We got the Louisiana boogie and the delta blues
We got country, swing and rockabilly, too
We got jazz, country-Western and Chicago blues
It’s the greatest music that you ever knew
It’s American music, it’s American music, it’s American music
It’s the greatest sound right from the USA

– the Blasters, “American Music”

John Prine: In Spite of Himself will be the fifth book in University of Texas Press’s American Music Series, following portraits of the Flatlanders, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, and Ryan Adams / Whiskeytown. One of my editors, David Menconi, wrote the Adams book. The pace of the series will pick up over the next couple of years, as David details in a recent post on his blog.

The series will also expand beyond the country / folk / Americana realm in 2016 with books about Madonna and Mary J. Blige. I’m especially interested in Kristin Hersh’s forthcoming book about Vic Chesnutt. He was a brilliant eccentric who clawed his way back from partial paralysis after a teenaged drunk-driving accident. Chesnutt released a series of thorny, beautiful albums that showcased his yowling Southern drawl, inspired guitar playing, and unique sensibility.

I had the great pleasure of spending a cold 1993 day in Athens, Georgia, with Chesnutt and his wife, Tina, interviewing them for Option magazine. Chesnutt wrestled with many personal demons, failing in several suicide attempts. Lacking health insurance and overwhelmed by medical bills, he finally succeeded, dying on Christmas day 2009. Keep an eye out for Kristin’s book, and take half an hour sometime to enjoy Pete Sillen’s unflinching, deeply moving 1994 documentary, “Speed Racer: Welcome to the World of Vic Chesnutt.”