Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWell-researched tome. -- Craig Harris * Dirty Linen, June 2009 *
Coltman's book is thoroughly detailed and annotated, with interviews with colleagues, family, friends, lovers and creative collaborators. . . . Bob Coltman's friendly prose, eye for detail and exceptional research capture a significant, if overlooked, player in the mid-century folk revival. . . . Recommended. * Sing Out!, July 1, 2009 *
Coltman's book was published in 2008, and it is a fine study of a nearly forgotten but still significant figure in the folksong revival of the 1950s and 1960s. The discography is useful, especially in its listing of non-commercial recordings, but equally fascinatingis the appendix of Clayton's copyrighted songs, divided into original compositions hybrids, and traditional songs. While there may not be many who have been longing for a book-length biography of Paul Clayton exists, there may be more people discovering the song and voice that I have respected for over twenty years. -- Morris S. Levy, December, 2009
Coltman, writing with obvious love for the time, the music, and the people who made the folk music revival of the mid-1900s a resource for all of us, provides a glimpse into the story of a man often walking the thin line between genius and insanity. As one who lived that era, I relived many times, places, and feelings reading this book. A must-read for old folkies, scholars of the folk revival, and indeed anyone who wants to read a vivid portrait of a man possessed with immeasurable talent and demons who left an indelible footprint on the folk music of his time." -- Ed Trickett, folk recording artist
