How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life

By John Fahey

A collection of fictional but semi-autobiographical stories, this work comes from one of the most influential guitarists in music history. The tales are recalled in a conversational, feverish tone, following the musician in his childhood and young adulthood in post-World War II suburbia, pausing along the way for moments of clarity and introspection. The stories resist categorization--part memoir, part personal essay, part fiction, and part manifesto they simply stand alone, having their own logic, religious dogma, and mythological history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965618323
• ISBN13: 9780965618328
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Drag City
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.7" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

The Fahey I Knew Was Never Constrained by "Reality"

...so any debates about the possible "fictional" aspects of this remarkable book are really moot. I was there. Then. John lived about four blocks from us, he was six years older than me, and he was a major influence on me, not only musically but also philosophically. The fact that I turned down an offer of one of the 95 surviving copies of the initial (and only) pressing of the original "John Fahey/Blind Joe Death" LP and also refused to sell John my 78 RPM copy of Vernon Dalhart's "The Prisoner's Song" proves I was crazy enough, at least in hindsight, to have belonged right there, right then. Reading this book brought back summer nights across from the field where "April in the Orange" was largely played out in "real" time, and he and the other, older guys played poker, tormented the beat cop and John picked out ethereal, otherwordly melodies which floated through the window on the mimosa-scented summer air and would eventually become the backbone of his cannon of recorded work. This book is absolutely essential for anyone with an interest in blues, bluegrass or really any form of American music or just America, as well as the workings of a genius mind in constant search of the Lost Chord. Or anyone who's ever been in love. With anything. An emotional roller coaster of seemingly insane vignettes (which are, I assure you, not really insane at all, just peculiar to the place and time where we all lived and loved and moved around in the midst of time) juxtaposed with horrifyingly lucid and stunningly loving moments - more like William Burroughs and Mark Twain speaking with one voice than anything remotely Vonnegut - and transformative in its power. John never really left "Azalea City" (the actual official nickname of Takoma Park), not in his mind nor his heart, and he never really recovered from the trainwreck that was his childhood. We are all richer for his having shared those experiences and that mind-too-big-for-his head, let alone the countless recordings that fill the space where words utterly fail. By the way, the real Swami rode a Harley. No lie, b'wana.

Excellent read for Fahey fans

The recently deceased guitar master takes you on a tour of his childhood and young adulthood... basically this book is about as highly recommended as they come for a fan of his music- it will provide musical, emotional and even philosophical insight (with several references to hegel, heidegger, and other great german philosophers) into his life. there are moments of fiction, but it doesnt overwhelm the autobiographical nature of the work. you really do get a feeling for the personalities of bukka white, skip james, roosevelt sykes, and antonioni, which is the real reason may of fahey's most loyal fans would want to read the book. some moments are harrowing, from tales of childhood abuse to stories of social alienation. other moments are endearing, there are stories of first friendships, loves, and comfort (mostly on the part of white and sykes). Fahey led a very interesting life, and this book has a good deal of serious instrospection. he's actually a pretty good writer, so i give it the highest recommendation. someone new to fahey or not interested in 20s blues figures be warned, a lot of it will be confusing, leading to reviews like the one up top by that poor bitter guy who completely missed the point.

The Great Koonaklaster strikes with a mighty blow!

There's a lot in this book that could do a lot of us a lot of good, if only we'd listen. The person responsible for creating a stage for solo acoustic guitar is firing from both barrels here with something one shouldn't mix up with the word "fiction". This book doesn't have to be rated or promoted: it will find its own readership amongst the ones who've followed John's path all along and know how to deal with it. Funny and sad, frightening and enjoying, a gifted guitarist gives us a generous insight into what growing up in Takoma Park can mean. Warning: there are no guitar tabs in this volume! Ha!

Darn if Fahey ain't a great writer, too!

As a dedicated fan of John Fahey's music, I couldn't wait to read his book. Well, I was not dissapointed. He writes a lot about his childhood, his professional life as a guitar player, his part in the rediscovering of bluesman Skip James, and other experiences he has had. While not entirely based on fact, I wouldn't call it fiction like the back of the book says. Anyways, this is a fascinating portrait of one of the great composers of our time, and I doubt that the reader could put this book down for very long. It's simply brilliant!