The winner of the 2006 IPPY Award for best non-fiction book from the South (presented by the Independent Publishers Association), the Mojo Triangle tells the true story--at long last--of the birth of the blues, rock 'n' roll, country and jazz!
Draw a straight line from New Orleans to Nashville, then over to Memphis and back down to New Orleans, following the curves of the Mississippi River, and you have the Mojo Triangle, a phrase coined by the author in the early 2000's.
"So much of what has been written about the music of the South is untrue," says Dickerson. "I wanted to set the record straight and put the development of the music in perspective. The Mojo Triangle is a land area in which all of America's original roots music was created: country, blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll. How did this music come about? What is there about the Mojo Triangle that has contributed to the creation of so much original music?"
The book points out that although the music itself was created in the geographical area defined by the Mojo Triangle, the two portals through which the various musical components entered and then morphed into the finished products were Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee, with the Natchez Trace serving as the main artery.
Based on interviews with the recording artists, musicians, producers and songwriters who created and performed the music, it traces the development of the music from the early 1800s up to the present day.
There is probably no author in history who has interviewed as many music legends and musicians as the author--and the reader benefits from that experience in a big way. Among the music legends who participate are: Al Green, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Chet Atkins, Ike Turner, Jack Clement, Marty Stuart, Mose Allison, Rita Coolidge, Roy Orbison, Scotty Moore, Tammy Wynette, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks, Chips Moman, Billy Sherrill, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jimme Vaughan, Willie Mitchell, Booker T. & the MGs, Bobby Womack, Estelle Axton, Dave Edmunds, Pinetop Perkins, Bobbie Gentry, and the list goes on and on.
This incredible book, which contains rare photographs, some of which were taken by the author himself, not only allows the music greats themselves to express themselves about the music they made famous, it explains for the first time the development of America's music.
About the Author :
After a career as a journalist for three Pulitzer Prize winning dailies, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, the Clarion Ledger-Jackson Daily News, and the Delta Democrat-Times of Greenville (MS), he began a career as a full-time author. His book Mojo Triangle: Birthplace of Country, Blues, Jazz and Rock 'n' Roll earned a first place award from the Independent Publishers Association, and two music-related books, Goin' Back to Memphis (since republished as Memphis Going Down) and That's Alright, Elvis, co-written with Elvis Presley's first guitarist, Scotty Moore, were finalists for the prestigious Gleason award. He co-wrote a second book with Moore titled Scotty & Elvis. Dickerson lives in the Metro Jackson, Mississippi, area. This is his first movie rights sale. Two of his books have been translated into Chinese by publishers in China.
Review :
"A rich and rewarding book."-Beth Goehring, The Literary Guild.
"Mojo Triangle is a very good book. Author James L. Dickerson, a Southerner himself, has written a great, in-depth history of the area and its musical background ... all aimed at the birthplace of American music. He hit it right on the button."-Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's first guitarist and manager.
"In the search for a unified-field theory of American popular music, few journalists come as well equipped as James L. Dickerson. Blessed with the scene-setting panache of a natural storyteller, an eye for the telling detail, and the audacity to reach for the big picture, Dickerson has walked back out of the jungle bearing this remarkable, pioneering compendium ... Again and again Dickerson dredges up forgotten or suppressed histories and teases out connections that other historians of southern music have missed. I learned a great deal from this book."-Adam Gussow, author of Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir.
"Mojo Triangle considers the developments and major figures who shaped pop within an imaginary triangle encompassing Natchez, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, and the Delta, and ranges over to Alabama for a stop-off in Muscle Shoals, recording home of the most famous soul-music rhythm section of the 1960s and 1970s. Dickerson also examines, at chapter length, the role climate and weather played in the area's musical development and history. Another valuable resource and readable history for pop enthusiasts.-Booklist, Mike Tribby Copyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved
"Dickerson's book adds another chapter to the legacy of vital works that trace the South's prominence in American cultural development."-Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper.
"Mojo Triangle is the seminal nexus of psychology, history, and aesthetics. It crystallizes the essence of Ernie K-Doe's quote, 'I'm not sure, but I'm p almost positive, that all music came from New Orleans.'... Dickerson's notion of genetic and cultural history is supported by Jung's psychological archetype. The fruits of natural expression are indeed country, blues, jazz and rock 'n' roll."-Greg Gormanous, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Louisiana State University.
