Best Books on American Roots Music

When my wife Yvonne and I moved to Nashville, I was stunned to realize that most forms of American popular music had been born within 500 miles of our new home, in an arc from New Orleans (jazz) to the Mississippi Delta (blues) to Memphis (rock ’n’ roll) to Nashville (bluegrass) to Bristol (country).

I began reading eagerly about American popular music, and my reading led to writing—most recently my novel about the birth of country music, Lord of the Mountain.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite books on American roots music, along with a description of my own book.

The list is part of a terrific new service, Shepherd, which presents reading lists on a wide range of topics. Shepherd is “like wandering around your favorite bookstore, but reimagined for the online world.” In it, popular authors describe the best books on their favorite subjects. Give it a try!