books
The Ragin’ Cajun Memoir of a Louisiana Man By Doug Kershaw with Cathie Pelletier (Mercer University Press)
I can still remember
the first time I ever saw and heard Doug Ker- shaw. It was during the early seventies and he
was a guest on the Johnny Cash Show. After that, it seemed like the Louisiana wild man was turning up on every TV variety show on the tube. Somewhere in there, country singer Charlie Pride did cover of “Louisiana Man” and I was going through a phase where I wanted to be the next Rich Little. In junior high school, I stood in front of the assembles students and did my “act,” impersonating Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Richard Nixon and Charlie Pride singing “Louisiana Man.” I always wanted to entertain. I started following Kershaw throughout
the seventies and into the eighties, but around 1984 I didn’t hear from him again. I actually thought he was dead. Then Marsha and Mary Beth at Mercer sent me his autobi- ography. I will say this. The Ragin’ Cajun is one3 of the best music biographies I have ever read. Kershaw paints the pictures so well, I felt like I was there with him in the swamps of New Orleans, living on a house boat with no shoes and no money, getting by with Mama Rita and Daddy Jack, and his sub- sequent rise to the top as a famed fiddle player.
Like so many others, Doug became ad-
dicted to wine, pills and cocaine and eventu- ally lost everything. The story eventually has a
happy ending. It is beautifully written, and detailed. This book is highly recommended.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
The Road Goes on Forever 50 Years of Allman Brothers Band Music By Michael Buffalo Smith (Mercer University Press)
Taking its title from a line
in Gregg Allman’s Mid- night Rider, Michael Buf- falo Smith’s latest book
The Road Goes on Forever chronicles the his- tory and music of one of the most storied Southern Rock bands. In his new title, Michael tells the story of the Allman Brothers Band over the last 50 years, with a special emphasis on their music. Author of multiple books on Southern Rock (including Capricorn Rising: Conversations in Southern Rock, Prisoner of Southern Rock: A Memoir, From Macon to Jacksonville: More Conversations in Southern Rock, Rebel Yell: An Oral History of Southern Rock), and as a musician himself, Smith has the credentials and experience to write this book. Smith has been a fan of the band for almost 50 years, and more importantly he has had the chance to personally interview most of the living members of the band over the last 20. The Road Goes on Forever draws on extensive personal interviews that Smith conducted with band members (Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, Jaimoe, and more), legendary producer Tom Dowd, sidemen Paul Hornsby and Johnny Sandlin, engineers, roadies, and many more. Smith brings his own musical background and extensive expe-
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