1980s
A01=Erin Osmon
activism
Author_Erin Osmon
bob dylan
bob seger
bonnie raitt
bruce springsteen
Category=AV
Category=AVA
Category=AVC
Category=AVL
Category=AVLP
Category=DNL
civil rights
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
farm aid
john cougar mellencamp
melissa etheridge
mtv
neil young
political
prince
protest
reagan era
rock and roll
tom petty
Product details
- ISBN 9781324051374
- Weight: 486g
- Dimensions: 160 x 236mm
- Publication Date: 28 Apr 2026
- Publisher: WW Norton & Co
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Erin Osmon’s rollicking Won’t Back Down tells the story of the origins, chart-topping development and tangled legacy of Heartland Rock, the 1980s music that remains instantly recognisable to millions today. Osmon delves into the making of its classic albums and songs, including Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”, Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind”, John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”. She demonstrates the centrality of often-overlooked women, including Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams. She traces the genre’s connections to country and Americana and shows how its success revitalised the careers of figures like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. And she argues that the music played a vital role in opposition to eighties conservatism, and in support of LGBTQ rights, labour issues and the environmental movement. As Osmon makes clear, Heartland Rock at its best connected with millions of overlooked people longing to be heard.
Erin Osmon is a music journalist, critic, and author of books on John Prine and Jason Molina. Her writing appears in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and others. She won the Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Award for album notes in 2023 and several LA Press Club Southern California Journalism awards. She lives in Nashville.
