Jim Dawson

Jim Dawson is a Hollywood, California-based writer who has specialized in American pop culture (especially early rock 'n' roll) and the history of flatulence (three books so far, including his 1999 top-seller, "Who Cut the Cheese? A Cultural History of the Fart"). Mojo magazine called his "What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?" (1992), co-written with Steve Propes, "one of the most impressive musical reads of the year"; it remains a valuable source for music critics and rock historians, and an updated 30th anniversary edition was published by Genius Music Books in 2022. Dawson also wrote a series of articles on early rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll pioneers for the Los Angeles Times, including a 1989 front-page story in the Calendar entertainment section on the forgotten tragic figure Ritchie Valens. The piece led directly to Rhino Records reissuing Valens' entire catalog (with Dawson's liner notes) and eventually to the 1987 biopic "LaBamba," which used some of Dawson's research. Since 1983 Dawson has also written liner notes for roughly 150 albums and CDs, including Rhino's prestigious "Central Avenue Sounds" box set celebrating the history of jazz and early R&B in Los Angeles. He has also written extensively about Los Angeles history, pulp fiction, and film noir. Dawson is currently working on a novel about a 1920 coal mine war in his native West Virginia.