This is a compelling journey through the backwoods of American
music by the author of "Princes Amongst Men". Armed only
with a Greyhound ticket and enough money for his next beer, Garth
Cartwright set out to see whether the American roots music he loved
- blues and country, folk and soul - was still alive in the
twenty-first century. His journey took him from the LA bus station
to the Mexican cantinas of San Antonio, the Indian reservations of
New Mexico to the last surviving juke joints of Highway 61. Along
the way he meets an exotic mix of surviving legends - from soul
diva Mabel John to the queen of Mexican American song Lydia
Mendoza, funk pioneer Charles Wright to country troubadour Billy
Joe Shaver - plus a supporting cast of cowboy poets, down and out
blues men and a feller called Lee who becomes Cartwright's
co-pilot for an epic drive across the deserts of the South-West. A
remarkable piece of travel writing and an introduction to the real
stars of Americana.
"'Excellent... what distinguishes Cartwright is his style, his verve and his whole-hearted engagement with his subject' - Guardian 'Brilliant... will capture the imagination of any would-be traveller... An irresistible combination of travelogue and search for human roots' - Sunday Express"
Der gebürtige Neuseeländer Garth Cartwright lebt in Südlondon. Der Dichter, Fotograf und preisgekrönte Journalist begann mit dem Schreiben in den frühen Achtzigern in Auckland. Er reiste zwei Jahre lang kreuz und quer durch die USA, bis er zu Beginn des Golfkriegs 1991 nach London floh. In England arbeitete er für die wichtigsten Zeitungen und Zeitschriften.
