Customer Reviews

America's Music: Bluegrass : A History of Bluegrassmusic in the Words of Its Pioneers

5 star:		(3)
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A very good history of the Bluegrass Music industry. I use this book often. It includes many bands, artist, song writers, sidemen and women plus other bluegrass industry people.

Mary Bluegrass World

Over the past 30 years, Bluegrass music has gained the scholarly recognition previously attained by Classical music, and more recently by Jazz, to the point of where there are now quite a number of serious books written on the subject, albeit mostly from a musicologist's interpretation. Fortunately, these scholars also happen to be ardent fans of the music, and for the most part we are spared the dryness of the strictly analytical presentation of the subject. "America's Music-Bluegrass" goes beyond any of the previously published books on the music, in that Barry Willis lets the MUSICIANS do all the talking, so what we get here, is a 'first person' account of the history--as it happened, by the actual participants as well as the eyewitnesses to the historical events. This feature alone, sets this book apart from the others...absolutely nothing redundant nor plagiarized here. The result is a refreshing comparison of opinions and 'gossip,' describing the same event(s) from different vantage points. Even the music's biggest recording stars and personalities freely speak their mind, and are quoted verbatim.
Within the 631 pages and 25 chapters, Willis covers everything from the Roots of Bluegrass; all the way to the much-speculated 'Future of Bluegrass'...with delightful side trips covering each of the Bluegrass instruments and their most influential exponents. Loaded with rare, candid and many never-before-seen photos, this book is a MUST for any Bluegrass fan, musician and/or record collector.
This is indeed a well-written book.

I bought the book for my father Bill, who is a die-hard bluegrass fan and musician in Cortland, OH (northeast) that I would say lives and breathes the music. We were both impressed with the book, even after I read the reviews. THe best way I can describe it is an encyclopedia on all that is bluegrass. It provides not only a history but an understanding of the roots of the music. Bluegrass is American folk and we should be proud of it as being part of our history - stories passed on for generations, still today.
-Jake-