Roadkill on the Three-Chord Highway: Art and Trash in American Popular Music

by Colin Escott

Overview

It's the real stories, not the publicists' confections, that concern Colin Escott. We hear Perry Como's story in his own words: it wasn't all smooth. We learn about the astonishing twists and turns in Roy Orbison's life, and the stories behind the songs we know so well. And we go down with Vernon Oxford, the last great honky tonk singer, who came to Nashville just a little too late. These are stories for anyone who loves what Escott calls "little songs from great sorrows." They will fascinate even the most casual fan of popular music, and they're told here in sympathetic, engaging, and illuminating prose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781136762796
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/26/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Colin Escott lives outside of Nashville, TN. He is the author of Tattooed on Their Tongues: Journeys through theBackrooms of American Music and Hank Williams: TheBiography, and coauthor of Hank Williams: Snapshots fromthe Lost Highway, and Good Rockin' Tonight: The SunRecords Story. He has annotated over 500 recordings, and has won numerous awards for his writing, including a Grammy for historic documentation and an Lifetime Achievement Award from the ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections), a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the history of recorded sound.

Hometown:

New Orleans, Louisiana

Date of Birth:

July 26, 1959

Place of Birth:

Possum Trot, Alabama

Education:

Attended Jacksonville State University for six months in 1970; attended Harvard University, 1992-1993

Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1 The Smoother Side of Town 1. Roy Orbison: Starlight Lit My Lonesomeness 2. Perry Como: RIP 3. Patti Page: Oklahoma Blues Part 2 Fabor A Scam for Every Occasion 4. Jim Reeves: Say "Yes" to Rugs 5. Mitch Torok: When Mexican Joe Gave up the Rhumba 6. Ned Miller: From a Jack to a King Part 3 Town Hall Party 7. Skeets McDonald: You Oughta See Grandma 8. Wynn Stewart: Not Such a Pretty World 9. Wanda Jackson: Did She or Didn't She? 10. The Collins Kids: Brokenhearted Ricky Part 4 Memphis Sun Records, June 1957 11. Sonny Burgess: The Wild Man at 70 12. Ed Bruce: Mammas Don't Let Your Rock Boppin' Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys 13. Onie Wheeler Onie's Unlikely Bop (3188) Part 5 Postscript 14. Vernon Oxford: Too Country for Country (5761) Index

Editorial Reviews

Rockabilly expert Escott (e.g., Hank Williams: The Biography) here promises to look at the "forgotten ones" of early rock'n'roll. He is most effective when chronicling the modest successes and crushing tribulations of rockabilly journeymen such as Sonny Burgess, Wanda Jackson, the Collins Kids, and Onie Wheeler and such country singers as Wynn Stewart and Vernon Oxford. But while the 14 profiles are uniformly well written and informative, a few of them seem forced and out of place in a book about early hit makers who quickly faded from public view. Fifties crooner and television personality Perry Como, pop singer Patti Page, rock icon Roy Orbison, and country legend Jim Reeves hardly seem to qualify as "roadkill on the three-chord highway" of rock'n'roll dreams. Despite his lack of focus, the author provides some interesting glimpses into the lives of musicians who helped form country music and rock'n'roll nearly 50 years ago. Recommended for music fans who want to expand their knowledge of rockabilly and country. Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington Lib., Seattle

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