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John Lingan
@johnlingan.bsky.social
1.5K followers 620 following 1.8K posts
Writer. "Homeplace," about Patsy Cline's hometown. "A Song for Everyone," about CCR. "BACKBEATS: A History of Rock and Roll in 15 Drummers" is out on 11/11/25.

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John Lingan @johnlingan.bsky.social · Oct 11
BACKBEATS is out one month from today and it’s a real book! One that Kirkus says is great! johnlingan.com to preorder.
BACKBEATS A HISTORY of ROCK AND ROLL' in FIFTEEN DRUMMERS JOHN LINGAN First page of the book’s intro. A two-page spread of photos featuring the Rollibg Stones, Earl Palmer, and more. "Fascinating reading...Loud but often overlooked, drummers get their due in this entertaining survey...Lingan does a terrific job explaining the technical aspects of drumming to a lay audience; this book is accessible to any rock fan, even ones who don't know the difference between a snare and a tom." —Kirkus Reviews
Reposted by John Lingan
bradfordpearson.bsky.social
Honored to have an excerpt from @johnlingan.bsky.social's exceptional new book in this month's @phillymag.com. I learned a lot about Questlove in this story, and I suspect you will too:
How Questlove Became the Defining Drummer of His Generation
John Lingan's new book Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers, traces the Roots drummer’s journey from Philly prodigy to genre-shaping innovator.
www.phillymag.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
natalieweiner.bsky.social
yes go buy @johnlingan.bsky.social's book about iconic drummers!! we just got our copy in the mail
johnnyskins.bsky.social John Skonieczny @johnnyskins.bsky.social · 9h
I had no idea that book even existed until now and I'm going to buy several copies for gifts. Incredible recommendation!
November 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
brendenmgallagher.bsky.social
Congrats to my friend @johnlingan.bsky.social on the publication of "Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers!" John is one of the best people writing about music today. His passion and expertise bleeds through on every page of his work. Order your copy today!
November 13, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
johnlingan.bsky.social
If you’re reading BACKBEATS and thinking “I wish this book had a playlist,” I have good news.

Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/0MW...

Apple Music: music.apple.com/us/playlist/...
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
Lifelong hero. A proper society would recognize that his “Who I Am” is the best memoir by a rock star of that era, more insightful and better written than Keith Richards’s.

Hell, a proper society would revere Townshend more than Richards in every way.
labrador-tunes.bsky.social Labrador @labrador-tunes.bsky.social · 1d
This interview made me tear up. The Who mean everything to me and Pete never shies away from giving REAL answers. His songs diagnosed the root of this toxic masculinity/male loneliness crisis that’s going on today and sadly, that’s why they remain timeless. m.youtube.com/watch?v=ukBw...
Pete Townshend On The Who's Farewell Tour, "Quadrophenia," And The Best Thing He's Ever Written
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
m.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
My friend @darkforcesswing.bsky.social is a great writer, has terrific taste, and knows a ton about drumming and extreme music. He was a truly helpful interview for BACKBEATS and his reflection on the finished book is an honor.
Gig of the Week: 11/10/25
A tribute to a late death-metal pioneer, a great new drum-centric rock book, the welcome return of Ink & Dagger and more
darkforcesswing.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
If you’re reading BACKBEATS and thinking “I wish this book had a playlist,” I have good news.

Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/0MW...

Apple Music: music.apple.com/us/playlist/...
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
jackelhai.bsky.social
"An electrifying journey."

Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @johnlingan.bsky.social & @scribnerbooks.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe
November 13, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
jonbern.bsky.social
Can't wait to dig into this one; congrats @johnlingan.bsky.social!
November 13, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
sterlewine.bsky.social
I feel like I'm always writing about Neil Young, possibly because he releases something new every three months. One of my favorite pieces of relatively recent vintage is my review of the Way Down in the Rust Bucket, a live album recorded shortly after Ragged Glory. pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...
Neil Young / Crazy Horse: Way Down in the Rust Bucket
Read Steve Thomas Erlewine’s review of the album.
pitchfork.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:35 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
Happy 80th birthday to Neil Young, an Olympian figure and the subject of some of the funniest quotes in BACKBEATS thanks to his tempestuous relationship with Kenny Buttrey.

“Neil hires some of the best musicians in the world and has 'em play as stupid as they possibly can.”
Neil Young was among the folk rockers to follow Dylan's lead to Music City. He was still largely known as a crunchy electric guitarist at that point; he used distortion to signify joy and abandon on "Cinnamon Girl" and heartbreak on "Ohio." But his recent songs had been written during extensive physical recovery, like Dylan's had been, and were calmer for it. Buttrey, along with Tim Drummond on bass, Jack Nitzsche on piano, and Ben Keith on pedal steel, became Young's Nashville band, which he dubbed the Stray Gators. Harvest, the record they made together, was Young's biggest in every way. It featured a full orchestra on multiple tracks, two career-defining singles ("Old Man" and "Heart of Gold," his first number 1), guest background vocalists Ronstadt and James Taylor, and some of his best songwriting, particularly the straightforwardly country title track. Buttrey helped Young achieve that, even if their relationship was hardly chummy. "Neil tells everybody what to play, note for note," Buttrey said later. "If you play somethin' he doesn't like, boy, he'll put a look on you you'll never forget. Neil hires some of the best musicians in the world and has 'em play as stupid as they possibly can." Young told Buttrey not to play cymbals, and to hit his hi-hats with his nondominant left hand. Everything about Neil Young was defiant— his overdriven guitar tones, his nasal high tenor, the mix of unaffected directness and inscrutable poeticism in his lyrics. And that extended to his sense of rhythm. The prehistoric stomp of his work with Crazy Horse, like his distinctive hammer-on acoustic guitar style, was all about riding a groove, and the ambitious productions of Harvest didn't get in the way of that goal. "Out on the Weekend" and especially "Harvest" have a methodical, subdued gait that comes directly from Young's strumming, not the drums, as Buttrey acknowledged. The strings of Young's guitar fill the spaces where cymbals would otherwise go. "It's just ultra-, ultra-simple, a laidback kinda thing nobody but Neil does, and if you're right with him it sounds great, and it sounds awful if you're not," Buttrey explained. "If I can't see Neil's right hand when he's playin' guitar, then I'm not playing. His rhythm playing is just perfect—it'll feel like he's slowing down, but it's just the Neil Young feel. No drummer should ever hold Neil to a certain tempo, because if you put a metronome on it, you kill the Neil Young feel." After the success of Harvest, Young brought the Stray Gators on a 1973 tour, the first time Buttrey had allowed himself to be lured out of the studio and on the road. Supposedly the drummer requested an exorbitant payment of $100,000 to offset his lost record-making wages, which prompted the other musicians to ask the same. The anger never abated between Buttrey and Young, who was also reeling from the recent overdose death of his friend and Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten. Increasingly reliant on tequila to calm his nerves, playing in bigger venues than ever before, and bereft of his harder-rocking backing group, Young was at his wits end through this tour and took it out on Buttrey. "Neil would just jump all over me," Buttrey said. Young kept hectoring him to hit the bass drum harder and get bigger sticks, and Buttrey kept buying thicker and thicker ones until a music store clerk told him, "Son, anything bigger than this is gonna have bark on it." Young once got so angry he punctured Buttrey's snare with a drumstick during a sound check. "I was playin' ten times louder than I had ever played in my life," the drummer recalled. "I was tryin' thicker heads, bigger sticks. It was drivin' me crazy. I looked down at the snare drums one night and saw somethin' splatter. My hand would bleed, it was drippin' down the stick and formed a big puddle on the snare. And when I hit the drum, blood would fly through the air.. It was the roughest time of my life." He quit midway through the tour, and the other musicians, Young included, plowed ahead in wretched shape from overdrinking. Incredibly, Young released a live album from this tour, Time Fades Away, though he chose performances from the leg that featured Jefferson Airplane drummer Johnny Barbata as Buttrey's replacement. It also contained only raw and rowdy new songs, recorded sparely, not the recent melodic hits that made his fame. In the longer context of his career, especially the chilling records that followed in Young's "ditch trilogy," it remains an exhilarating album, with songs that aren't found elsewhere in his catalog and a bleary, brown sound to match its cover. Yet Young basically disowned it, and let it fall out of print for nearly fifty years.
November 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
Read an excerpt from the Clyde Stubblefield chapter of BACKBEATS at @lithub.com.web.brid.gy!

Includes my interview with Fred Wesley and my officially stated “favorite drum performance of all time.”
More Than James Brown’s Drummer: Clyde Stubblefield, An Unsung Pioneer of R&B
In the 1960s, R&B music was still designed to make you move. Hum any tune by one of the era’s many geniuses and stars and you’ll immediately think of its groove: “Green Onions,” with its hip-kn…
lithub.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
rollingstone.com
Excerpt ↓In his new book 'Backbeats,' John Lingan explores what made drummers like Watts so extraordinary.

Excerpt ↓
'He Marches Right Through the Song': Steve Albini on How Charlie Watts's Snare Defined The Rolling Stones
bit.ly
November 10, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
levin.bsky.social
Oh yay it gets nerdy about technique but in an accessible way!
rollingstone.com Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 4d
Excerpt ↓In his new book 'Backbeats,' John Lingan explores what made drummers like Watts so extraordinary.

Excerpt ↓
'He Marches Right Through the Song': Steve Albini on How Charlie Watts's Snare Defined The Rolling Stones
bit.ly
November 11, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
johnlingan.bsky.social
BACKBEATS is out today!

Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...

DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.

And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Cover of BACKBEATS Interior photo pages featuring Ringo, the Stones, the MGs and more. PRAISE FOR BACKBEATS "[Exhibits] passion and deep knowledge... The only moments I put this book down were to pause and listen to the perfect examples that Lingan, a drummer himself, cites as crucial.... Here we see and hear the music of our lives." -BILL JANOVITZ, author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History "A thrilling ride... In exquisite detail and deft prose, John Lingan relates the creative insights and technical mastery of fifteen of rock's most influential groove merchants-many still unsung. In doing so, he reclaims the rock narrative from all those frontmen and guitarists, showing how the wizards at the back of the stage were moving the music all along." -IAN S. PORT, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll "An intelligent, heartfelt, and long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of modern music. Because, let's face it—if it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing." -BRAD TOLINSKI, coauthor of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar "Backbeats glows with enthusiasm and delivers an insightful glimpse into the sultans of swing who create fire by rubbing two sticks together." —BOB SPITZ, author of The Beatles: The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography "Sitting ten feet from stardom, drummers have had a central but slightly removed view of rock 'n' roll. A drummer himself, John Lingan captures that unique perspective.... Backbeats delivers to the reader something fresh and different. It's a hit." -PRESTON LAUTERBACH, author of The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock A sticker book plate
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
scheinman.bsky.social
this beautiful book is out today. bravo to @johnlingan.bsky.social.

wise readers will purchase two copies — that way you can form a Louie Bellson-style double bass drum! www.simonandschuster.com/books/Backbe...
November 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
lukeepplin.bsky.social
This looks great. I'm onboard with anything John writes.
johnlingan.bsky.social John Lingan @johnlingan.bsky.social · 3d
BACKBEATS is out today!

Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...

DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.

And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Cover of BACKBEATS Interior photo pages featuring Ringo, the Stones, the MGs and more. PRAISE FOR BACKBEATS "[Exhibits] passion and deep knowledge... The only moments I put this book down were to pause and listen to the perfect examples that Lingan, a drummer himself, cites as crucial.... Here we see and hear the music of our lives." -BILL JANOVITZ, author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History "A thrilling ride... In exquisite detail and deft prose, John Lingan relates the creative insights and technical mastery of fifteen of rock's most influential groove merchants-many still unsung. In doing so, he reclaims the rock narrative from all those frontmen and guitarists, showing how the wizards at the back of the stage were moving the music all along." -IAN S. PORT, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll "An intelligent, heartfelt, and long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of modern music. Because, let's face it—if it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing." -BRAD TOLINSKI, coauthor of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar "Backbeats glows with enthusiasm and delivers an insightful glimpse into the sultans of swing who create fire by rubbing two sticks together." —BOB SPITZ, author of The Beatles: The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography "Sitting ten feet from stardom, drummers have had a central but slightly removed view of rock 'n' roll. A drummer himself, John Lingan captures that unique perspective.... Backbeats delivers to the reader something fresh and different. It's a hit." -PRESTON LAUTERBACH, author of The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock A sticker book plate
November 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
charleshughes2.bsky.social
Congrats to @johnlingan.bsky.social on the release of this great book. Don't miss it!
johnlingan.bsky.social John Lingan @johnlingan.bsky.social · 3d
BACKBEATS is out today!

Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...

DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.

And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Cover of BACKBEATS Interior photo pages featuring Ringo, the Stones, the MGs and more. PRAISE FOR BACKBEATS "[Exhibits] passion and deep knowledge... The only moments I put this book down were to pause and listen to the perfect examples that Lingan, a drummer himself, cites as crucial.... Here we see and hear the music of our lives." -BILL JANOVITZ, author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History "A thrilling ride... In exquisite detail and deft prose, John Lingan relates the creative insights and technical mastery of fifteen of rock's most influential groove merchants-many still unsung. In doing so, he reclaims the rock narrative from all those frontmen and guitarists, showing how the wizards at the back of the stage were moving the music all along." -IAN S. PORT, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll "An intelligent, heartfelt, and long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of modern music. Because, let's face it—if it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing." -BRAD TOLINSKI, coauthor of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar "Backbeats glows with enthusiasm and delivers an insightful glimpse into the sultans of swing who create fire by rubbing two sticks together." —BOB SPITZ, author of The Beatles: The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography "Sitting ten feet from stardom, drummers have had a central but slightly removed view of rock 'n' roll. A drummer himself, John Lingan captures that unique perspective.... Backbeats delivers to the reader something fresh and different. It's a hit." -PRESTON LAUTERBACH, author of The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock A sticker book plate
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
elongreen.bsky.social
Happy pub day to this wonderful book! bookshop.org/p/books/back...
November 11, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
monogramdp.bsky.social
BACKBEATS releases today! Like John himself, the book is great company wherever you may go. He covers huge breadths of music history, locates & brings forward the beats & the people behind the singers & the strings, & with deft, memorable writing; solid, quick & with flourishes. Like a drummer!
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
BACKBEATS is out today!

Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...

DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.

And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Cover of BACKBEATS Interior photo pages featuring Ringo, the Stones, the MGs and more. PRAISE FOR BACKBEATS "[Exhibits] passion and deep knowledge... The only moments I put this book down were to pause and listen to the perfect examples that Lingan, a drummer himself, cites as crucial.... Here we see and hear the music of our lives." -BILL JANOVITZ, author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History "A thrilling ride... In exquisite detail and deft prose, John Lingan relates the creative insights and technical mastery of fifteen of rock's most influential groove merchants-many still unsung. In doing so, he reclaims the rock narrative from all those frontmen and guitarists, showing how the wizards at the back of the stage were moving the music all along." -IAN S. PORT, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll "An intelligent, heartfelt, and long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of modern music. Because, let's face it—if it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing." -BRAD TOLINSKI, coauthor of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar "Backbeats glows with enthusiasm and delivers an insightful glimpse into the sultans of swing who create fire by rubbing two sticks together." —BOB SPITZ, author of The Beatles: The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography "Sitting ten feet from stardom, drummers have had a central but slightly removed view of rock 'n' roll. A drummer himself, John Lingan captures that unique perspective.... Backbeats delivers to the reader something fresh and different. It's a hit." -PRESTON LAUTERBACH, author of The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock A sticker book plate
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
Great publication-eve surprise at @solidstatebooksdc.bsky.social, where BACKBEATS is already on sale. Find it between Geddy Lee and Gucci Mane.
A bookshelf with my book included.
November 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
Can't wait to read from BACKBEATS and talk music with @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in Dupont Circle tomorrow night. 7pm! I'm bringing a bluetooth speaker, this reading will have jams.
John Lingan: Backbeats | Kramers
kramers.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
johnlingan.bsky.social
BACKBEATS is out tomorrow! And you can read an excerpt of the Charlie Watts chapter at @rollingstone.com, including one of my fav interviews, Steve Albini.

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

As always, preorder at johnlingan.com
'HE MARCHES RIGHT THROUGH THE SONG': STEVE ALBINION HOW CHARLIE WATTS'S SNARE DEFINED THE ROLLING STONES In his new book 'Backbeats,' John Lingan explores what made drummers like Watts so extraordinary By JOHN LINGAN NOVEMBER 8, 2025
November 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by John Lingan
queencityjamz.bsky.social
Happy 54th to Led Zeppelin IV
November 8, 2025 at 4:58 PM