Southern Rock

The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd helped usher in a new kind of southern music from Jacksonville, Florida. Together, they and fellow bands like Blackfoot, 38 Special, and Molly Hatchet would reset the course of '70s rock. Yet Jacksonville seemed an unlikely hotbed for a new musical movement. Michael FitzGerald blends eyewitness detail with in-depth history to tell the story of how the River City bred this generation of legendary musicians.

In the west, sometimes your hero is your enemy... After her plantation burns to the ground by the hands of her Confederate father, Willow is then forced to escape Georgia aboard a wagon train heading west. When the Apache attack the wagons, capturing and brutalizing her, Willow copes by escaping reality. As her mind slips from the present into the past, confusion sets in. Willow no longer knows her enemies as she is tied and sacrificed for a man they call Yellow Rock. Dutch (Yellow Rock) knows a trap when he sees one. The crazy woman whistling Dixie up on that cliff can mean only one thing;...

Levon Helm’s voice and drumming defined an era of American music. From his beginnings in the cotton fields of Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, to the global stages he commanded as a founding member of The Band, Helm’s life traced the turbulent evolution of rock, roots, and Americana. Levon Helm: The Band’s Southern Soul offers the definitive portrait of a man who carried the cadences of the South into the national imagination. This biography follows Helm’s journey year by year, uncovering the communal rhythms of his Arkansas childhood, his apprenticeship on the Southern roadhouse circuit, ...

"A top-notch mystery from a writer to watch out for." - Bookish Jottings Mourning the death of her police inspector husband, Margot Renard moves to a small seaside town in the south of France. But when the body of a young boy washes up on a beach, Margot is drawn into a dangerous world of drug smugglers and people trafficking, and forced to cross paths with two feuding gangsters. Mystery combines with thrills in the first of an exciting new crime series set in the beautiful scenery of southern France. Ideal for readers of Martin Walker, Donna Leon, M. L. Longworth and Angela Wren. Praise ...

The Allman Brothers Band’s Brothers and Sisters was not only the band’s best-selling album at over seven million copies sold, it was also a powerfully influential release, both musically and culturally, one whose influence continues to be profoundly felt.

When bestselling author Megan Pressfield retreats to Morgan’s Rock to pen the sequel to her hit novel and rebuild her life after a devastating divorce, she expects peace and inspiration. Instead, she finds a mansion steeped in secrets—and a doorway to another time. In an old armoire, Megan discovers an exquisite 1930s gown. Slipping it on, she’s transported to 1932, where the jazz-age glamour of Hollywood collides with something far darker. Morgan’s Rock is haunted by restless spirits and the shadow of a disastrous party that left lives shattered and secrets buried. As Megan delves ...

Levon is the dazzling, epic biography of Levon Helm - the beloved, legendary drummer and singer of The Band.

Dave Matthews has never fit neatly into the categories of rock stardom. Rising from South African beginnings under apartheid to the unlikely crucible of Charlottesville’s bar scene, he built a musical empire without relying on radio hits or industry formulas. Instead, the Dave Matthews Band forged a touring-first model that reshaped the economics of live music, cultivating a multigenerational following whose loyalty transcended trends. Dave Matthews: Warehouse Logic and the Touring Empire is the definitive chronicle of this singular journey. It traces Matthews’ path from immigrant ...

Explore the untamed spirit of the Natural State, from its rugged origins to modern times. The definitive chronicle of Arkansas: Where heritage meets resilience in the American South. A richly-woven tale of Native lands, civil wars, and the indomitable character of Arkansans. In this comprehensive and engaging historical account, author Daniel Hardy takes readers on a fascinating journey through the rich heritage of the state of Arkansas. From the Native American societies that first inhabited the region, through the turbulent years of the Civil War and the complex 20th century era of civil ...

Derek Trucks has been hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, a player whose slide phrasing channels both the ache of Delta blues and the transcendence of Indian raga. Slide into Spirit: Derek Trucks traces his extraordinary journey from Jacksonville prodigy to co-leader of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, one of the most powerful live ensembles in American music today. Born into Southern rock lineage in 1979, Trucks was performing in Florida clubs by the age of eleven, astonishing veteran musicians with fluid phrasing and uncanny maturity. As a teenager, he toured with blues ...

Archers of Loaf: Lo-Fi Warfare is the first full-scale, documentary-grade biography of one of the most abrasive, hilarious, and unflinchingly authentic bands to emerge from the 1990s indie underground. Told with archival depth and narrative precision, the book traces the Archers’ entire story—from their Chapel Hill roots and chaotic first rehearsals to their breakthrough single “Web in Front,” the jagged anthems of Icky Mettle, grueling tours across America, and their sardonic brush with MTV fame. Drawing on the energy of college radio, the contradictions of Southern identity, and ...

The Powell brothers - Muir and Moody - are as different as Cain and Abel. Muir is an innocent, a shy young man with big dreams. Moody, the older and wilder brother - embittered by the death of his father, by years of fighting his mother, and by his jealousy of Muir's place in the family - takes to moonshine and gambling and turns his anger on his brother. Muir escapes by wandering, making his way around the country in attempts to find something - an occupation, a calling - to match his ambition.

Ronnie Van Zant’s story is one of grit, discipline, and raw authenticity. Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1948, he grew up in working-class neighborhoods where fistfights, baseball diamonds, and jukeboxes shaped his worldview. As the eldest of the Van Zant brothers, Ronnie’s toughness was legendary long before he took a microphone. That toughness later infused his lyrics, giving Lynyrd Skynyrd a voice that was both unflinching and profoundly human. This definitive biography traces Ronnie’s life year by year, weaving archival detail, cultural context, and eyewitness testimony into a ...

The last person in the world Gracie Jackson thought she’d ever marry was Garth Graham, the annoying, arrogant editor of the local newspaper. But that was before she got to know the real Garth - the sweet, compassionate man she fell head-over-heels in love with.A much anticipated wedding takes place while Garth is waiting to be deported to St. Lo, France, during WWII. Gracie opens the orphanage at Nine Gables, taking in five young foundlings, only a few days after the wedding. Garth has three weeks to become acquainted with the children before his deportment. Life is good. For a season. ...

In 1949, in spite of the odds against him, Navy Fireman 3rd Class Jericho Rhoades headed to a little town called Enterprise shortly before Christmas to meet the girl he’d fallen in love with—though she was promised to another.Would he have been so eager to get to Alabama if he’d known the secret things about himself would be revealed and he’d end up in jail for a criminal offense? Was she worth it?

On a dark September day in 1930, Dabney Foxworthy selflessly gave up a life of her own to become nursemaid to baby Alexandra, Pastor Pruitt’s orphaned granddaughter. Now, ten years later, the tide turns and she’s thrown into a unique situation she never dreamed possible. Wooed by two passionate men vying to win her hand in marriage, her choice is a difficult one to make. Will she listen to her head or to her heart?

In the summer of 1964 Jacksonville, Florida teenager Ronnie Van Zant and some of his friends hatched the idea of forming a band to play covers of the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, and the country and blues-rock music they had grown to love. Naming their band after Leonard Skinner, the gym teacher at Robert E. Lee Senior High School who constantly badgered the long-haired aspiring musicians to get haircuts, they were soon playing gigs at parties, and bars throughout the South.

Bound to a homeless vagrant by invisible chains, Mandy Gafford longs to be set free from her wretched way of life, though steel shackles would be easier to break. She dreams of ways to escape her miserable existence - but she can’t - because he’s her daddy. He needs her. He said so. And as much as she wishes it wasn’t so, she supposes she needs him, also. As she and her shiftless father ride across Mobile Causeway after a major hurricane, Mandy stares at the gruesome destruction along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Never has she seen so many blue tarps, but it isn’t the tarps that trouble ...

Reverend Castle Marlowe is a famed chalkboard illustrator who has everything—a beautiful family, a lovely home and a ministry that he loves. Just as he begins to think he’s invincible, like leaves in a windstorm, his perfect life is suddenly swept up, blown away and turned upside down. Cass has always prided himself on his ability to counsel others and yet he now finds himself in a position of needing his own counselor. His family is treating him as if he’s an invalid. Christmas has always been his favorite time of year, but if things don’t improve, he may not stick around long ...

There was a time when everyone in Vinegar Bend assumed Ian Ludlow and Goose Marlowe would eventually marry. Apparently, everyone, that is, except Ian. Seven years ago, he packed his bags and left, with no plans to return until he could prove to the snobs in town that the Ludlow name was one to be reckoned with. Yet here he was again. Back too soon. But he never counted on a funeral. The Reverend Castle Marlowe has always faced adversity head on, and he’s certainly had his share. Folks have used words such as strong, committed, and trustworthy when describing him. But that was before a ...