Fifteen Books Nominated for Eighth Annual Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards

Posted on June 11, 1997

Fifteen books have been nominated for the eighth annual Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, it was announced by award sponsors BMI (the performing rights organization), Rolling Stone magazine, and New York University. The three winning books will be announced at a ceremony to take place in New York next month.

The books eligible for the top three cash prizes of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 are Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King by B.B. King and David Ritz (Avon); Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions (1960-1994) by Clinton Heylin (St. Martin); Doowop: The Chicago Scene by Robert Pruter (Univ. of Illinois); Ernest Tubb: The Texas Trabadour by Ronnie Pugh (Duke University); Go Cat Go: The Life and Times of Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly by Carl Perkins and David McGee (Hyperion); Goin' Back to Memphis: A Century of Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, and Glorious Soul by James Dickerson (Shirmer); In Close Harmony: The Story of the Louvin Brothers by Charles Wolfe (Univ. Press of Mississippi); Last Cavalier: The Life and Times of John A. Lomax by Nolan Porterfield (Univ. of Illinois); Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm & Blues Legend by Ruth Brown with Andre Yule (Donald I. Fine); Please Kill Me: The Uncensored History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain (Grove); Tattooed On Their Tongues: A Journey Through the Backrooms of American Music by Colin Escott (Schirmer); Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock by Ira Robbins; Waiting for the Sun: Strange Days, Weird Scenes, and the Sounds of Los Angeles by Barney Hoskyns; and Waylon: An Autobiography by Waylon Jennings and Lenny Kaye (Warner).

Authors David Ritz and Colin Escott are previous Gleason Award winners and Robert Pruter is nominated for the second time. The Gleason Awards honor authors whose works 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 with Jann S. Wenner in 1967.