Record Producer Joe Boyd with His New Book And the Roots of Rhythm Remain
Sep 30, 7 PM PT • Berkeley: Mrs. Dalloway’s • 2904 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705
Join us on Monday, September 30th at 7:00pm when legendary music producer JOE BOYD comes to the store to share his new book And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music. Joe will read from and discuss his book and will sign copies after the presentation.
This is a free event, but you must preregister on Eventbrite or in the store to ensure seating. Click Here to preorder a copy of And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain
From the legendary producer of Nick Drake, R.E.M., Toots and the Maytals, and Pink Floyd and author of White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s comes a riveting, world-spanning tour de force illuminating the artists, histories, controversies, and collaborations that shaped global music.
Paul Simon told Joe Boyd that when he first heard the accordion flourish that would open his multi-platinum album Graceland, it seemed to proclaim, “You haven’t heard this before!” Yet the 1980s “world music” boom that Simon’s album helped usher in had roots that extended back through the decades and across continents: tango on the eve of World War I, Latin dance across the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, reggae in the ’70s, pre-War samba and pre-Beatles bossa nova, Eastern European ensembles filling capitalist concert halls during the Cold War, Indian ragas changing rock and roll in the 1960s, the folk music–inspired classical composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In this sweeping history compiled from more than a decade of travel, research, interviews, and deep listening, Boyd sets out to explore centuries of fascinating backstories to these sounds. He shows how personalities, events, and politics in places such as Havana, Lagos, Budapest, Kingston, and Rio are as colorful and momentous as anything that took place in New Orleans, Harlem, Laurel Canyon, or Liverpool. And, moreover, how jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll would never have happened if it weren’t for the notes and rhythms emanating from over the horizon. The one-of-a-kind result is And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: a glorious, symphonic celebration of the music that shapes our world.
About the Book
“You haven’t heard this before!" the accordion flourish seemed to proclaim. Paul Simon told Joe Boyd that he immediately knew it would open Graceland, the multi-platinum album that helped usher in the 1980s “world music” boom. Yet that movement had roots extending back through the decades and across continents: tango on the eve of World War I, Latin dance across the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, reggae in the ’70s, pre-War samba and pre-Beatles bossa nova, Eastern European ensembles filling capitalist concert halls during the Cold War, Indian ragas changing rock and roll in the 1960s, the folk music–inspired classical composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In this sweeping history compiled from more than a decade of travel, research, interviews, and deep listening, Boyd sets out to explore centuries of fascinating backstories to these sounds. He shows how personalities, events, and politics in places such as Havana, Lagos, Budapest, Kingston, and Rio are as colorful and momentous as anything that took place in New Orleans, Harlem, Laurel Canyon, or Liverpool. And, moreover, how jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll would never have happened if it weren’t for the notes and rhythms emanating from over the horizon. The one-of-a-kind result is And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: a glorious, symphonic celebration of the music that shapes our world.
About the Author
Joe Boyd is a record producer and writer, known for his acclaimed memoir, White Bicycles. Artists he has produced include Nick Drake, R.E.M., Toots and the Maytals, Richard Thompson, Pink Floyd, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and ¡Cubanismo! among many others over the course of a nearly sixty-year career.
After graduating from Harvard in 1964, he tour-managed Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, and others before serving as production manager for the historic 1965 Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. He then moved to London to open Elektra Records’ office and started the famous UFO club, which became the center of London’s psychedelic revolution. In 1979 he launched his own label, Hannibal Records, which was at the forefront of bringing global artists to western audiences. As a film producer, his credits include Amazing Grace, Scandal,and Jimi Hendrix. A gifted raconteur, he appears frequently on radio, podcasts and documentaries.
About the Venue
Mrs. Dalloway’s is a vibrant, full-service, independent neighborhood bookstore located in the beautiful, historic Elmwood District of Berkeley. The store was founded in 2004 when longtime friends and residents of the Elmwood, Marion Abbott and Ann Leyhe, decided to pool their passions, talents, and resources.
The store’s name derives from the first line of Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway: “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.”
In 2021, Marion and Ann decided that the time had come to retire and put the store up for sale. They chose Eric and Jessica Green as the best equipped to carry on the store’s legacy and the two of them took ownership on November 10th, 2021. With longtime publisher sales and retail buying and merchandising experience, Eric and Jessica have carried on the Mrs. Dalloway’s traditions and maintained the store’s attractive look-and-feel.
Spacious and inviting, Mrs. Dalloway’s offers an exciting and diverse selection of titles—both comprehensive and contemporary—and is renowned for its skillfully curated fiction, non-fiction, poetry, garden book and children’s book sections, all of which feature a remarkable and relevant variety of rare and innovative small presses. The store also carries a variety of hand-selected merchandise geared to lifestyle, literature and gardening, a revolving art exhibition, and fresh plants.
From the day we opened our doors, our bookstore fostered a sense of community. Today, Mrs. Dalloway’s hosts over 100 stellar in-store author events each year, serving as a dynamic cultural center and resource for its neighborhood, its ever-expanding and devoted customer base, and as an outreach to the San Francisco Bay Area literary community.
Mrs. Dalloway’s outgoing and talented booksellers are passionate about reading, love to share their eclectic tastes with illuminating staff picks, and are most happy when engaged in book talk.
For more information on And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain, please reachout to Matt Hanks (mhanks@shorefire.com), Chris Taillie (ctaillie@shorefire.com), and Henry Thomas (hthomas@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media.
From the legendary producer of Nick Drake, R.E.M., Toots and the Maytals, and Pink Floyd and author of White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s comes a riveting, world-spanning tour de force illuminating the artists, histories, controversies, and collaborations that shaped global music.
Release: Sep 24, 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 9798988670025 • 960 pages • two 16-page full-color photo inserts
