The Sound of Seattle: 101 Songs That Shaped Our City

This rockin’ paperback explores the musical evolution of Seattle through the lens of 101 songs spanning 80 years, examining the most prominent and important music and musicians to come out of our corner of the country, with a foreword by Pearl Jam legend Mike McCready.

KEXP DJ and musician Eva Walker and music writer Jake Uitti take readers on a musical journey, exploring the songs and artists instrumental to developing the ＂Seattle sound.＂ The authors have curated the ultimate playlist for the Emerald City. It all begins in 1942 when Washington-born Bing Crosby records what will become the world’s bestselling single of all time, ＂White Christmas.＂ From there, readers will delight in a sensory trip through jazz, rock, punk, riot grrrl, pop, rap, grunge, indie, emo, and more, deepening their knowledge and love of the songs that shaped Seattle, and in the process, each of us.

Both a love letter and love song to the city, The Sound of Seattle is a visual guide organized by decade, with seminal songs profiled and paired with inventive design reminiscent of a favorite zine or concert poster. Includes interviews with Seattle legends like Heart’s Nancy Wilson, as well as sidebars showcasing musical landmarks throughout the city.

How has the Emerald City’s musical output changed and evolved? What is the connective tissue between Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, and Kenny G? Between Melvins, Sleater-Kinney, and Foo Fighters? Between Sir Mix-a-Lot, Macklemore, and Travis Thompson? We’re gonna find out!

Eva Walker was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. She is the frontwoman and principal songwriter of the acclaimed local rock band, The Black Tones, which has opened for Mavis Staples, Death Cab for Cutie, Weezer, and played major shows at the Showbox and the Paramount Theatre. She has recorded songs with Mike McCready and released songs with Sub Pop Records. A popular DJ on KEXP, Eva currently hosts the Early on KEXP show. She produced The Arts Hour in Seattle for the BBC, which featured Grammy nominee Hollis Wong-Wear and a number of other local standouts. She’s also been featured in music videos from Odesza and Macklemore.

Jake Uitti’s work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Interview Magazine, Spin, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Guardian, The Seattle Times, and many more. Today, Jake is a staff writer at American Songwriter Magazine, where he’s chit-chatted with big names like Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Common Sense, Garth Brooks, Ryan Lewis, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Chris Ballew, Mike McCready, Ben Gibbard, and hundreds more. In other freelance capacities, Jake has interviewed Macklemore, Brandi Carlile, Dave Matthews, Krist Novoselic, and others. He is the author of Northwest Know-How: Beer (Sasquatch Books) as well as Muggsy Bogues: The Godfather of Smallball, a memoir about the NBA star.