True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed

The job of covering NASCAR, which is Monte Dutton's day job, is an all-consuming endeavor if you let it be. Dutton is one of those contrarians who values his independence and insists on carving a life outside racing. True to the Roots is a result of that. Dutton provides a folksy and informative picture of real country music, which he calls Americana Music. He's taken the time, usually during his NASCAR travels, to visit little-known masters of country music in such far-flung and unlikely places as Key West, Berkeley, Ca., Chicago, New York City and Las Vegas, while also hitting the better-known locations, such as Nashville, Austin, and Luckenbach, Tex. In vignettes and profiles that are infused with his own experiences and memories, Dutton gives us a memorable snapshot of a world that is overshadowed by the commercially driven Nashville country music scene. It is a measure of the depth and reach of the book that the most memorable thing in the book for me was not about country music, but about my own profession of writing. In his fascinating profile of the great songwriter James McMurtry, son of writer Larry McMurtry, Dutton quotes the son as saying his dad told him that writing a book is "either going to work or it'll BE work." (emphasis added). This is a great lesson for any writer of books, as Dutton himself knows, having the unmitigated gall to tackle an unrelated book project while consigning the bulk of his life to writing pretty much non-stop about stock car racing.

I'm not a country music or Americana music fan, or at least I wasn't before I read this book. Dutton's book was recommended to me by a friend, and when I picked it up I couldn't put it down. His writing style makes you feel like you are standing right next to him when he's speaking with some legendary, or soon-to-be legendary singers and songwriters. It's a good time and a great read. Strongly recommend!