Few American music history books take a comprehensive look into the birth of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, soul and country.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Jim Cosby takes it considerably further, researching deeper into the roots and people behind the music. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cosby, a Philadelphia lawyer who grew up in Kent, discovers some interesting persons, places and storylines, presenting a refreshing look at indigenous music that emanated from the country as far back as the 1940s. His summer released book, \u201cDevil\u2019s Music, Holy Rollers and Hillbillies: How America Gave Birth to Rock and Roll\u201d (McFarland & Company, Inc.), colorfully examines the birth of the music we hear today. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The project took four years of exhaustive research and travel, including trips to the soulful Deep South, for Cosby, a lifelong rock fan and music writer. He has previously published several law review articles on the parent-child relationship. His work has appeared in various outlets such as Curator magazine online and Gonzo Today, and he previously wrote for MusicOMH.com. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Music moves Cosby and that helped serve as the impetus for the book. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI realized there\u2019s so much I didn\u2019t know \u2026 like what was the first rock record? Why don\u2019t I know that?\u201d said Cosby, a 1987 Kent-Meridian High School graduate who went on to earn a degree at the University of Washington and later, a law degree at Temple University. \u201cFrom studying it, I had all these questions. \u2026 What was the deal with Elvis (Presley), and was he just a cultural fief or what? \u2026 What was happening before rock music?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The book has received good reviews. Examiner.com called it \u201cone of the quintessential books on rock music\u2019s roots.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n As Cosby explains, rock music today is universal and its popular history is well known, yet few know how and why it really came about. Cosby wanted to explore events long overlooked or misunderstood. His book describes how some of the most disenfranchised people in a free and prosperous nation strove to make themselves heard \u2013 and changed the world. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI discovered amazing stories, like a (pioneering disk jockey) in Memphis, (\u2018Daddy-O\u2019) Dewey Phillips. He\u2019s almost as important as Elvis, as one example,\u201d Cosby said. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cosby also found out more about gospel star Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a pioneering artist, and the influence of so-called \u201choly rollers\u201d of the Pentecostal church who became crucial performers \u2013 Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cRock history books, almost all of them, will say something about the blues then will jump into Elvis and Chuck Berry,\u201d Cosby said. \u201cI didn\u2019t see any books out there that really talked about how exactly did <\/span>rock and roll come about, going from the blues to even real hillbilly music to church influences. How did that all actually come together? I didn\u2019t really see any books that actually covered that.\u201d The story continues.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n There is so much material that Cosby is in the process of bridging the book with another, which picks up the history of music from the 1960s to the modern era.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI just think it\u2019s an area that\u2019s been totally overlooked, and because it\u2019s rock music, it\u2019s fun. It\u2019s automatically entertaining,\u201d Cosby said of his work. \u201cIt\u2019s serious academic, but it\u2019s rock music, colorful, characters and all that. \u2026 I think it works well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n