosches' learned trivia.

In summary, if I am to make an overall recommendation I would suggest that Tosches has written a good book that does all it can to almost nullify its qualities with a rarely seen capacity for trivia. It will certainly entertain and inform aficionados of the book's subject, but it doesn't quite do what it could or should have.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Mr. Tosches certainly has a wealth of information to share, this book is turgid to the extreme. Except a long glowing passage about the wonders of Jerry Lee Lewis, little of this book touches on rock n' roll and its country roots. Which isn't a terrible thing if you're looking for a book that's about the roots of country music and the intersections of early 20th century American music - particularly country and blues, with slight touches on jazz and other forms. Whatever you've come to this book for, however, the dry writing and Mr. Tosches' insistence on writing down EVERY SINGLE RECORDING HE CAN FIND to support each chapter's vague thesis ("old country music was raunchy - here are 100 recordings to prove my point with artist, year and label delineated") make the book a real chore to get through at times. I'll give it two stars for the informative value, but I'm overrating its readability by doing so.

[Ben Chinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great survey of the messy, multi-ethnic, spicy world of American popular music. This book is really about the ways that black and white, country and city, North and South have always been co-creators of the musics invented in America: blues, country, jazz, and everything in between. Tosches view is constrained by an inability to recognize the winners and losers in this game, but the politics and commerce of music aren't really what he's interested in. His portraits are of the personalities and artistry of the players involved. In Tosches' world, the forgotten bluesmen and obscure fiddlers of the past achieve equal footing with the giants of rock and roll.

[Ian Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tosches’ writing is painfully esoteric, but the subject matter is fascinating for a music lover, and the manner in which he connects seemingly discrete things is impressive. There are no footnotes or endnotes, but the depth and accuracy of content is believable and led me down numerous YouTube rabbit holes.

[Eric Neffke · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're picking this up to read a dry, factual history of country music, put it down and grab something else. If you're picking this up to read a rip-roaring, hilarious, all-over-the-place, subjective look at classic country, you are SO in the right place. I love this book, but it's not for everybody.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the writing, but Tosches' theory, that the only good country music comes out of people getting with the devil and being bad, is offensive. The Carter Family? Doc Watson? He just doesn't know his subject, or he just doesn't actually like country music.

[Doyle]

tout le monde déteste Spotify et a raison mais bon c'est la seule playlist trouvée pour accompagner la lecture méga-sourcée de Toshes, que je pourrais bientôt lire : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5M7...

[Gustav Gerät · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book, I like it

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gloriously idiosyncratic, desperately in need of a revised edition. Linking rock to older Black musical forms quite as insightful as Tosches seems to think, but it’s still a fun jaunt.

[marcali · Rating 4 out of 5]

good resource

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fascinating information, but not much narrative arc. It's kind of a big info dump, great for reference but not for reading cover to cover.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like its subject, simultaneously nuts and mesmerizing....

[Steven Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extensive research on Author's end...I for one enjoyed reading some musical history I'd not known about prior...Twisted roots indeed and a long way to Memphis...

[Constantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second Tosches book in two days....he (Tosches) intrigues me. His prose is scintillating and often takes brilliant flights that absolutely transmogrify my world weary,skeptical soul. Excuse the hyberbolic purple prose here...but i'm really bananas with Tosches right now. I finished Tosches bio on Jerry Lee Lewis,entitled Hellfire,yesterday and gave it 4 stars. I am simultaneously reading Where Dead Voices Gather and that is gonna get five stars for sure. The subject of this review,Country is a worthwhile read but not the best Tosches(it is an early work of his). It is full of musicological/historical minutia on the history of country musics hoary roots in blues, minstrelsy, rockabilly, cowboy song, etc. I learned a lot about the invention/evolution of the phonograph, the lap steel/steel guitar story,the tangled history of record companies both large (RCA< CBS< DECCA) and dinky (Sunshine, deluxe, etc), was impressed by Tosches's revelation of the fact that record sales went from some 104 million units in 1927 to a paltry 6 million in 1932 (another insight into just how devastating the Depression was), gained insight into the complex, sometimes farcical but mostly insane subject of "race" in American culture, the dirty side of the Grand Old Opry's pretentiousness, and...a whole lot more.If you love reading about the "roots" of American music,and NOT just country music (don't be misled by the book's title), have a love of American culture and history, feel that our present culture (especially the music) is homogenized and gutless...you gain by reading this book. If you enjoy current country music...this is ABSOLUTELY not a book for you....go read a fanzine about Big and Rich or Garth Brooks or Tim McGraw and his ilk (all hat, no cattle???)...

[Brian Shevory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too long ago, I read Tosches’ book Where Dead Voices Gather, a really odd, but compelling book about minstrels and minstrel music, specifically examining Emmett Miller, someone who may or may not have been one of the last minstrel singers. Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock n’ Roll touches on that odd territory, but also explores many other areas, especially looking at hillbilly and rockabilly music, as well as other antecedents to rock that are not always equally explored. This was such a great book. Tosches not only does amazing research into the history of country music and exploring many of the subgenres from country, but he also has some amazing stories. I think the ones about Jerry Lee Lewis were some of the most entertaining (this might also be because he wrote a book about Jerry Lee). However, more importantly, as one of the most underrated American music writers, Toches excavates the lost history of rock n roll by exploring the influence of country and many of the wild personalities that were a part of country music’s popularity in the 1930s and 40s. Beyond the singers and musicians both known and unknown, Tosches examines the lyrical and musical content of some singles and semi-popular songs to explore themes, symbols and characters that were also influential in shaping popular ideas in Rock music. Prior to this year, I had only read one other book by Tosches, In the Hand of Dante, which was interesting, somewhat historical, but not really that musical. These music books were incredible and explored Tosches’ obsession with some of these long forgotten contributors to American music. Hoping to read Tosches’ biography of Jerry Lee Lewis at some point.

[AL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a used paperback copy of this book for my birthday, after many years of absent-mindedly passing it by in bookstores over the years, do I finally decided to read it. I found it instantly intriguing, as I had let my interest in the various American roots music forms become less fanatical over the years. After a while, I felt as if this book was just a compilation of lists of various old-timey songs and small anecdotal snippets from the lives of some of the author's favorite performers (call it a hunch, but I think Mr. Tosches likes Jerry Lee Lewis a little bit). Although, I do find this collection of vaguely related essays interesting, the unifying "theme" of Country music's influence on Rock 'N Roll gets a bit lost in the mix of the author's obsession over Emmett Miller and various musical origin stories of the earliest days of the recording industry, which are related but maybe meant for a tome of a different title. Still a fun read if you have an interest in the music of (gulp, I can't believe I'm saying this) a century ago. Seeing that this book was published when I was only 9 years old, I guess it is to be expected that this book not be as authoritative as I would expect in my advanced age, and that this book most certainly filled a void and perhaps influenced further scholarly exploration into the topics Tosches addressed here in this book.

[Roz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this looking for something detailing the roots of Rock: a book about the early, dusty years of 78 RPM records and the faceless artists contained therein. It's not quite that, but Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll is an interesting read with a lot of information and colour.

In a series of alternating chapters, Tosches details the early years of blues and country music. He traces the arc of steel guitars, it's common origin with blues and country and how it split not just into two styles, but two distinct instruments. He looks at the dark, dirty early country sides and contrasts them to the glitter-clean country music of Nashvill c. mid 1970s. He traces the arc of artists who've vanished like Emmitt Miller, those who rose to stardom, like Hank Williams, and those consumed by darkness like Spade Cooley.

At times, he bogs the narrative down in details, tracing a song not only through artists but though labels and catalogue numbers. A product, perhaps, of it's time, but it happens enough I found myself skipping through the pages. And compared to his best work - Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story - the prose lacks the same punch. At it's best, it's an interesting read, but I can see it being a little too detailed for some.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Tosches' first book, in which his trademarked style of "hard-boiled nonfiction" (which I recently described to a colleague as "40% facts, 60% attitude) was still in development. An interesting read to see the directions it would lead the author in his later works--'Unsung Heroes of Rock & Roll' looks at the history of early (black) R&B/rock & roll pioneers that he skims over here; chapters on Jerry Lee Lewis and Emmett Miller were turned into full-length studies of their own ('Hellfire' and 'Where Dead Voices Gather,' respectively.) My favorite chapters were the ones on Jerry Lee (since I never get tired of hearing about America's greatest batshit-crazy musical genius) and one provocatively entitled "Cowboys and Niggers," which examines the cross-pollination of black and white music (e.g., Otis Redding's Muscle Shoals studio musicians were all white; Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Rodgers recorded tracks together; myriad country covers of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Matchbox Blues," that sort of thing.) The book has no bibliography or discography, a significant weakness for a volume like this, so I can't whole-heartedly recommend this one for everyone but hard-core Nick Tosches devotees and obsessive country music fans.