Rodney Crowell’s new memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks, (Knopf) offers a look at his childhood and his parent’s often rocky marriage, set against the backdrop of 1950’s Houston, Texas.
Crowell, the only child of a hard-drinking father and a Holy Roller mother, shares wild anecdotes such as the time he broke up his parents’ raucous New Year’s Eve party with gunfire, and when he ended their fight at the local drive-in by smashing a glass soda bottle over his own head. The book is described as an exploration of his parent’s troubled yet ultimately redeeming romance.

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Ralph Murphy, known for his “Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting” lectures and articles, has compiled his knowledge into a new book.
Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting: The Book is an in-depth how-to guide with an industry insider perspective. It covers story titles, possible roadblocks, crossing genres, music business 101, how to catch the attention of listeners, and more. Also included are his popular articles.
Murphy is a frequent lecturer and writer about the songwriting process.

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A new book about Alan Lomax delves into the life of the folklorist, archivist, and record producer who introduced folk music to the masses. John Szwed authored Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World (Viking).
Lomax’s groundbreaking field recordings of rural music eventually brought the sounds of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Burl Ives to the radio. By the 1940s he was producing concerts where white and black performers shared the stage. Among the rotating cast of characters in the book are Eleanor Roosevelt, Leadbelly, Jelly Roll Morton, Muddy Waters, and Bob Dylan.

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Charlie Louvin’s autobiography will be released early next year by Igniter Books, an imprint of It Books/HarperCollins. Louvin died of pancreatic cancer on January 26, 2011. He spent the last six months of his life co-authoring the book entitled Satan Is Real: The Ballad Of The Louvin Brothers with Benjamin Whitmer.

A private reception hosted by country music legend Larry Gatlin will pay tribute to the life and memory of music executive Merlin Littlefield, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2008. Lisa Niemi Swayze, who lost her husband Patrick to pancreatic cancer in 2009, will be a special guest speaker. The private fundraising event, which takes place at Feb. 24th at ASCAP, will raise funds for the Merlin Littlefield Pancreatic Cancer Memorial Fund benefitting the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
“I am honored to have Larry Gatlin bringing together members of the Nashville community and music industry to pay tribute to my late husband,” stated Eileen Littlefield. “Nashville is known for its philanthropic nature and I hope people will join me and help make a difference in the fight against pancreatic cancer so we can know, fight and end this devastating disease.”
In addition to Merlin Littlefield, pancreatic cancer has claimed the lives of other members of the country music world including Charlie Louvin, who passed away just last month, Buddy Killen, Hank Cochran, Alan Webb, Edward Gaylord, Felice Bryant and Joe Carter. Event sponsors include ASCAP, Crossroads Pet Professionals, Mike Curb, DeCosimo Vaden and J.R. Roper–Lexus of Nashville.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States and is the only one of the top ten causes of cancer death with a five-year survival rate in the single digits. In 2010, over 43,000 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and nearly 37,000 died. There are no early detection methods and few effective treatment options. Despite the statistics, a mere 2 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s annual cancer research funding is dedicated to pancreatic cancer.
Funds raised in memory of Merlin will support the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s mission to advance research, support patients and create hope. The organization is committed to doubling the pancreatic cancer survival rate by 2020 by doubling its efforts to raise awareness, support patients and intensify advocacy for a national research strategy dedicated to finding a cure. To learn more about the organization, visit www.pancan.org.

Online buzz about Doug Morris, Twitter, Gaylord, and Warner.
>>UMG chairman Doug Morris’s attempted move to Sony Music Entertainment isn’t going as planned according to the New York Post.
>>Twitter is worth between $8 billion and $10 billion according to the latest estimates. Among the interested purchasers are Facebook and Google, who have had very preliminary meetings. Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
>>Gaylord Entertainment and Warner Music Group posted losses in their respective 2010 year-end reports, released this week.
Gaylord was hit hard by the Nashville flooding.
Warner chief executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. said that the company has 360 deals with 55 percent of its artists, which he hopes will improve the situation going forward. More here.