Author of "If It Sounds Good..." sounded good at OBC

SEELEY LAKE – Richard Manning is no stranger to Seeley Lake or to Alpine Artisans' literary events. Former journalist and author of 11 books, he has written about environmental issues, the American prairie, agriculture, poverty and collaborated with a Harvard medical professional to write about a healthier lifestyle based on a better understanding of our DNA.

When he came to Open Book Club on Nov. 13 to present his latest book, "If It Sounds Good, It Is Good," he brought his guitar.

Manning and fellow guitarist Bill Lombardi began the hybrid presentation with the John Lomax version of the song "Cocaine." The guitars twanged the tune as Manning's gravelly voice sang about "Cocaine, running around my brain."

Though Manning said he is not a druggie, he always starts his musical presentations with "Cocaine." Though he has given numerous readings of his books without the slightest symptom of stage fright, he said he is terrified of singing and playing in public.

"But somehow," he said, "'Cocaine' goes to a place in my brain where I am not afraid." It's a state he describes as "his brain on music."

Aside from helping him attain a comfort level, he said the song is apt because his book encompasses drugs and neurobiology of the brain and their relationship to music. According to Manning, in the early 1900s, when Lomax wrote the song, cocaine was distributed to sharecroppers on the theory it would make them work harder and eat less. In subsequent years, other songs titled "Cocaine" or "Cocaine Blues" were written with slightly different lyrics and sung by various recording artists. These are the songs that captivate Manning. Songs with a long and winding history. By digging deeper and deeper, one eventually arrives at the true roots of American music, perhaps even the true roots of oneself.

Putting his guitar down, Manning read the beginning of "If It Feels Good..." In the very first sentence Manning talks about what he now classifies as a life-changing event, hearing the song "Delia Was a Gamblin' Girl" played by a little-known backup singer Martin Grosswendt. Looking back, he said it was not so much the performance or the lyrics of the song as it was the reaction to it by his then hero Peter Bowen, whom Manning described as a man who "had made it a point to oversee my education."

A subsequent evening parking lot conversation with Bowen and Grosswendt, lubricated with a pint of whiskey, ended in what Manning calls a "watershed" decision for him. One month later he quit college. One semester, literally three courses and three class papers away from finishing, Manning, the only member of his lineage to come close to getting a degree, cast aside his 3.0 grade point average and walked away from the academic world in search of his true roots.

"Delia Was a Gamblin' Girl" typified for him everything that was the opposite of academia and the elitist, corporate world. Manning bought a guitar and taught himself how to play it.

Nor was he alone in being seduced by "Delia." The song, and the true story which it memorialized, generated numerous versions. Through the years it changed and grew, taken up by such greats as Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

As with "Cocaine," Manning's fascination is with the way "Delia" has been kept alive, with the way digging deeper leads back to its roots. According to Manning, such journeys invariably lead back to the poorest people in the country, the African slaves, the impoverished Irish laborers, the Appalachian hillbillies, the exploited people crying from the depths of their joy, sorrow and troubles. The authenticity of their cries combined and created new tones, new tunes.

Manning and Lombardi played more of the old "root" songs, interspersed with Manning's opinion that the 1950s was the golden age of recording and that the great singer-songwriters waned about 1970.

Dipping into neuroscience, Manning spoke about a line in "Killing Floor," "If I had listened to my second mind..." According to Manning, people now take humanity for granted. They have lost the ability to access multiple levels of their minds. Music is the way to access those dulled parts. Root music can lead to a sharing in other people's lives, troubles and joys.

Music has certainly done that for Manning. The subtitle of "If It Sounds Good, It Is Good," is "Seeking Subversion, Transcendence, and Solace in America's Music." Manning has found all three in root music. His book hopes to guide others to the same depths.