How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life

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.

John Fahey pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument and was a highly influential fingerstyle guitarist, serving as a model for guitarists ranging from Leo Kottke to Thurston Moore. He recorded more than 30 albums over the course of his lifetime and ranked 35th on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”