When "Country" was first published in 1988, it was a solid gold hit. Now the book has been updated and provides more information about recent stars and events on the country scene as well as a current discography. Here is the story of the music and its people - the great, the near-great, and the forgotten. It begins with the early days in the 1920s, when such immortals as the Carter family and Jimmie Rodgers made country music a commercial success, and continues through the radio days of the 1930s and 1940s with the likes of Gene Autry and Bob Wills. Then come the '50s and '60s, when country music produced such legends as Flatt & Scruggs, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, and Patsy Cline. Today's stars are all here too - Reba McIntyre, Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Alabama, and many more. Profusely illustrated with hundreds of photographs from the Country Music Foundation's archives, Country is a volume that everyone who loves down-home music will want to own. The Country Music Foundation in Nashville, Tennessee, brought together 17 authorities to write the essays, including Chet Flippo, contributing editor to "Rolling Stone"; David Gates from "Newsweek"; Paul Hemphill, author of "The Nashville Sound"; Bill Ivey, director of the Foundation; Robert Palmer, former "New York Times" music reporter; and Neil Rosenberg, author of "Bluegrass: A History".
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
One gripe,
By rock hound "montynewton" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Country: The Music and the Musicians : From the Beginnings to the '90s (Hardcover)
Great book, great photos. It lost a star due to the incredible omission of Bill Haley in the 'rockabilly' chapter. I admit, he became dated very quickly when Elvis came along - Haley and band in the white dinner jackets, a bit chubby with that spit curl. but the book mentions Ike Turner's "Rocket 88" as a lead into the Sun Records, but fail to mention that it was Haley that was the first white guy to record it, among other R&B hits of the late 40s and 50s. Guys who were early rockbillies that became famous later (Conway Twitty) are mentioned, and also-rans like Billy Lee Riley and Charley Feathers, and pretty boys like Ricky Nelson, but Haley had the million selling records. His shows in Europe and Australia drew 10s of thousands at a time when Elvis and Jerry Lee were unknowns. Haley opened the door, and deserves to be in here.
0 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Country Music At Its Best.,
By Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Country: The Music and the Musicians : From the Beginnings to the '90s (Hardcover)
Country music started in Nashville when Roy Acuff, Archie Campbell, and other of the East Tennessee performers migrated west. Today, the biggest stars have come from other places and had more glory than those in the beginning. Before that, there were the Bristol Sessions.
In 1998, The U. S. Congress passed a resolution which declared Bristol, Tennessee, as making a "significant contribution to the development and commercial acceptance of country music." Country music actually began in Bristol. It was a revelation to me, even though Bristol is just north of my hometown, which is all bluegrass music. In my short stint as a singer here in my teens, I tried country only once, "Your Cheating Heart" on the Cas Walker television show and was not a hit. I did not look or sound like Dolly Parton. When I sang it at school dressed as a cowgirl holding my dad's guitar, the younger kids deemed me a star. I stayed with pop music on the local talent radio and t.v. shows and as a regular at Teen time Saturday mornings at the Tennessee Theater, also broadcast over WROL. Tennessee Ernie Ford was popular back in the Fifties with his gospel songs, biggest hit, "Sixteen Tons." Dinah Shore from Winchester, Tennessee, was a big star on television and made a few movies. In her recording of "Sentimental Journey," she relates about Nashville, which is where she was discovered as a singer. Pat Boone is also from that area. However, it was the 1927 Bristol sessions which started the world of country music. They were recording Appalachian ballads like the one about Frankie Silver. My favorite writer based most of her novels on these ballads, and I learned of the "Knoxville Girl" in her book, "If Ever I Return Again, Pretty Peggy-O." My favorite ballad was She Walks These Hills "In A Long Black Veil." Johnny Cash made a recording of it. Jimmie Rodgers who sang about trains and railroads, not the Jimmie Rogers of pop music fame also started in Bristol. As did many of the cross-over singers like Don Gibson (who was rude to me at the Fair where I fell hard for Lash LaRue), the Everly Brothers, Archie Campbell (Hee Haw fame) who hosted his own t.v. show in Knoxville, and the Carter family. Now, Dolly is the only star we have left in this area. Blind Alfred Reed was a composer as well as fiddler, called the devil's instrument in Lee Smith's book about country music, and he performed at a clan meeting in Princeton for pay; he said, "they were better people then." You had to go to Bristol to record hillbilly songs like Hank Williams' sad, sad tunes. Here in Knoxville, the Negro music of the 20s and 30s was recorded for a short time at one of the hotels long demolished as are they. Ralph Emery should be credited with the growth of country music as he was the all night talk show host which featured the long-lasting and the new and up-coming singers at the Grand Ole Opry, as did Hal Durham, who was one of the managers when it was downtown in the Ryman. Hal is from McMinnville from worked for a time at WROL in this town. Lowell Blanchard was on WNOX and also promoted the local musicians in every way. Tennessee is lucky to be called the home of country music. It has a large following but is not my cup of tea. Justin Tubb was okay, Bill Andersen was great, and so were the Mandrell sisters.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
