Joe Boyd in conversation with Dust-to-Digital's Lance Ledbetter - And the Roots of Rhythm Remain

Mon., Mar. 31
CRITIC’S PICK: Joe Boyd: And the Roots of Rhythm Remain, Manuel’s Tavern -  Subtitled ‘A Journey Through Global Music,’ record producer Joe Boyd’s new book is a 900-page behemoth that chronicles the emergence of the 1980s ‘world’ music genre and the convoluted history that preceded it. Now better known as ‘global’ music, the movement’s antecedents go back decades to the samba, the tango, reggae and ska, Eastern European ensembles, Indian ragas and a vast assortment of international folk music. 

Boyd, born in Boston in 1942, started his music career promoting blues artists while a student at Harvard. He became famous after moving to England, working on recordings by Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, John Martyn and Nick Drake, among many others. He founded the influential Hannibal Records label and the UFO nightclub in London, all of which he covers in his excellent memoir ‘White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s’ (2006). 

Praise for Boyd’s new book has been lavish. “He has distilled decades of experience and observation of how musical ideas interbreed, and how culture is formed, into a tumultuous, gripping and dramatic story,” says Brian Eno. “I doubt I’ll ever read a better account of the history and sociology of popular music than this one.” Ry Cooder added: “One only hopes this can be taught in schools.”

Presented by A Cappella Books, the author will appear at Manuel’s at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 31. He will be introduced by Lance Ledbetter, founder of the local Dust-to-Digital record label, “dedicated to preserving rare and historically significant recordings.” The event is free and open to the public. - Kevin C. Madigan