Rock & roll first spoke to Alec Wightman as a ten-year-old boy when he heard Dion sing "The Wanderer" on his transistor radio. Over the next sixty years, Wightman would listen to countless records, chase live shows from coast to coast, promote singer-songwriter acts through his own concert production company, and work with leaders in the music industry as a member and chair of the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-all while maintaining his day job as a successful corporate lawyer.
In
MUSIC IN MY LIFE: Notes From a Longtime Fan
, Wightman chronicles his musical evolution from the great rock & roll of the 1960s to numerous Neil Young concerts in the '70s and on to decades discovering singer-songwriter favorites like John Stewart, Jesse Winchester, Tom Russell, Rosie Flores, and Dave Alvin. The constant throughout Wightman's life, as one reviewer puts it, has been his "ear for great songs and his admiration for those who craft them." In
MUSIC IN MY LIFE
, this admiration is genuine and palpable, regardless of whether the talent springs from the lesser-known (Chuck Prophet, John Fullbright) or the renowned (Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Webb). With his tireless advocacy for live music, Wightman has forged special connections with scores of musicians over his lifetime, using his passion to bring artists and fans together. And his engagement with the Rock Hall is the cherry on top, giving him a unique perspective into the world of rock & roll-the music of our lives.
, says another reviewer, "is written proof that musical fandom can be a form of artistic expression."