The Monarchs: The Great American Rock 'n' Roll Dream

Congratulations! The Monarchs: The Great American Rock 'n' Roll Dream was awarded the Bronze Medal for Excellence in Regional Non-Fiction at the 2010 Independent Publisher Book Awards
 

By Billy Reed • Hardcover • 9 x 11 in. • 128 pages

Each book comes packaged with a commemorative DVD documenting the band's remarkable 50-year history!

It was the Great American Rock 'n' Roll Dream. Throughout the late 1950s and early '60s, thousands of rock bands were popping up in every city in the nation, and they all dreamed of finding that one special song that would earn them a spot on the national charts and an appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. If you were in Louisville, Kentucky at the time, you heard bands like the Sultans, the Epics, Cosmo and the Counts, the Carnations and the Tren-Dells — but it was another group that began stealing the spotlight: The Monarchs. "No matter where they performed," recalls Milt Williams, president of the Monarchs Fan Club, "it was always a sold-out crowd. Their appearances were never just a dance, it was a PARTY, and when the Monarchs threw a party, everybody came."

In The Monarchs: The Great American Rock 'n' Roll Dream, veteran journalist Billy Reed takes us back to those golden years, and follows along as The Monarchs play their way through 50 years of concerts, sock hops, dances and reunions, earning Louisville's undying affection and coming oh so close to hitting the big time with their signature hit, "Look Homeward, Angel." The book collects, for the first time, half a century of memories, music and memorabilia from the band Mayor Jerry Abramson calls "a true 'Louisville Original' and a community treasure."

Told with a smile and a healthy pinch of nostalgia, The Monarchs is the story of a band, sure, but also of an era in history when rock 'n' roll swept through Louisville and changed the tune of America forever.