12 Books Nominated for 9th Annual Gleason Awards

Posted on June 26, 1998

Twelve books are finalists for the ninth annual Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, it was announced by award sponsors BMI, Rolling Stone magazine and New York University.

The books eligible for the top three cash prizes are: American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock `n' Roll Empire by John A. Jackson (Oxford University Press); Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes and the Changing Face of Nashville by Bruce Feiler (Avon Books); Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Black Music Style in America 1930-1978 by Bob Merlis and Davin Seay (Stewart Tabori & Chang); Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes by Greil Marcus (Henry Holt); The King of Western Swing: Bob Wills Remembered by Rosetta Wills (Billboard); Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life by Laurence Bergreen (Broadway Books); Mansion on the Hill by Fred Goodman (Times Books); Night Beat: A Shadow History of Rock & Roll by Mikal Gilmore (Doubleday); Ramblin' Rose: The Life and Career of Rose Maddox by Jonny Whiteside (Vanderbilt University Press/Country Music Foundation Press); Soulville USA: The Story of Stax Records by Rob Bowman (Schirmer Books); That's Alright, Elvis by Scotty Moore as told to James Dickerson (Schirmer Books) and The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin' by Bill Zahme (Harper Collins). Laurence Bergreen, John A. Jackson and Greil Marcus are all former Gleason Award winners.

The three final books, selected by a committee of music critics and authors, will share $5,000 in awards funded by Rolling Stone and BMI. The first prize will be $2,500, the second prize will be $1,500 and the third prize will be $1,000. The selection committee, which reviewed more than 80 titles submitted by the each book's publishers, included chairman Robert Rolontz, Pat Baird, Anthony DeCurtis, Holly George-Warren, Chet Flippo, Nelson George, Dr. John Gilbert of NYU and David Hinckley. The three winning titles will be announced in July.

The Gleason Awards are presented annually to the three books that best exemplify the standard of passionate writing and scholarship set by the late Ralph J. Gleason, the jazz and rock critic who co-founded Rolling Stone magazine in 1967 with Jann S. Wenner.