Permeating the shadows and the darkness of the bayou—a world all its own that stretches from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama—this study of marsh music leaves New Orleans to discover secret legends and vivid mythology in the surrounding wilderness. The people and the cultures that have called the bayou home—such as Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Nick Cave, Bo Didley, and a one-armed Cajun backwoodsman and gator hunter named Amos Moses—are unearthed not only through their own words and lives but also through a study of their music and interviews with visitors to and residents from the region. The interviews with Jerry Reed and Bo Didley, who both died in 2008, are among the last, emphasizing the book’s importance as a piece of cultural preservation. Part social history, part epic travelogue, and partly a lament for a way of life that has now all but disappeared, this is the gripping story of American music’s forgotten childhood—and the parentage it barely even knows.
Bayou Underground
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"In this part travelog, part music history, and part personal reminiscence, prolific rock writer Thompson . . . conjures up images of a mythical Louisiana. He uses 18 rock ’n’ roll songs as a backdrop to weave a tale of voodoo queens, riverboats, swamps, crocodiles, prostitutes, and pirates." —Library Journal
"A head-long dive into the music and culture of New Orleans and its environs . . . Bayou Underground unlocks secrets and back-stories worth savoring." —Wall Street Journal Online
"Kind of like listening to a good album for the first time; the paths taken may surprise you." —antimusic.com
"An intriguing folklore travelogue . . . the focus is on the filter through which writers (sometimes thousands of miles away) view the southern states of the US. This neatly illustrates the far-reaching impact that New Orleans continues to have on the wider music community." —Record Collector
About the Author
Dave Thompson is the author of more than 100 books on rock, cinema, and pop culture, including I Hate New Music, London Burning, Never Fadeway, and Smoke on the Water. He lives in Newark, Delaware.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
exciting and interesting rad
April 25 2011
By B. Painter
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my son, who's interested in jazz and blues. However, I decided to read it first, and am very glad I did. It is full of interesting bits of history of the region as well as the music from there. I learned more about Louisiana's history from the book than from living for 18 years in Mississippi. It is funny and told so that you can picture yourself exploring the area with the author. Very, very good!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful musical journey
Oct 17 2010
By missed
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Dave Thompson is author, according to his bio, of 100 books on music and culture. And it shows in his dreamy style that easily conjures up the thick humidity, roaring sound of insects, dangerous twists and turns and soaring rumble of gators that is the Gulf Coast bayou.
Bayou Underground takes us on multiple journeys: on the one hand we travel across Thompson's iPod as he explores Louisiana in his car; on the other, we explore the richness that is Louisiana's culture and history, both of which strongly shaped the music, not just of those who lived and breathed the thick Cajun air of mystery, but artists far and wide, across oceans and continents, each song inspired and infused with the Louisiana backwater and the characters that inhabit them.
Bayou Underground, then, is not your typical music history tome. It goes above and beyond the usual limitations of the genre and does what all books of this nature ought to do: take us on a fascinating journey through time and place bopping our heads to great music along the way.
Bayou Underground takes us on multiple journeys: on the one hand we travel across Thompson's iPod as he explores Louisiana in his car; on the other, we explore the richness that is Louisiana's culture and history, both of which strongly shaped the music, not just of those who lived and breathed the thick Cajun air of mystery, but artists far and wide, across oceans and continents, each song inspired and infused with the Louisiana backwater and the characters that inhabit them.
Bayou Underground, then, is not your typical music history tome. It goes above and beyond the usual limitations of the genre and does what all books of this nature ought to do: take us on a fascinating journey through time and place bopping our heads to great music along the way.
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