I'd like to start out by reading a quote from Bob Dylan about Barry Mazer's book Ralph Pier in the making of popular Brutes music.

Dylan says, this is an overwhelming book about an

overwhelming character in the music field, a true visionary who realized the potential

power of common music long before anyone else and who transformed the lives of many

of those artists whom he recorded. We owe Barry Mazur a debt of gratitude for telling Peir's incredible life story,

his monumental accomplishments, putting them all in one place, and bringing them to light.

Again, that's Bob Dylan talking about Barry Mazur's book, Ralph Peer,

and the making of popular roots music. Hi, friends, this is Otis Gibbs, and you're listening to Thanks for Giving a Dam.

I'm sitting here in my living room in East Nashville with my cat Frankie on my left and my dog

Russell on my right.

This is a personal journal.

This is a bit of an experiment.

I like to say right off the bat that I haven't the slightest idea what I'm doing, but I decided

to do it anyway.

And this show was founded with the idea that there are only two people in art that matter.

There's the creative individual and the person experiencing it.

And everything else is an artificial filter.

This is a way for me to share things with you guys without any filters whatsoever.

My guess this week is Barry Mazur.

Barry is the author of Ralph Peer in the making of popular roots music. You can find out more about that book at ralphspeer.com.

I guess I should say right up front that I'm a fan of Barry Mazur. He's a wonderful writer. He knows exactly what he's talking about. He has a point of view, and I enjoy

learning from him. There's so much to talk about with Ralph Peer that we could have just gone

...