Won't Back Down
Heartland Rock and the Fight for America
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Apr 28, 2026
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
One of America’s leading music journalists on heartland rock’s glory days and its role in the populist politics of the 1980s.
Hear “American Girl” or “Born in the U.S.A.” and, like it or not, chances are you begin to hum along. The soundtrack of grocery stores, pool halls, bowling alleys, flea markets, chain restaurants, drug stores, and political rallies—heartland rock, while beloved by some and derided by others, is inescapable even today. As rollicking as the music it describes, acclaimed music critic Erin Osmon’s Won’t Back Down tells the story of the origins, chart-topping development, and tangled legacy of heartland rock, the music that ruled the airwaves of the 1980s and remains instantly recognizable to millions.
Spinning an entertaining and eye-opening account, Osmon delves into the complicated afterlife of heartland rock’s classic albums and songs, including Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind,” John Mellencamp’s “Small Town,” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” She demonstrates the centrality of often-overlooked women like Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, and Lucinda Williams—explaining how some of the most popular music of the time was made beyond its white-male stereotypes. She traces the genre’s connections to country and Americana, and reveals how legendary figures like Prince were inspired by and expanded heartland rock. And she shows how its success revitalized the careers of figures like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Through it all, she explores the ’80s cultural developments that fostered the genre—such as the rise of MTV and the switch to CDs—and argues that the music played a vital role in opposition to ’80s conservatism and in support of LGBTQ rights, labor issues, and the environmental movement.
A fair-minded critic with an ear for a great behind-the-scenes story, Osmon makes clear that at its best, heartland rock connected with millions of overlooked people longing to be heard
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Politics rather than geography is the defining feature of heartland rock, contends this thorough history from music journalist Osmon (Jason Molina). The genre originally known as "working class rock" emerged in the 1970s, as artists churned out songs featuring "factory workers, farmers, the American dream, underdogs, the open road" amid a period of social unease. Osmon highlights the careers of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, and Bruce Springsteen, focusing on their political leanings and efforts to establish Farm Aid and other benefit concerts. She also explores how their songs have been misinterpreted by popular culture, with tracks like Petty's "I Won't Back Down" harnessed by politicians eager to "inject a working-class subtext" into campaigns, and Springsteen's "Born in the USA," written about the plight of a Vietnam veteran, adopted as an anthem of uncritical patriotism. Despite that—and the fact that the genre has been used in the Trump era as the "soundtrack of insidious white grievance"—Osmon makes a strong case for its enduring legacy, noting how more recent bands harnessed its "against-the-odds moxie" to speak for "the 99 percent." Spotlighting a broad range of famous and lesser-known artists, this is a robust assessment of a quintessentially American genre.
