|
Country music, at its purest form, is about stories. It is the one characteristic that artists from other genres note about in what draws them to country music. In the golden age of country, roughly 1950 to 1970, nearly every song told a story. Every song had a story like every person has a story. In the life of Dana Jennings the stories of people and songs are inextricably woven.
Jennings, now an editor for the New York Times, grew up in a hardscrabble part of New Hampshire... »»» |
|
When most people think of radio barn dances, they immediately think of the Grand Ole Opry, the 80-plus year old Nashville-based radio show. Likewise, when people think of the roots of country music, they think of Nashville and other places south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Of course, there is truth in that, but there is much more to the story.
In the early days of radio, the bulk of content came from live performances. On April 19, 1924, Chicago radio station WLS broadcast the first installment of... »»» |
|
Lonesome Cowgirls and Honky-tonk Angels
The Women of Barn Dance Radio
By Katherine M. McCusker
University of Illinois Press (2008)
The story of how women helped establish country music radio is thoughtfully explored in this extremely informative book. Focusing on both the development of Barn Dance Radio - the radio precursor to the fabled Grand Ole Opry - and female performers as pitchmen and personalities, Katherine McCusker's book reveals some largely undiscussed aspects of country... »»» |
|
Born Country: How Faith, Family and Music Brought Me Home
By Randy Owen with Allen Rucker
Randy Owen was the lead singer of country music's first supergroup, Alabama, playing an integral role in shaping the genre during the 1980's. As Owen pursues a solo career after nearly three decades with the band, he gives a glimpse into his early years and the things that became important to him during his career with Alabama in his autobiography.
While Owen spins the book in his own folksy... »»» |
|
For several years Marty Robbins was arguably the most popular entertainer on the Grand Ole Opry. He was given the last spot on the second show by accident - he was late getting there because he was racing - but he had to be the closer. The audience called him back for so many encores that the Opry would run long past its scheduled end time, 30 minutes, a few times pushing 60 minutes. This, of course, made the nearby Ernest Tubb Record Shop show late for it was scheduled immediately after the end of... »»» |
|
It seems as though it's almost impossible now to mythologize the man Ingram Cecil Connor III into legend of Gram Parsons. This is after all the guy who gets credit for integrating country (or roots) music into the mainstream of rock, the guy whose Nudie suits actually featured nudes - as well as marijuana leaves, barbiturates and LSD sugar cubes, the guy whose two solo albums have attained cult status (not to mention his seminal work with The Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Emmylou Harris)... »»» |
|
Gene Autry was the undisputed King of All Media - radio, movies, records, TV and endorsements - long before the title existed. In this exhaustively researched biography, Holly George-Warren chronicles Autry in all his guises: Oklahoma railroad worker, struggling radio singer, recording artist, movie star and multi-millionaire. Her crisp journalistic style showcases a wealth of behind-the-scenes material from every known facet of the singing cowboy's public life, imbuing each chapter with the... »»» |
|
In his essay on the forgotten duo of Fleming and Townsend, author, researcher and historian Tony Russell sums up the reason for his new book "Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost": "Reissues...rewrite history, and the historian is required to stake a claim for the artists who have been written out." And so Russell has.
Russell has been a long time researcher of and commentator on American vernacular music as well as jazz and blues. His new book draws on the 20... »»» |
|
At first glance, "It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life" seems to be another "tell-all" book, a Nashville-style story about the rise and (almost) fall of yet another superstar couple.
Alan Jackson and wife Denise's love story seemed to be a fairy tale. The high school sweethearts from Georgia married young and moved to Nashville to pursue Alan's dream of becoming a country music artist.
After nearly five years in Nashville Jackson became the first... »»» |
