Rock & Roll: An Unruly History

Basing his lively history on his own experiences and predilections as a rocker, Palmer (Deep Blues), who has for many years played, taught and written about rock, here tells the story of the music, its performers and the culture that fuels it. In narrative chapters accompanied by time lines, he follows its development from the mid-'50s, when teenagers began to get the message from rhythm and blues and other nonmainstream sounds, through all its permutations to the present day, including heavy metal, psychedelia, punk, funk, rap and hip-hop. Interspersed are essays exploring sources and origins in which he focuses on rhythmic traditions from around the world that have been subsumed by rock; the Dionysian heritage of liberation through ecstasy and frenzied sexuality; and the central role of the electric guitar and its virtuosi. Palmer's book, written to accompany a PBS/BBC TV series, is fun yet far from unruly; it takes a serious look at rock as an art form and an important part of our culture. Photos. Author tour. (Sept.)