Colin Escott

(1949-08-31) 31 August 1949

Boughton Aluph, Kent, England

British

University of Kent

Music historian, author

Career[edit]

His early career involved stints in operations for Island Records and Polygram Records in the 1970s,[1] followed by work for Universal, Sony/Columbia, Warner Bros.-Rhino, Time Life, Capitol-EMI, RCA, and many independent companies, including Bear Family, Sundazed, and Omnivore.[2] He also wrote music history pieces for various music industry publications including Record Mirror, Goldmine, and Record Hunter.[3]


Described as "the foremost authority on Sun Records",[4] in 1992 he and Martin Hawkins published Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the first in-depth account of the label's history. His 1994 book Hank Williams: The Biography was adapted into the 2015 movie I Saw the Light. The multi-CD box set, The Complete Hank Williams, won a 1998 Grammy, and another of his productions, Hank Williams: The Garden Spot Programs, 1950, won a 2014 Grammy.[5]


In 1999 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections,[2][6] and in 2011 he was recognized with the Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism.[7]


Escott co-wrote the 2010 musical theater production Million Dollar Quartet, which received three Tony nominations,[8][9][10] and in 2020 wrote a sequel, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. He was also part of the writing/producing team adapting the original show for CMT/Viacom for broadcast in 2017.


In 2022 he was tapped as a writer for the "audio adventure" podcast series Tennessee Music Pathways.[11] That same year, he and co-writer Peter Guralnick released "an epic hardcover book", The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records and the 70 Recordings That Changed the World, in conjunction with the film Elvis.[12]


Middle Tennessee State University's Center for Popular Music houses the Colin Escott Collection of historical documents and photographs acquired in 2019.[2]

Colin Escott (1994). Hank Williams: The Biography. Boston: . ISBN 978-0316249867.[13]

Little, Brown and Company

—————— (1998). Tattooed on Their Tongues: A Journey Through the Backrooms of American Music. New York: . ISBN 978-0028650333.[14]

Schirmer Books

—————— (1999). All Roots Lead to Rock: Legends of Early Rock 'n' Roll. New York: Schirmer Books.  978-0028648668.

ISBN

—————— (2002). Roadkill on the Three-Chord Highway: Art and Trash in American Popular Music. London: Routledge.  978-0415937825.

ISBN

—————— (2003). Lost Highway: The True Story of Country Music. Washington: . ISBN 978-1588341495.

Smithsonian Press

—————— (2006). The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon. Nashville: . ISBN 978-1931722865.

Center Street

Co-writer, (2010)[8]

Million Dollar Quartet

Writer, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas (2020)

[15]

Personal life[edit]

Escott was born in Boughton Aluph, Kent, England, on 31 August 1949, the son of Lenny, an optician, and Betty Escott. He graduated in 1971 from the University of Kent with a B.A. degree.[1][2] He has lived in Nashville and Toronto.

at AllMusic

Colin Escott

discography at Discogs

Colin Escott

at IMDb

Colin Escott