books
Swamp Music Gator Country’s Musical Legacy By Michael Ray Fitzgerald
It’s no secret that Northern Florida spawned some of the very best Southern Rock bands in history. From Lynyrd Skynyrd to 38 Special to Molly
Hatchet, they all came from Jacksonville and the surrounding area. Why, ever the Allman Brothers first got together in Jacksonville before relocating to Macon, Georgia. But the area is not only re- sponsible for great southern rock. It also gave birth to many stars from many genres, and they are all chronicled in the most excellent book, Swamp Music: Gator Country’s Musical Legacy by Michael Ray Fitzgerald. The book is laid out like an encyclopedia,
and is chock full of interesting historical facts about folks like Pat Boone, Gary “U.S.” Bonds, Gram Parsons, Mike Campbell, Ray Charles, Pete Carr, Creed, Don Felder, Eddie Hinton, Limp Bizkit, Mudcrunch, Tom Petty, Sister Hazel, the Stanley Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and many more. Fitzgerald even covers the field of ac- tors and comedians from the area, such as John Travolta and Maya Rudolph. Swamp Music is a welcome addition to any
library of music, especially Southern music. It is a reference book that you will return to time after time, like a World Book encyclopedia. A truly in- dispensable volume on the music of Northern Florida.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
A Photographic Memoir on the Early Years Of the Allman Brothers Band 1970-74 From the Archives of New Orleans Lens-Man Sidney Smith
Photographer Sidney Smith
started his career quite early. At the age of 16 he was given full access to photograph the original Allman Brothers band. This hefty coffee-table book is filled to the brim with amazing images of the band, both on and off stage. I am quite ex- cited about this book, as the Brothers have been my personal favorite band for as long as I can re- member, and even though I bought every maga- zine and book that featured the group, most of these photos are brand new to me. Like opening up a time capsule. In just the first few pages I found myself thinking of how I could keep this hol7y grail of a book safe from any type of water or other damage. Crazy thoughts I know, but that’s how import6ant the book is. And the fact that Smith autographed it to me personally makes it that much more valuable. One of the first images finds Duane Allman in his prime, making the proverbial “blues face” while scorching across the strings of a beautiful Gibson SG. As I said, there are many such photos of Duane in the book, as well as some great off stage portraits. Same with Berry Oakley. Gorgeous shots of B.O., as well as Gregg, Dickey, Jaimoe and Butch. Just amazing images. As an added bonus, Smith includes an entire section of the post-1989 Allman Brothers band, with awesome shots of the hardest working man in show busi- ness, Warren Haynes, the late great bass master, Allen Woody, and percussionist Mark Quionnes. There are plenty of shots from the last lineup as
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