A chronicle of the rise and development of a unique musical form.Inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame under its original title Walking to New Orleans, this fascinating history focuses on the music of major R&B artists and the crucial contributions of the New Orleans music industry. Newly revised for this edition, much of the material comes firsthand from those who helped create the genre, including Fats Domino, Ray Charles, and Wardell Quezergue.

John Broven fell in love with the music of the Louisiana bayou from across the ocean. He has been an ardent fan and collector of rock 'n' roll since his boyhood days in East Sussex, England, where he jammed along to the hits of Huey Smith and Fats Domino. Broven is a respected expert on the rock 'n' roll era, lending his knowledge to BBC Radio and NPR to discuss genres from swamp pop to blues. He served as a consultant at Ace Records in England and was the co-editor of the British magazine Blues Unlimited. He then co-founded Juke Blues Magazine, where he published articles on blues, R&B, gospel, soul, zydeco, and jazz, demonstrating his own range of musical prowess and the diversity of Louisiana's culture. Broven has contributed many music-history articles to periodicals and has written essays for numerous record releases, popularizing Louisiana swamp music throughout the world. Broven has been inducted as an honorary member in the Louisiana Music Commission and is a member of the Louisiana Hall of Fame. He is still rocking from his home in Long Island, New York.