Dr. Ben Wynne releases new history book

The product of five years of research, Dr. Ben Wynne's book "Something in the Water, A History of Music in Macon, Georgia, 1823-1980," was recently published through Mercer University Press. It is a chronological treatment of the music produced in Macon since the city's founding, and the effects some of that music has had on American popular culture.

"I wrote this book to chronicle the history of an important music city, not just in Georgia, but in the United States and internationally," Wynne, professor in the Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy, said.

Macon is known for many iconic musicians and singers, including The Allman Brothers Band, Little Richard, and Otis Redding, all of whom helped Macon earn a spot as an important music center. The book covers several different musical genres, including blues, jazz, big band, R&B, and rock and roll.

"The cast of characters is huge, and there are infinite storylines," Wynne said, explaining his book is 400 pages, but it could have been 4,000. "One of the great things about Macon is that many of the sites associated with the city's musical past are still around. Some of the older musicians today tell stories about playing with people like Little Richard and James Brown."

"Something in the Water" is Wynne's fifth book.