Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller

by Marshall Chapman

Book Overview

Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller was a 2004 SEBA Book Award finalist, and a 2004 Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller is an inventive and original book from Nashville singer/songwriter Chapman, who uses twelve of her most resonant songs as entry points to many of her life's adventures. Not a memoir, but a map of the places Chapman's been and what went through her mind as she was traveling there, this book is funny and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312315686
• ISBN13: 9780312315689
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Life In Songs

Marhall Chapman's account of her song by song journey to becoming one of the most innovative and thrilling country rock songwriter-singers is as funny and poignant a book as I've read in some time. From the trouble she got into in grade school for channeling Elvis in the hall to her defiance of Nashville songwriting formulae she kept raising the question, "Why Can't I Be Like Other Girls?" Thank the lord that was the only thing she couldn't do because she sure did everything else. Each chapter of this memoir tells the story of the experience underlying one of her songs so the songs record her life in more ways than one. And some life it is, sometimes on the edge, sometimes ecstatic (when these were not one and the same), never boring. A reader who does not live through it with Marshall is missing something about the South, something about country rock music and something about life.

Rhythm and words

Marshall has written a fantastic account of how songs come to be, framing the incredible cast of characters which has surrounded her for all her years in Nashville. The photos of Andy Warhol, Arnold Schwarznegger et al really bring everything to life even more. on the must-have list for anyone interested in the triupmph of rock and roll over good breeding!

Great songwriter, great memoir

Marshall Chapman's book is like her music: funny, tough, poignant, real, alive and searingly honest. For those of us who grew up in the south in the 50's and 60's, it's a fond reminder of all that we experienced; for everyone else it's just a darn good read.

Better than the Book Jacket implies

Marshall Chapman has succeeded in writing a book that takes the reader along on the adventure of her life as a song writer and performer in Nashville and elsewhere. As you reach the end of each chapter you are compelled to sneak a peek at the next, and so you may stay up all night finishing the book. This book also offers a glimpse into the author's life from her birth into a well-to-do family to her successful career as a prolific writer of country and blues music. Humor and compassion are intimately blended. Highly recommended.

Marshall Rocks - I Couldn't Put It Down!

There are not many people who can write about the creative process, music, and coming of age as a woman in the South, but Marshall does it with wit and grace in a way that made me want to turn every page until I was through. Her perspective on songwriting, the music business and Nashville, from someone who was in the studio way back when with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings while in school at Vanderbilt and still making music after Waylon was gone is incredibly unique.Run, don't walk, to your computer to order this book!