John Broven new book award
John Broven’s revised, updated edition of South to Louisiana has won a 2020 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in the Best Historical Research in Recorded Country, Folk, or Roots Music category, beating out Ken Burns’ Country Music book along the way.
Broven’s other two books have also won awards: Record Makers and Breakers earned an ARSC Certificate of Merit in 2010 for Research in Rock and Popular Music; and Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans (originally Walking to New Orleans) was voted a Classic of Blues Literature by the Blues Foundation of Memphis in 2011.
‘That makes a belated hat trick,’ the author said. ‘I am indebted to all the wonderful personalities featured in my books through many years’.
During his time as a consultant with Ace, he partnered with Trevor Churchill and Rob Finnis in the “Golden Age of American Rock ’n’ Roll” series, and supervised the Excello Records series and the B.B. King box set, “The Vintage Years”, among many others. More recently, he worked with Red Kelly on “The Soul of the Memphis Boys”.
Next up, Broven has finished editing Larry Simon’s New York City Blues, with contributions from Paul Harris, Richard Tapp and Val Wilmer. The book will be published by University Press of Mississippi in summer 2021 and, yes, an Ace tie-in CD is planned.
