An Evolving Tradition – The Child Ballads in Modern Folk and Rock

Backbeat Books, published July 15,2023.

The Child Ballads are a series of over 300 traditional ballads from England and Scotland that, along with their American variants, were anthologized by folklorist Francis James Child in the nineteenth century. An Evolving Tradition is the story of the Child Ballads—the world’s best-known and most highly regarded repository of traditional English folk songs, and the wellspring for approximately 10,000 recordings over the last century, from obscure musicological archives to classic releases from Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and Led Zeppelin.

Also includes a free download of The Final Six – the first ever commercial recordings of Child Ballads #300-305, featuring the London Experimental Ensemble with Richard Thompson, Wesley State, Marissa Nadler and others.

Drawing on interviews with numerous scholars and musicians, author Dave Thompson explains what a ballad is, outlines their dominant themes, and recounts how these ballads survived to become a mainstay of field recordings made by Cecil Sharp, Alan Lomax, and others as they traveled the English and American countryside in search of old songs. Thompson traverses the entire spectrum of rock, pop, folk, roots, experimental music, industrial, and goth to reveal the remarkable legacy and incalculable influence of the Child Ballads on all manner of modern music.

Watch the video – Dave Thompson on the book and a history of the Child Ballads.

Hear more – Ed Pettersen (London Experimental Ensemble) discusses the book and the free download.

Buy a copy – hardback or Kindle

Encyclopaedia Hawkwindia – Out Now!

ALMOST 600 PAGES OF BRAIN DAMAGE!

Over 1,750 entries journey from“Abducted” to ZZZ include: Every song… every single… every album… every band member… festivals… spin-offs… side projects… solo albums… live shows… cover versions… venues… characters… crew… record labels… managers… reissues… compilations… tributes… culture… friends and relations….

The ultimate guide to fifty years of Hawkwind, Encyclopaedia Hawkwindia is illustrated with photos, cuttings and art from throughout the band’s career—and beyond.

Introduction by Alan Davey.

Cover art by Gregory Curvey.

Buy it here

Ten new and first time e-books published June 2020

June 1st 1974: Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico, Eno, Mike Oldfield And Robert Wyatt—The Greatest Supergroup Of The Seventies

available here

John’s Children: A Midsummer’s Night Scene and Other Stories

available here

Those We Have Loved: English ex-Football League clubs, 1888-1988

available here

The Avant-Garde Woodstock: The International Carnival of Experimental Sound, 1972

available here

Hey! – The Story of Gum into Glam, 1964-1987

available here

Twenty-Five Years in the Reptile House: British Gothic Rock 1976-2001

available here

Psychedelic Furs – Beautiful Chaos

available here

The Freakiest Show: David Bowie Cover Versions, 1964-2016

available here

A Kind of Love-In: The story of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity

available now

10cc: Living in Dreams

available now

 

 

 

To Hell and Back: My Life in Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers, in the Words of the Last Man Standing

Now available – and the #1 New Release in Music History & Criticism on Amazon.com…

There have been many books written about Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, but only by people who weren’t there. Walter Lure was—from the band’s chaotic beginnings on New York’s Lower East Side, through a now-legendary UK tour with the Sex Pistols and the Clash, and on to a yearlong stay in London—eyewitness and midwife to the birth of UK punk.

Now, he tells his story in To Hell and Back, a thrilling ride through the clubs and dives of two continents, in the company of one of the most notorious junkies in rock ‘n’ roll history. Drawing from his own contemporary journals, Lure paints a vivid portrait of life in both cities, during perhaps the most crucial musical uprising of the past forty years…the music, the characters, the clothes, the fights, the drugs, the orgies, the lot.

Lure lays bare his own battle with drugs, and reflects upon his life after the band’s split—rising to become a Wall Street fixture yet still finding time to make music.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

“An essential addition to the Motown bookshelf” (4 stars) – Mojo

Come and Get These Memories: The Story of Holland-Dozier-Holland  – by Eddie Holland and Brian Holland with Dave Thompson (Omnibus Press)

Brian Holland, Edward Holland, and Lamont Dozier, known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or H-D-H, were the greatest songwriting team in American pop music history. Seventy of the songs they wrote reached the Billboard Top 40, with 15 of these reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

No other songwriting team or individual has come close to equaling, let alone surpassing, this record. They’ve been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As tunesmiths for the legendary Motown Record Corporation, and for their own corporations, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, they wrote and produced hits for Diana Ross and the Supremes, including “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “Come See About Me,” “Back in My Arms Again” and “Reflections.”

Now the legendary composers are ready to reveal the inspirations and stories behind their chart-topping hits, providing millions of fans with the first complete history of their songwriting process, and detail the real-life experiences that led them to write each of their most famous tunes. They will also reveal their creative and intimate relationships with Motown’s biggest stars.

available now from Amazon and everywhere!

Read Adam White’s review and interview with Dave Thompson here

 

 

Now available

Paul Simon FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Legendary Singer and the Iconic Songs Paperback – 

by Dave Thompson (Backbeat Books)

Here is a fascinating, all-encompassing journey through the life and career of one of America’s most influential, and literate, songwriters.

Beginning with Simon’s earliest days as an aspiring teenage idol and Tin Pan Alley songsmith,Paul Simon FAQ takes readers through Simon’s sometimes tempestuous relationship with singing partner Art Garfunkel, with whom he established the most popular musical duo in rock history.

The book goes behind the scenes of Simon’s groundbreaking work at the forefront of world music and follows him to his emotional 2018 final concert before his retirement-from performing live.

In addition, Paul Simon FAQ features chapters dedicated not only to Simon’s music but also his stage, screen, and television work, his devotion to charity, and more. Influences such as Bob Dylan, the Everly Brothers, and the Child Ballads are examined, while his songwriting is documented not only through his own recordings but also those of the myriad other artists who have covered his compositions. Fact-filled sidebars serve up a wealth of statistics and lists. In short, Paul Simon FAQ is the ultimate guide to the consummate performer.

order from Amazon (USA) here

order from Amazon UK here

 

On Sale Now – 40% off!

On Sale Now – up to 40% off (almost) everything!

David Bowie, New Order, the Fall, Fruits de Mer, Seance at Syd’s, Otway-Barrett, Julie Driscoll, the Cure, Suede, 10cc, Psychedelic Furs, John’s Children, Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico, Eno, the 1972 ICES Festival, The Who, Glam Rock, Industrial Rock, Britpop, Space Rock, Two Tone, Progressive Rock, Gothic Rock, Doctor Who, ex-League football…

Search Dave Thompson (and make sure you get the right one!) here

BUY IT HERE

BUY IT HERE

BUY IT HERE!

also available as an e-book here