Guitar Towns : A Journey to the Crossroads of Rock 'n' Roll

When recording was more art than science, regional music centres flourished.

From the 1940s to the 1970s, before corporate take-overs quieted their distinctive sounds, regional cities turned out hundreds of hits, from "My Guy" to "Five O'Clock World." Paying tribute to these neglected treasures, journalist and record producer Randy McNutt travels to Norfolk, Cincinnati, Muscle Shoals, Bakersfield, and beyond to seek the creators of hits and myths.Singers, songwriters, disc jockeys, producers, and session players eagerly discuss their communities and seminal hits that continue to influence musicians today.

In Memphis, McNutt finds Marcus Van Story, the pioneer uprights bassist, then goes backstage for a rockabilly concert at the Overton Park Shell - where a young Elvis Presley sang.

In New Orleans, McNutt tracks recording engineer Cosimo Matassa to the French Quarter, where he once dumped a load of ice outside his tiny studio to cool Fats Domino and other hot R&B stars.

In Houston, McNutt meets irrepressible soul singer Roy Head, who recalls when he bit Elvis on the leg and lived to tell about it.Along the way, McNutt stops in Thibodaux, Louisiana, for an impromptu wake at the grave of 1950s blues legend Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, a prototype of wild rock guitarists.

McNutt also meets Dan Penn, his early musical hero who wrote songs for Aretha Franklin and co-wrote the Box Tops' "Cry Like a Baby" in a moment of creative desperation; looks for legendary disc jockeys and rock-and-roll's origins in Cleveland; and follows cult guitarist Lonnie Mack to a smoky Ohio roadhouse, where Mack plays old blues licks and recalls the piano player who set himself on fire while staring at Jackie DeShannon's miniskirt.In this colourful and personal odyssey, McNutt uncovers little known chapters in musical history, and in the process finds a lost piece of America's soul.