Jerome Clark is a writer (16 or 17 published books; he's lost count), editor and songwriter (covered by Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Seldom Scene, Albion Band and others), as well as an occasional television talking head. His interest in what is now called roots music -- country, folk and blues -- goes back to his childhood in the 1950s, when he didn't know that some people knew "Wreck of the Old 97" and "Streets of Laredo" as something called "folk songs."

All he knew was that these were songs that sounded like the world should sound.

Reviews by Jerome include:

Jay Boy Adams
The Shoe Box

Darlene Ahuna
Bridge Between Generations

Tommy Alverson
Country to the Bone

Eric Andersen
Blue Rain
Waves: Great American Song Series, Vol. 2

Angel Band
With Roots & Wings

Anonymous 4
Gloryland, with Darol Anger & Mike Marshall

Nancy Apple & Rob McNurlin
River Road or Rail

Slick Ballinger
Mississippi Soul

Ballycotton
Mondland

Banshee in the Kitchen
If We Were Us

Kim Beggs
Wanderer's Paean

Glenna Bell
The Road Less Traveled

Jan Bell & the Cheap Dates
Songs for Love Drunk Sinners

Mike Bella
Lost in the Shuffle

Gary Bennett
Human Condition

Bethany & Rufus
900 Miles

Beyond the Pale
The Music Plays Me

Eric Bibb
Diamond Days

Ray Bierl
Any Place I Hang My Hat

Big Country Bluegrass
On Fire

The Bills
Let Em Run

Norman & Nancy Blake
The Morning Glory Ramblers

Ronee Blakley
Ronee Blakley

Blind Corn Liquor Pickers
Anywhere Else?

Rustie Blue
Chip Chip

Blue Canyon Boys
Just an Ol' Dirt Road

Blue Highway
Through the Window of a Train

Bluff City Backsliders
Bluff City Backsliders

Jason Boland & the Stragglers
Somewhere in the Middle

Ray Bonneville
Goin' by Feel

Fiona Boyes & the Fortunetellers
Lucky 13

Dale Ann Bradley
Catch Tomorrow

Randall Bramblett
Rich Someday

Chris Brashear & Peter McLaughlin
Canyoneers

Eden Brent
Mississippi Number One

Paul Brock & Enda Scahill
Humdinger

David Bromberg
Try Me One More Time

Big Bill Broonzy
Amsterdam Live Concerts 1953

Greg Brown
The Evening Call

Randy Browning
Radical Rags

Buck Mountain Band
Moon Behind the Hills

Kevin Burke & Cal Scott
Across the Black River

Johnny Bush
Kashmere Gardens Mud

Gene Butler Band
Concrete Country

Jerry Byrd
Master of the Steel Guitar, Vol. 1

J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton
The Road to Escondido

Andrew Calhoun
Staring at the Sun: Songs 1973-1981

Shawn Camp
Fireball
Live at the Station Inn

Grayson Capps
If You Knew My Mind
Songbones
Wail & Ride

Barton Carroll
The Lost One

Kendel Carson
Rearview Mirror Tears

Eliza Carthy
Anglicana

June Carter Cash
Press On

Cashman
Texassippi Stomp

Buzz Cason
Hats Off to Hank

Jud Caswell
Blackberry Time

Cedar Hill
Portrait of a Song

Kate Chadbourne
The Irishy Girl

Bob Cheevers
Texas to Tennessee

Cherryholmes
Cherryholmes

Chicago Blues Reunion
Buried Alive in the Blues

James Christian & the Oriskany Strings
The Train Don't Run Here Anymore

The Circuit Riders
Let the Ride Begin

Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater
Rock 'n' Roll City

Slaid Cleaves
Wishbones

Davis Coen
Ill Disposition

Karen Collins & the Backroads Band
Tail Light Blues

Jack Cooke
Sittin' on Top of the World

Chris Cotton
I Watched the Devil Die

The Country Boys
Sing Bluegrass & Gospel

The Crooked Jades
Shining Darkness
The Unfortunate Rake, Vol. 2: Yellow Mercury
World's on Fire

Josh Crowe
Sincerely

Andy Cummings
Andy Cummings & His Hawaiian Serenaders

Dailey & Vincent
Dailey & Vincent

Brad Davis
I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down
This World Ain't No Child

Guy Davis
Skunkmello

Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh
"Holdin' Our Own" & Other Country Gold Duets

Dead Men's Hollow
Forever True

Ruby Dee & the Snakehandlers
North of Bakersfield

Linda Dela Cruz
Hawaii's Canary

Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie
Everbody's Dancin'

Kris Delmhorst
Strange Conversation

Brigitte DeMeyer
Something After All

Jesse DeNatale
Soul Parade

The Derailers
Soldiers of Love
Under the Influence of Buck

The Dixie Bee-Liners
The Dixie Bee-Liners
Ripe

The Chris Duarte Group
Romp

The Duhks
Migrations

Dulaman
Four Years in November

Mark Dvorak
Every Step of the Way

Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan
On the Jimmy Reed Highway

The Earl Brothers
Moonshine
Troubles to Blame

Tim Easton
Ammunition

Cliff Eberhardt
The High Above & the Down Below

Don Edwards
Moonlight & Skies

Eleven Hundred Springs
Bandwagon
Country Jam

William Lee Ellis
Conqueroo
God's Tattoos

Ken Emerson
Slack & Steel: Kaua'i Style

Steve Eulberg
'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

Archie Fisher
Windward Away

Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets
Which Way is Texas?

Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop
Red Shoes

Gas Money
22 Dollars

Dave Gibb
Blood & Flame

The Gibson Brothers
Red Letter Day

Eliza Gilkyson
Beautiful World
Your Town Tonight

Tony Gilkyson
Goodbye Guitar

Robert Gordon & Chris Spedding
It's Now or Never

Rosco Gordon
No Dark in America

John Gorka
Writing in the Margins

The Greencards
Viridian

Jeff Griffith
If It Ain't One Thing It's Another

Hacienda Brothers
What's Wrong with Right

Hackensaw Boys
Look Out!

James Hand
The Truth Will Set You Free

John L. Handcox
Songs, Poems & Stories of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union

Harmon's Peak
Traditional American Music

Michael Reno Harrell
Drive

Kim & Reggie Harris
Get on Board!

Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz
Draw Closer

Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill
Welcome Here Again

Colin Henderson
Highway of Diamonds: The Songs of Bob Dylan

Caroline Herring
Lantana

Barry Hertz
A Cowboy's Prayer

Heybale
The Last Country Album

Ann Heymann
Cruit go nOr (Harp of Gold)

Arty Hill & the Long Gone Daddys
Bar of Gold

Byron Hill
Ramblings

Hillbilly Parker
self-titled

David Holt & the Lightning Bolts
David Holt & the Lightning Bolts

Hooverville
Follow That Trail of Dust Back Home

Howdenjones
Beautiful Again: Live

Hunger Mountain Boys
Three

Hungrytown
Hungrytown

Michael Hurwitz & the Aimless Drifters
Blue Coyote
Cowboy Fandango

Ron Hynes
Ron Hynes

The Infamous Stringdusters
Fork in the Road

Interstate Cowboy
There's a Road

Lynn Jackson
Restless Days

David Jacobs-Strain
Ocean or a Teardrop

Eilen Jewell
Letters from Sinners & Strangers

Carol Elizabeth Jones & Laurel Bliss
Girl from Jericho

Chris Jones
Too Far Down the Road

The JW-Jones Blues Band
Kissing in 29 Days

Kacey Jones
Sings Mickey Newbury

Nic Jones
Game Set Match

Kathy Kallick Band
Warmer Kind of Blue

Ray Kane
The Legendary Ray Kane: Old Style Slack-Key

Jorma Kaukonen
Stars in My Crown

The Kennedys
Better Dreams
Songs of the Open Road

Enoch Kent
Songs of Love, Lust & Loathing

Dick Kimmel & Co.
My Lord Keeps a Record

Bill Kirchen
Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods

Chris Knight
Enough Rope
The Jealous Kind
The Trailer Tapes

Dave Knudsen
The Weeping City

Kris Kristofferson
The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson
This Old Road

Leonard Kwan
The Legendary Leonard Kwan: The Complete Early Recordings

Jimmy LaFave
Blue Nightfall
Cimarron Manifesto

Peter Lang
Guitar

Jim Lauderdale
Bluegrass

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Beyond the Shadows

Josh Lederman y Los Diablos
The Town's Old Fair

Mark Lemhouse
The Great American Yard Sale

James Leva
'Til I Know

John Lisi & Delta Funk
Dead Cat Bounce

Locust Mountain Boys
Back in Time with Family & Friends
Ode to the Locusts

Lonesome Brothers
Mono

The Love Hall Tryst
Songs of Misfortune

Cindy Lu
Two Sides

Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger
Classic Scots Ballads

Janiva Magness
Bury Him at the Crossroads

Charlie Major
Inside Out

Karen Mal
Dark-Eyed Sailor

Harry Manx & Kevin Breit
In Good We Trust

Bob Margolin
In North Carolina

Carolyn Mark
Nothing is Free

Marley's Ghost
Spooked

Mac Martin & the Dixie Travelers
Travelin' On

The Maybelles
Leavin' Town

The Mayflies
Jerusalem Ridge

The Del McCoury Band
The Company We Keep

Ed McCurdy
A Ballad Singer's Choice

Spade McQuade & the Allstars
self-titled

Ramsay Midwood
Popular Delusions & the Madness of Cows

Ethan Miller & Kate Boverman
If All the Land Would Rise

John Minton
Going Back to Vicksburg

Mississippi Mudsharks
Train Rolls On

Bruce Molsky
Contented Must Be
Soon Be Time

Jeff Moore
The Dove's Perch

Katie Moore
Only Thing Worse

Jackie Morris
Where the Legends Grow Like Weeds

Fred Morrison, with Jamie McMenemy
Up South

Maria Muldaur
Naughty Bawdy & Blue

Charlie Musselwhite
Delta Hardware

Elizabeth Nicholson & Stringed Migration
Fly Not Yet

Michelle Nixon & Drive
It's My Turn

Will Noble & John Cocking
Yon Green Banks

North Sea Gas
Rosslyn

Alecia Nugent
A Little Girl ... A Big Four-Lane

Hope Nunnery
Wilderness Lounge

Tim O'Brien
Chameleon
Cornbread Nation

Odetta
At the Gate of Horn
Sings Ballads & Blues

Lisa O'Kane
It Don't Hurt

Olga
Now Is the Time

Paul Oscher
Down in the Delta

Sam Pacetti & Gabriel Valla
Union

Buck Page
Right Place to Start

Charlie Parr
King Earl
Rooster

Niamh Parsons
The Old Simplicity, with Graham Dunne

Tom Paxton
Comedians & Angels
Live in the UK

Big Pete Pearson
I'm Here Baby

Peter, Bethany & Rufus
Puff & Other Family Classics

Ed Pettersen
The New Punk Blues of Ed Pettersen

William Pint & Felicia Dale
The Set of the Sail

John Platania
Blues, Waltzes & Badland Borders

The Possum Trot Orchestra
Harbor Road
The Possum Trot Orchestra

Preacher Jack
Pictures from Life's Other Side

Joel Rafael Band
Woodyboye: Songs of Woody Guthrie (And Tales Worth Telling), Volume II

Allen Ramsey
self-titled

Rancho Deluxe
Rancho Deluxe

Real Time
Home Thoughts

James Reams & the Barnstormers
Troubled Times

James Reams, Walter Hensley & the Barons of Bluegrass
Wild Card

Riders in the Sky
Public Cowboy #1: A Centennial Salute to the Music of Gene Autry

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines
Goin' Home

Jean Ritchie & Paul Clayton
American Folk Tales & Songs

A.J. Roach
Revelation

The Robber Barons
Kerosene Communion

Hunter Robertson
Songs for the Masses

Gaylynn Robinson
Anthology: Songs by a West Texas Songstress

Charlie Robison
Good Times

Carrie Rodriguez
Seven Angels on a Bicycle

Cecilio Rodriguez
Sweet Surprise

Marti Rogers
Plain & Fancy

Joe Ross
The Spirit of St. Louis

Peter Rowan & Tony Rice
You Were There for Me

Xavier Rudd
Food in the Belly

Duane Rutter
Waiting Room

The Salt Miners
Dressed for Excess

Martha Scanlan
The West Was Burning

Becky Schlegel
For All the World to See

John Sebastian & David Grisman
Satisfied

Curly Seckler
Bluegrass, Don't You Know

Leon Seiter
In the Shadow of a Honky Tonk

Seldom Scene
Scenechronized

Sid Selvidge
Live at Otherlands

Charlie Sexton & Shannon McNally
Southside Sessions

The Shiftless Rounders
Places

Richard Shindell
South of Delia

Martin Simpson
Prodigal Son

The Charlie Sizemore Band
Good News

Skaggs Family
A Skaggs Family Christmas, Volume One

The Skylighters
The Skylighters

Bobby Earl Smith
Turn Row Blues

Jan Smith
29 Dances

Mindy Smith
My Holiday

Smithfield Fair
Walking Through This World

Jim Smoak & the L.A. Honeydrippers
Carolina Boy

Todd Snider
Live: Near Truths & Hotel Rooms

The Sorry Muthas
Greatest Hits Vol. 3

Southern Culture on the Skids
Doublewide & Live

Ron Spears & Within Tradition
Carolina Rain

Starline Rhythm Boys
Red's Place

The SteelDrivers
The SteelDrivers

Steep Canyon Rangers
Lovin' Pretty Women
One Dime at a Time

Larry Stephenson
Thankful

Mike Stevens & Raymond McLain
Old Time Mojo

John Stewart
The Day the River Sang

Mike Stinson
Last Fool at the Bar

Storyhill
Storyhill

Strawbs
Deja Fou
Painted Sky

Trent Summar & the New Row Mob
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

Bryan Sutton
Not Too Far from the Tree

Keith Sykes
Let It Roll

June Tabor
Apples
At the Wood's Heart

John Tams
The Reckoning

Adam Tanner
Sure As You're Born

Chip Taylor
Unglorious Hallelujah

Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
Live from the Ruhr Triennale

Otis Taylor
Below the Fold

Jim Thackery & the Drivers
Solid Ice
True Stories

Linda Thompson
Versatile Heart

Randy Thompson
Further On

Richard Thorne
Amalgam

Tiller's Folly
A River So Wide

Artie Tobia
The Parade

The Lucky Tomblin Band
In a Honky-Tonk Mood
Red Hot from Blue Rock

Mac Traynham
I'm Going That Way

Mac & Jenny Traynham
Never Grow Old
The Sweetest Way Home
When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland

Two Tons of Steel
Vegas
Two Ton Tuesday Live! From Gruene Hall

Ian Tyson
Songs from the Gravel Road

Donna Ulisse
When I Look Back

various artists
Americana
American Blues
American Folk & Blues: The Roots of Americana
Bluegrass Express
BluegrassHits
Celtic Tapestry: Contemporary & Traditional Celtic Songs
Celtic Women of Song
Down at the Sea Hotel
Friends of Fahey Tribute
The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson
Give US Your Poor
Heartworn Highways
Heel & Toe
HighTone Records Anthology: Rockin' from the Roots
Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians
It Was on a Market Day: English Traditional Folk Singers
Live at the Oak Center General Store/Folk Forum, Vol. 1
Luckenbach! Compadres! (Songs of Luckenbach, Texas)
Mad Dogs & Okies
Modern Day Troubadours
Raw Fiddle
Sowing the Seeds: The 10th Anniversary
Territorial Airwaves
Texas Unplugged, Vol. 2
Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck

Rhonda Vincent
All American Bluegrass Girl

The Virginia Ramblers
The Virginia Ramblers

Porter Wagoner
Sings His Hits
Wagonmaster

Wailin' Elroys
Route 33

Wailin' Jennys
Firecracker

Abigail Washburn
Song of the Traveling Daughter

Toni Lynn Washington
Been So Long

The Watersons
Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy
A Yorkshire Christmas

Dale Watson
From the Cradle to the Grave
Whiskey or God

Doc & Merle Watson
Sittin' Here Pickin' the Blues

The Waybacks
Way Live

Bill Wence
Songs from the Rocky Fork Tavern

Corinne West
Second Sight

Wild Colonial Bhoys
Irish in America

The Wilders
Throw Down

Wildfire
Where Roads Divide

Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros
Diamonds in the Sun

Work o' the Weavers
We're Still Here

Wylie & the Wild West
Hooves of the Horses


Heartworn Highways