Atlanta Pop in the '50s, '60s & '70s: The Magic of Bill Lowery

Go inside the people and places that made Atlanta the pop music capital of the United States in the second half of the 20th century.

Former DJ Bill Lowery attracted a galaxy of talent and created an empire of music publishing, production and promotion. In 1956, the Lowery Music Company had its first million copy-selling hit single with "Be-Bop-a-Lula,'? by Gene Vincent. Under Lowery's direction, popular artists like Tommy Roe and Billy Joe Royal flourished. Audio engineer Rodney Mills teamed up with Lowery and future Atlanta Rhythm Section manager Buddy Buie to build Studio One, a recording studio that produced albums from legendary acts such as Joe South, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special and others. Andy Lee White and John M. Williams offer a comprehensive portrait of the vibrant postwar Atlanta music scene.

JOHN M. WILLIAMS retired from LaGrange College, where he taught for twenty-six years, in 2015. He was named Georgia Author of the Year for First Novel in 2002 for Lake Moon (Mercer University Press). He has written and co-written numerous plays, with several local productions, and published a variety of stories, essays and reviews through the years. His most recent book is Village People: Sketches of Auburn (Solomon and George, 2016). He lives in LaGrange, Georgia.



ANDY LEE WHITE is an Alabama-born, Auburn University-educated singer/songwriter/musician and author. He spent many years playing live music, releasing albums with a band, as a duo and two albums as a solo artist (Kudzu Animals, 2005; Unhyphenated American, 2011). He is an avid music history buff, collector and historian. He currently lives in Marietta (east Cobb), Georgia.