Colin Escott

In 2022 he was tapped as a writer for the "audio adventure" podcast series Tennessee Music Pathways. That same year, he and co-writer Peter Guralnick released "an epic hardcover book", The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records and the 70 Recordings That Changed the World, in conjunction with the film Elvis.

Middle Tennessee State University's Center for Popular Music houses the Colin Escott Collection of historical documents and photographs acquired in 2019.

Escott co-wrote the 2010 musical theater production Million Dollar Quartet, which received three Tony nominations, and in 2020 wrote a sequel, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. He was also part of the writing/producing team adapting the original show for CMT/Viacom for broadcast in 2017.

In 1999 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. In 2011 he was recognized with the Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism.

Described as "the foremost authority on Sun Records", in 1992 he and co-writer Martin Hawkins published Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the first in-depth account of the label's history. His 1994 book Hank Williams: The Biography was adapted into the 2015 movie I Saw the Light. The multi-CD box set, The Complete Hank Williams, won a 1998 Grammy, and another of his productions, Hank Williams: The Garden Spot Programs, 1950, won a 2014 Grammy.

His early career included stints in operations for Island Records and Polygram Records in the 1970s, followed by independent work for Universal, Sony/Columbia, Warner Bros.-Rhino, Time Life, Capitol-EMI, RCA, and many independent companies, including Bear Family, Sundazed, Omnivore, and others. He also wrote music history pieces for various music industry publications including Record Mirror, Goldmine, Record Hunter, and others.

Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes for more than 500 albums and compilations, and major contributions to stage and television productions. Honors include multiple Grammy Awards and a Tony Award nomination.

Escott was born in Boughton Aluph, Kent, UK, on August 31, 1949, the son of Lenny, an optician, and Betty Escott. He graduated in 1971 from the University of Kent with a B.A. degree. He has lived in Nashville and Toronto.