Available now in print and electronic editions, Cary Baker's acclaimed study of music performed on the streets, in subways, in parks, in schoolyards, on the back of flatbed trucks, and beyond, from the 1920s to the present—an NPR book of the day! |
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A note from the author
I want to personally thank everybody—the interview sources, my publisher, our foreword writer Dom Flemons, the press, booksellers who have gone above and beyond, and, most of all, the readers—of my first book, Down On The Corner: Adventures In Busking & Street Music, which hit the streets this past November 12.
The book chronicles the history of busking through the 20th and 21st centuries, broken down by genre and geographic region, with profiles on artists varied from Blind Lemon Jefferson and Reverend Gary Davis to The Tokens to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Satan & Adam and Ted Hawkins to the present day: Billy Bragg, Peter Case, Fantastic Negrito, Mojo Nixon, Madeleine Peyroux and Lucinda Williams, to name a few.
So far it’s been a great run! I’ve spoken at AmericanaFest in Nashville in September, a music books panel at the Twentynine Palms Book Festival in my present California desert habitat, and two wonderful events in my longtime home of Los Angeles: Book Soup with interviewer Chris Morris and busker Bob Ricketts, and at Stories Books & Café with interviewer Lyndsey Parker and buskers the Highsteppers. Look for more events throughout the US in the new year.
Huge thanks to the press and radio, not the least of which an interview on NPR Morning Edition with host A Martinez, and, days later, a citation as NPR’s Book of the Day.
—Cary Baker |
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 | | The Highsteppers perform outside Stories in Los Angeles |
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What the press is saying
“Down On The Corner sings out the stories of these various buskers robustly, illustrating Cary Baker’s passion and appreciation for the art that happens out on the streets and fills the air with song and, if the musicians have a good evening, the performers’ pockets with a little dough-re-mi.” No Depression
“Baker provides a smart history of street music … for all of the book’s nostalgic pull, which is considerable, it is also of this moment. After reading it, you will never be able to walk past a street performer without tossing a little something into his or her hat, cup, guitar case or other eager receptacle.” Chicago Tribune
“Baker takes us through the history of busking from from 1920 to 2022, beginning with the blues and gospel singers who worked the streets of Dallas, New Orleans, New York and Memphis, including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Reverend Gary Davis and hillbilly artists. A wonderful read about a neglected and important part of music history.” Morning Star
“Cary Baker's first book is a celebration of buskers…Interesting stories are told and many thoughts shared on how singing for dimes can help shape a musical career.” RNR
“The book shines when it highlights how busking brings people together.” Publishers Weekly
“Leave it to Cary Baker to write the Bible of the sonic adventure. In a hypnotic way, this intriguing book makes the endeavor of hitting the street and going for it on the same level of excitement as taking off for the moon. Baker clearly has the boogie woogie of street music and busking in his veins, and the way he has collected and written this fascinating tome seems like an art form in itself. It’s serious business. Wisely divided into chapters by geography, Baker is able to make an exciting sense to what sometimes seems a jumble of geography, and thank goodness for his extremely sharp planning.” Bentley’s Bandstand, Americana Highways
“In the digital age, the ancient art of street singing or busking might seem like an anomaly. But in his new book, Cary Baker makes the case for its continuing vitality–while taking readers through a historical journey and series of delightful vignettes with artists that have braved the elements and navigated city ordinances and public spaces as they have taken their music to the streets.” Americana Highways
“Cary Baker, who spent decades as a music publicist, has long been known in the business for his writing ability, encyclopedic knowledge of the field, and penchant for limiting his client list to artists whose work he admires. It’s no surprise, therefore, that his first post-retirement project is a well-researched, colorfully written, and insightful music book that conveys enthusiasm and resulted from years of research and dozens of interviews.” Americana Highways
“Baker writes with a deft balance of reportorial precision, storytelling expertise, a way with evocative phrases that sometimes rivals the great bluesmen, and-perhaps most critically-the dedication of a lifelong music enthusiast. Itself a celebration of busking, Down On The Corner is to be celebrated both for its content and for heralding Cary Baker's welcome return to the world of musical authorship.” Living Blues
“Even if your only relationship with busking is having dropped a quarter in the hat of a street musician who caught your attention, Down On The Corner is a fascinating and incredible journey into the world of music on the street.” Blogcritics
“Cary shares anecdotes and origin stories from Old Crow Medicine Show, Poi Dog Pondering and the late rowdy raconteur Mojo Nixon. He also checks in with heavy-hitters like Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Madeleine Peyroux and Glen Hansard. He navigates a course from coast to coast, as well as the UK and Europe. It’s a thoroughly engaging read.” Coachella Valley Weekly
“This is a fun book. Informative, fly-on-the wall … and full of rather lovely vignette ‘stories’. It’s also a good introduction to many well-loved and less known blues artists, street musos and eccentrics … I immersed myself in the tales, the stories included in the book, and it has led me into researching about a number of the artists, the buskers and street performers included. And you can’t say much better than that!” International Times
“I’m a lifelong crate digger who’s read countless books, articles, and liner notes about music that interests me. Yet I learned much from Baker’s book. Sometimes the knowledge I gleaned from Down On The Corner was about acts I’d never heard of, and other times I got schooled with a deeper understanding of the histories of bands and solo artists whose music and stories I already knew. But my biggest takeaway from the book? It made me want to prowl the outdoor public spaces of my current hometown of Durham, North Carolina, in search of some good street music.” It’s Psychedelic Baby
“Tired of ghost-written music memoirs and fawning bios? Had enough of deep-dive discographies? Bored with overpriced coffee-table tomes? Looking for something new and interesting to read? I have just the thing: Cary Baker’s inspired new non-fiction number.” Tinnitist
“Baker offers a compelling glimpse into the lives of musicians who have turned the streets into their stage.” Strange Brew
“Busking, as Cary Baker notes, has been common in cities ‘as far back as ancient Rome.’ He highlights a wide variety of musicians like Wild Man Fischer, Mary Lou Lord or Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and key locations such as Chicago's blues nexus, Maxwell Street.” MOJO |
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 | | Cary with fellow author and journalist Chris Morris at Book Soup |
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