The life of a musical sideman is spent in the shadows-supporting but also being dependent upon the leader of the band. Out of the limelight but privy to the celebrity lifestyle, East Tennessee drummer Mark T. Dunn experienced all the wild antics, the drinking and drugs, the fun and frustration, and sometimes the sweetness of seven years among the "Jones Boys"-backing up unpredictable country legend George Jones.

Dunn started playing drums as a toddler and continued through adolescence as a counterculture kid listening to soul music and the Allman Brothers in small-town Tennessee. Later, Dunn played music on the sleazier sides of Atlanta and Nashville in the 1970s and ultimately toured and performed with one of the most beloved country stars of all time during some of his most acclaimed and tumultuous years. George Jones was as hot as a firecracker, and every performance could add to the legend-good shows, bad shows, and no shows. Dunn, a trusted and loyal sideman, sat twelve feet behind the Possum every night and saw it all.

By turns hilarious, gritty, and poignant, Kick It Off gives the reader an insider's view of the country music business in the 1970s and '80s.