Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Records and the Rise of America's Musical Grassroots Revised and Expanded Edition

"Kennedy eloquently and informatively connects all these pieces together to form a clear, informative, and delightfully entertaining read. He breathes new life into the legacy of Gennett Records and fully enmeshes the readers into a world when then unknown musicians rambled to a dusty Midwestern piano factory to record their music. Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy will surely satisfy an audience of jazz buffs, historians, or anyone seeking a revealing account of a greenhorn music industry."―PopMatters

"Kennedy's book comes highly recommended. His writing style is entertaining and informative. By describing the personal characteristics of Gennett's principal owners, the reader can easily keep all of the various characters straight. Further, Kennedy's wide-ranging appreciation for American music makes the reader want to hear these recordings. The Gennetts may not have fully appreciated the music they recorded, but Rick Kennedy makes up for that many times over."―Jazz History Online

"Kennedy's passion for and years of in depth research of the Starr Piano / Gennett Record label story shines brightly in the new edition of Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy. Not only is it the definitive account of the company's history, but of the tipping point in both the birth of the modern record business and the introduction of American culture and music to the world."―Charlie B. Dahan, Associate Professor, Recording Industry Studies, Middle Tennessee State University

"One spring day in 1923, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong spent six long hours on a train getting to Richmond, Indiana. But once they had arrived at the Gennett studios, Oliver's Creole Jazz Band made what are now universally regarded as the first great jazz recordings. This is just one of many stories in Rick Kennedy's exhaustively researched and lovingly detailed history of Gennett. Highly recommended."―Krin Gabbard, author of Hotter Than That: The Trumpet, Jazz, and American Culture

"In this revised and expanded edition, Rick Kennedy's extensive research and vivid writing bring to life hillbilly fiddler Doc Roberts and WLS star Bradley Kincaid, as well as the label's Alabama recording studio where William Harris's classic blues sides were cut, and the discovery of Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and others who recorded at Gennett's Richmond, Indiana, studio."―Holly George-Warren, author of Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life & Times of Gene Autry

In this revised and expanded edition, Rick Kennedy's extensive research and vivid writing bring to life hillbilly fiddler Doc Roberts and WLS star Bradley Kincaid, as well as the label's Alabama recording studio where William Harris's classic blues sides were cut, and the discovery of Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and others who recorded at Gennett's Richmond, Indiana, studio.

-- Holly George-Warren