Interviews with 27 country stars reveal the range of personalities and viewpoints that make up today's country music scene. Journalist Alanna Nash speaks in candid interviews with performers about Nashville's music industry, changes in the country audience over the past thirty years, and their own releationships to their music. Nash's interviews showcase the diversity of the performers (from college-educated professionals to ex-convicts) and their audiences. Interviewees include Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Brenda Lee, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Bill Monroe, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jr., Chet Atkins, and Willie Nelson.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The author of Dolly: A Biography of Dolly Parton offers brief biographical profiles of and conducts Q & A interviews with 27 popular performers, from the octogenarian "King of Country Music" Roy Acuff to Tammy Wynette, the "Heroine of Heartbreak." Nash asks knowledgable, penetrating questions and leads the singers into intimate areas with ease. Many speak with refreshing candor. Wynette: "Acting is a very special talent. One that I don't think I have." The late Marty Robbins: "I love attention . . . My ears are tuned for the name Marty Robbins." Brenda Lee: "I grew up not really knowing who or what I was. I was what I read I was." Charley Pride: "I don't have skin hang-ups. I'm no color. I'm just Charley Pride, the man." Loretta Lynn: "I've had so many death threats that I don't get out of the bus that much." Minnie Pearl reveals the hurtful experiences that led to the creation in 1936 of her comedy character. She also notes the "special type of camaraderie that exists among country music performers." Fans will delight in this hefty volume, replete with integrity, earthy banter and engaging anecdotes that capture the twang of their favorite honkytonk heroes and heroines. Photos not seen by PW. Music Book Club selection.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
From Library Journal
Country music singer Charlie Rich once vowed that "no one knows what goes on behind closed doors." But now Nash provides a through-the-keyhole look at the lives of 27 country music acts, picked from interviews she has conducted with whom she sees as "almost every significant country performer of the last several decades." She skillfully probes lives and psyches with perceptive questions: "Have you always thought that you were destined to have this career?"; "What did you learn about yourself in prison?" From traditionalists to Southern rockers, from 85-year-old Roy Acuff to 25-year-old Wynonna Judd, her choice of subjects provides us with a wide range of opinion and experience in country music. Donald W. Maxwell, Noblesville - Southeastern P.L., Noblesville, Ind.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating look at country legends.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Behind Closed Doors (Paperback)
The shelf of good books on country music is a small one. However, this is one of the best. It contains thoughtful, often amusing interviews with a number of country and western entertainers, some famous, a few not so famous.Most of the interviews are excellent and highly informative. There are only a few "clinkers" for example, she takes David Allan Coes intermittently amusing messianic rant a little too seriously. However, that is the exception. Most of the conversations, especially with women , offer real insights. For example, the interview with Lacy J. Dalton tells the reader much about the life, and the beliefs, of that sadly neglected talent, while the interview with Loretta Lynn possesses an odd poignancy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
behind closed doors,
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This review is from: Behind Closed Doors: Talking with the Legends of Country Music (Paperback)
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3.0 out of 5 stars
CONVERSATIONS, COUNTRY SYLE,
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This review is from: Behind Closed Doors: Talking with the Legends of Country Music (Paperback)
So what is Dolly really like? And is she really that big? Those looking for such titillating tidbits should turn elsewhere. This collection of interviews with some of country's biggest names (Wynette, Judd, Jones, McEntire, Acuff, Pearl, Monroe) focuses more on the "real" side of the perfomer and person ... in other words, there's more talk of music and radio play than wigs and full figures and rhinestone cowboys. Nash, a veteran country music journalist, uses her comfortable, conversational style to get the people to open up. This reissue (the tome was first unleashed in 1988) doesn't offer anything we don't already know, but it's handy to keep on the shelf just in case you really want to know Emmylou's take on overdubs.
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