Ron Eckerman – Turn It Up!
www.turnitup.com

Rating: B

Ron Eckerman is the man who booked the plane that took down the greatest southern rock band of all time. Now, he recounts his days as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s tour manager in an amazing book that chronicles his life and times in the band’s management.

Each chapter begins with a segment of the day the plane fell from the sky before returning to the story in chronological order. This way of writing keeps the reader on the edge of his seat, unable to put this book down.

What separates Eckerman from others in the rock biz that have written books is that he is actually a very good writer. He is able to share stories from the road that come across as truthful and unembellished. He opens up how the rock and roll life was detrimental to his marriage and how he became very close to Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant.

This book is a true look backstage and behind the scenes from a time when rock and roll was entering its adolescence. Eckerman does a masterful job of allowing the reader to be a fly on the wall as one really can visualize the experiences in the book.

This one should be made into a movie.

By Jeb Wright