At the age of eleven, Nik Cohn heard a record whose lyrics changed his life. Little Richard screamed: "Tutti frutti all rootie, tutti frutti all rootie, tutti frutti all rootie, awopbopaloobop alopbamboom!" For Cohn, this seemed a magical code - the language of the future. Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom was the first book to celebrate that language, the primal essence of rock 'n' roll. But it was much more than that. Written in 1968 and revised in 1972, it was a cogent yet unruly history of the era, from Bill Haley to Jimi Hendrix. And while telling outrageous tales, vividly describing the music, and cutting through the hype, Nik Cohn unknowingly engendered a new form: rock criticism. But Awopbopaloobop has been unavailable in this country for over two decades, and, while rock criticism has turned into a veritable industry, its progenitor lurked only in used bookstores and private bookshelves. Now, with a new preface by the author, this classic is once more available - as riotous a spree as any in rock writing.