“The musical road that runs through the work of Ralph Peer is a cultural highway that many genres ride on today. His story of pioneering the hustle of sound and style is a blueprint right to this digital age, as this book shows. It's a wonderful read.” — Chuck D, Public Enemy

“Ralph Peer was there first to discover and record roots music before anyone else. This remarkable man brought that [legacy] to the world, nurturing the early country, blues, jazz, and Latin artists. It's all in this book. Dive in and be awed.” — Donovan Leitch

“The world has been waiting for this! Ralph Peer is surely the most fascinating character in American vernacular music business history, and I personally thank him, since I otherwise would have been sacking groceries in El Segundo, or parking cars in Pacoima all these years. Mazor does a spectacular job weaving together the threads of Peer's discoveries in blues, jazz, country, and Latin. You will be amazed! I can't recommend this book strongly enough.” — Ry Cooder

“Ralph Peer’s true importance in American music is rarely understood outside of the music business, but Barry Mazor’s Ralph Peer And The Making of Popular Roots Music draws a compelling portrait of Peer as business innovator, music scout and publishing executive, detailing his visionary pursuit of musical riches in previously unexplored rural America and Latin America – yielding a body of recorded blues, country and pop that are the foundations of American musical culture.” — Laura Cantrell