John David Wells was born in the middle of the coal mining region of the Appalachian mountains, moving and traveling to California, Mexico, Europe, China, and South American. He finally settled down to a teaching career at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia where is a Professor of Sociology.
Dr. Wells has published numerous articles on popular culture and rock and roll.
He has written three novels, The Plague Year, The Barfly Boys, and Dinner for Two.
In addition, he has published two scholarly works including Bent Out of Shape from Sociey's Pliers: Popular Music and American Culture and The Twilight of Romanticism.