letitrollpodcast@gmail.com's Podcast

This week, Nate is joined by Author, Robert Gordon, to discuss his book "Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters." In this episode, Robert and Nate discuss the epic life story of perhaps the most iconic American bluesman of all, from Muddy's beginnings at the Stovall Plantation in the Mississippi Delta, his first recordings for the Library of Congress, his move to Chicago and role in pioneering electric blues, all the way to his influence on the British blues revival and later years as an elder statesman of American music. ----------------------------------------------- Thanks for listening. Nate will be taking a break for a few weeks and will return with more music history and analysis in the spring. Be sure and subscribe to the Let It Roll podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud or Podomatic, and check out our facebook page as well. "Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters" by Robert Gordon, is available from Back Bay Books and can be found wherever fine books are sold.

This week Nate is joined by Author, David Wondrich, to discuss his overlooked classic: “Stomp and Swerve: How American Music Got Hot 1843-1924.” https://amzn.to/2Vn5Z3O In this episode, David takes Nate way way back into the history of American music, long before the invention of recording, to discuss how African-derived music in North America differs from its sister music in South America and the Caribbean, as well as America’s primordial pop phenomenon -- The Minstrel Show, and all the associated racist baggage that comes with it; country music’s surprising roots in African-American music and the black performers and songwriters who seized the opportunities presented to break the color barriers which had kept black performers off professional stages until nearly the turn of the 20th century. Song List for This Episode: 1. St. Louis Blues - Bessie Smith 2. Trombone Sneeze - Arthur Pryor 3. Monaghan - Michael Coleman 4. Yaw Donkor -Kumasi Trio 5. Old Dan Tucker - Fiddling John Carson Next week, Author, Robert Gordon, returns to discuss “Can’t Be Satisfied” his biography of Muddy Waters. https://amzn.to/2CKqJLs

n this episode, Peter continues the tale of the first format wars with radio’s sudden mass market emergence in the 1920s and discusses three of the early superstars of recorded music: Enrico Caruso, Bert Williams and Al Jolson. Songs: The Lost Chord - Enrico Caruso Nobody - Bert Williams Cousin of Mine - Bert Williams Next week, author David Wondrich is Nate’s guest to discuss his overlooked classic: “Stomp and Swerve: How American Music Got Hot 1843-1924.

In this episode, Peter explains how he came to take on such an ambitious project, why he started with the advent of recorded music rather than the advent of sheet music, the first format wars between Thomas Edison’s phonograph and Emile Berliner’s gramophone, the first recorded music superstars, and one unfortunate early hitmaker who found himself having to do a new recording every time a copy of his hit record was made. Next week, author Peter Doggett returns for the second episode, featuring his book “Electric Shock: Recorded Music from the Gramophone to the iPhone.”

This week Nate is joined by Author, Adam Caress, to discuss his book, “The Day Alternative Music Died: the Struggle between Art and Money for the Soul of Rock”. In this episode, Adam makes the case that the death of Kurt Cobain led to an instant revision of music history, and attempts to remind us of what the actual state of “alternative”* music was in the halcyon days of the early 1990s before “grunge”* was codified as a simple to copy formula that was relentlessly promoted by the music industry. Next week, Author, Peter Doggett, joins Nate for the first of two episodes discussing his book “Electric Shock: Recorded Music from the Gramophone to the iPhone”.

In this episode, Elijah elaborates on the claim of his book of the same title and makes his best case for the role of the Beatles (and other leading musicians of their generation like Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys) inadvertently ending the process of synthesis and cross-pollination that led to the evolution of rock and roll. Next week, author Adam Caress joins Nate to discuss his book “The Day Alternative Music Died: the Struggle between Art and Money for the Soul of Rock.”

This week, Nate is joined by author Elijah Wald for a discussion of his book “Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues” In this episode, Elijah explains his ground-breaking revisionist history of the blues, why Robert Johnson was virtually ignored by blues fans of his own era and how he emerged as a legend in the 1960's and beyond. Next week, Elijah Wald will return to discuss his book, “How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'N' Roll” with Nate.

In this episode, Robert tells Nate some of his favorite stories about the undersung musical legends of his home town of Memphis, including chewing tobacco with rockabilly legend Charlie Feathers, soul legend James Carr’s tragic tale of mental transubstantiation, the singer more frightening than Jerry Lee Lewis, the Lead Belly album that changed his life, and Jeff Buckley’s final days. Thanks for listening. Next time, Nate will be back with author Elijah Wald to discuss the real story of Robert Johnston, the blues legend in his proper context.

This week Nate is joined by author Joe Nick Patoski for the final of three episodes discussing his biography of Willie Nelson: An Epic Life In this episode, Joe Nick tells us about the years when Willie, Waylon and the boys became the biggest stars in American pop music, Willie’s triumphant 80’s doing duets with everyone from Merle Haggard and Ray Price to Julio Iglesias, his battles with the IRS, touring with the Highwaymen and playing at the wedding of Bill and Melinda Gates and Ray Charles’ funeral. Thanks for listening. Next week, Nate will be back with author Robert Gordon to discuss his new book: Memphis Rent Party.

You can read all about this 3 part series in Joe Nick Patoski's "Willie Nelson: An Epic Life": https://amzn.to/2SGulUZ. In this episode Joe Nick tells us why Willie wasn’t satisfied as one of Nashville’s top songwriters and about his long struggle with the country music establishment.

You can read all about this 3 part series in Joe Nick Patoski's "Willie Nelson: An Epic Life": https://amzn.to/2SGulUZ. In this episode, Joe Nick tells us how a country boy from Abbott, Texas grew into a hard-core honky tonk hero, playing gigs from San Antonio to Portland, Oregon. Honing his skills as a singing radio DJ and selling everything from encyclopedias to classic songs for as little as $50 a pop.

This week author Paul Trynka returns to discuss his first book, “Portrait of the Blues” a classic that’s unfortunately out of print but widely available online for a slight premium. In this episode Nate chats with Paul about the time he spent connecting with legendary bluesmen like John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and the stories they told about their lives and adventures playing the blues from Mississippi to Chicago and all over the world.

This week special guest Dr. Cam Cobb returns to finish the story of Moby Grape. Cam’s the author of “What’s Big and Purple and lives in the Ocean - The Moby Grape story” This week, Cam and I conclude the tale of Moby Grape and their journey from being the “Next Big Thing” of 1967 to madness, drugs, mental institutions and utter creative and personal dissolution. We’ll talk about Skip Spence’s infamous axe-wielding breakdown at Columbia Records headquarters and how the rest of the Grape managed to cut some great music amidst the ruin.

Host Nate Wilcox is joined by author James Burns to discuss his book “Let’s Go to Hell: Scattered Memories of the Butthole Surfers.” This week, James and I talk about the unique circumstances of the 1980s that allowed a band as outre as the Butthole Surfers to reach a large international audience, the research involved in compiling a hardcore oral history, many staggering scatalogical anecdotes and the cosmo-historic importance of Gibby Haynes, Paul Leary and company.

Ed Ward is back for a discussion of Bob Wills and Western Swing. This week, Ed and I pick up the history of country music where we left off after the Carter Family & Jimmie Rodgers episode and carry on to the 1930s emergence of a distinctive genre in Texas: Western Swing and the man, Bob Wills, who led it to the top of the pop charts, packed dancehalls, TV and movies.