Music in My Life: Notes From a Longtime Fan

by WIGHTMAN Alec

Rock & roll first spoke to Alec Wightman as a ten-year-old boy when he heard Dion sing "The Wanderer" on his transistor radio. Over the next sixty years, Wightman would listen to countless records, chase live shows from coast to coast, promote singer-songwriter acts through his own concert production company, and work with leaders in the music industry as a member and chair of the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-all while maintaining his day job as a successful corporate lawyer.
In MUSIC IN MY Notes From a Longtime Fan , Wightman chronicles his musical evolution from the great rock & roll of the 1960s to numerous Neil Young concerts in the '70s and on to decades discovering singer-songwriter favorites like John Stewart, Jesse Winchester, Tom Russell, Rosie Flores, and Dave Alvin. The constant throughout Wightman's life, as one reviewer puts it, has been his "ear for great songs and his admiration for those who craft them." In MUSIC IN MY LIFE , this admiration is genuine and palpable, regardless of whether the talent springs from the lesser-known (Chuck Prophet, John Fullbright) or the renowned (Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Webb). With his tireless advocacy for live music, Wightman has forged special connections with scores of musicians over his lifetime, using his passion to bring artists and fans together. And his engagement with the Rock Hall is the cherry on top, giving him a unique perspective into the world of rock & roll-the music of our lives. MUSIC IN MY LIFE , says another reviewer, "is written proof that musical fandom can be a form of artistic expression."

350 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Don Gorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2 1/2). Alec Wightman is a smart and passionate guy. You certainly understand that reading this book. As a fellow Cbus resident (Columbus, OH to you unfamiliar) and music nut, we have many things in common, although not the same undying devotion to Neil Young. Our taste in music runs in somewhat similar paths, especially in his early years, and I am very familiar with some of his big favorites. This book is at its best when he is talking about his life history, and not the process of putting on his concerts. The start, the finish and his incredible tenure at the Rock and Roll hall of fame are solid reading, but as in many memoirs, the never ending lists get a little tedious. Reasonable stuff.

[Susan]

This level of detail in with these performers is just not my thing.
I've recommended it to people I think will appreciate it.

[Mary Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent -- learned so much about rock n roll and made me want to get to more concerts!