A social history by a German rhythm and blues fan who traveled the United States searching for the places referred to in the great blues and rock songs he loved so much.

Publication Date: August 22, 2023
Publisher: Elboro Press
ISBN: 978-1-7379274-8-8
Perfect Bound Paperback, 242 pages
Dimensions: 5” x 8”
Retail Price: $13.99

Song Atlas is a unique piece of social history by a German rhythm and blues fan who traveled the United States searching for the places referred to in the great blues and rock songs he loved so much. But his investigation of place and inspiration demanded a thoughtful reckoning with the whole of American culture, particularly White racism from the earliest years of the nation to the present. Rich in biographical detail about a host of America's great songwriters and players, famous or obscure, it also includes nuanced analysis of the music and lyrics. Balanced between personal impressions and the historical record, Song Atlas is a valuable collection of insights concerning a vast culture always in flux, an idiosyncratic tour of America in song.

Andreas Max Ströhl was born in Munich, West Germany, in 1962. He received a Master of Arts degree in 1987 from the University of Munich in German Literature, American Studies, and Theater. Upon graduation, he worked as a journalist before accepting a post with the international cultural exchange association, the Goethe-Institut, by which he was stationed in (amongst other places) Atlanta, Georgia. From 2003 until 2011 he was the Director of the Munich Filmfest and International Film School Festival Munich while also earning his PhD in European Ethnology at Marburg University in 2009. Ströhl returned to the Goethe-Institut in 2011 as, successively, Director of the Department of Culture, Founding Director of the Cultural Symposium Weimar, Regional Director of North America and Director of the Goethe-Institut in Washington, DC. He was a co-founder in 1977 (at fifteen) of a rock 'n' roll band called Extreme Unction which still plays and performs today!