Get Free Shipping on orders over $0
Won't Back Down : Heartland Rock and the Fight for America - Erin Osmon

Won't Back Down

Heartland Rock and the Fight for America

By: Erin Osmon

Hardcover | 28 April 2026 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover


$57.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $14.44 with

 or 

Available: 28th April 2026

Preorder. Will ship when available.

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

More in Music

Even the Good Girls Will Cry : My 90s Rock Memoir - Melissa Auf der Maur

RRP $36.99

$32.99

11%
OFF
This Year : 365 songs annotated - John Darnielle

RRP $69.99

$52.75

25%
OFF
Jack White Complete Lyrics and Selected Writing - Jack White
David Gilmour - Luck and Strange - Studio/Live - Polly Samson

RRP $90.00

$64.99

28%
OFF
The Real Book : Volume I Sixth Edition (C Instruments) - Hal Leonard Corp
My First Piano Adventure Lesson Book A - Nancy Faber

RRP $22.95

$17.75

23%
OFF
Night People : How to Be a DJ in '90s New York City - Mark Ronson
Faith, Hope and Carnage - Nick Cave

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF
The Uncool - Cameron Crowe

Paperback

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF
Punk : The Last Word - Stephen Colegrave

RRP $69.99

$52.99

24%
OFF
Just Kids - Patti Smith

Paperback

RRP $26.99

$21.75

19%
OFF
Average at Best : A memoir from the creator of Pub Choir® - Astrid Jorgensen
Wicked : The Complete Screenplay - Insight Editions

RRP $49.99

$37.99

24%
OFF
Music Theory for Young Children 1 : Poco Studio Edition - Ying Ying Ng

RRP $21.95

$19.75

10%
OFF
Piano Adventures All-In-Two Primer Tech. & Perf. : All-In-Two Edition

RRP $29.95

$20.99

30%
OFF
Piano Adventures All-In-Two Primer Lesson/Theory : Lesson & Theory - Anglicised Edition
Piano Adventures All-In-Two Level 1 Lesson/Theory : Lesson & Theory - Anglicised Edition
Willie's Bar and Grill - Rob Hirst

RRP $32.99

$29.40

11%
OFF
Total F*cking Godhead : The Biography of Chris Cornell - Corbin Reiff
The Artist's Way : A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity - Julia Cameron
Alfred's Basic Adult All in One Course 1 : Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course - Willard A Palmer