10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Country Music-- The Music of the People, July 10, 2007
This review is from: Country Music (Hardcover)
Anyone who has enjoyed Country Music over the years will be thrilled with this excellent resource. I already own several large Country Music "books".They all try to do much the same thing;that being to cover the history and the people associated with this music over the years.They all cover the huge number of people involved,from the Legends to the not so famous, but had important contributions and impact on the music.
The description here is very good,but gives only a taste of what one will find in this book.It is loaded with photographs,many I have never seen before.
It is organized by time periods ,rather than alphabetically and that results in it being a real history of the music's development.One must keep in mind that this is such a huge field of performers and songs;that it would be impossible to cover everyone and every song,even if a hundred books this size were assembled.The book is large at 12.6 X 10.5 X 1.6 inches,and weighs 5.6 pounds. Even the greatest Legends recieve only a page or so.Don't expect to find every performer and song in it.Just to show you what a big field this is,Bobby Bare,even though a huge personality, is only mentioned in passing,and no details or even a photograph.The same with Doc Watson and Barbara Fairchild and The Kendalls.Sammi Smith is only mentioned for her No.1 recording of Kristofferson's "Help Me Make it Through the Night." Many books of this type have many pages dedicated to Discographies of the Artists,but that is not the case here.
The book deals with these time periods:
Early Days,Late 1800's & Early 1900's-- through the 1930's
1940's--1950's
1960's--1970's
1980's--Present
So what we get is really a detailed history of what Country Music is all about,what and who influenced it,who the important performers and songwriters were, and what forms of music developed, and the songs that were part of it all.
The book shows that there have been tremendous changes in the music from the early days when it grew from Irish and Scottish roots,later to build on Gospel Music, all the way through the years to what we have today.
The book clearly shows how this music was the music of the people .The people themselves were the source of the music played and what became popular. Be it Jimmie Rogers,The Carter Family,Hank Williams,Elvis Presely,Roy Acuff ,Bill Monroe etc.;this music came from them and not the publishing industry;who in most cases only jumped on the bandwagon as a business. For a long time the industry had little or no effect on what type of music and performers developed and was embraced by the performers and the fans.
Although the book does not dwell on this aspect,what we hear today does not come from the heart and soul of the people,but from what the "industry" determines it to be. In other words Country Music today,hardly resembles what it was when I became a fan of it all in the 1940's. I recall seeing Kitty Wells and Johnny and Jack perform in our local Arena when I was in High school.Then ,at home, we were listening to Hank Snow,Hank Williams,Wilf Carter (Montana Slim),Tex Ritter and all on the radio.I had a rare experience a year or so ago when Don Helms,Hank Williams's Steel Guitar player performed at he local Legion outside Hamilton.What an afternoon;and what a reminder of what Country Music was all about---at least to me anyway.
I say "was" because I don't have the same attachment to it as I did years ago.I loved the Grand Ole Opry,in those days when all the performers were well known to every fan.In those days the performers played and wrote what they wanted to,the fans decided what they liked;but not so today. However;today the "industry" decides what and who we are going to get;and even when I do turn on the Opry,I am given music that just doesn't do it for me. Thank goodness I have a large collection of the music and performers that I collected over the years ,and that I can still listen to and enjoy. While there are a few performers around such as Marty Stewart,Kristofferson,Jones, Jackson ;but slowly and methodically the industry is replacing them with what I call "Line Dance Music". It all sounds the same to me.Real Country Music like "A Picture From Life's Other Side" ,"The First Fall of Snow"."Your Cheatin' Heart","Detroit City","Help Me Make it Through The Night","I'm Walking the Floor Over You","Four Walls","Folsom Prison Blues","An Okie From Muskokie","He Stopped Loving Her Today",Ruby","The Gambler"; "Will The Circle Be Unbroken","Amazing Grace","I Saw The Light","Seven Spanish Angles" and on and on.That was what Country music was all about;and when have we recently heard anything new that can even remotely be compared to these songs?
Even though my tastes have not changed,Country Music is still my favorite,but not the stuff coming out nowadays. Thank God I have my recordings and thanks to Richard Carlin for giving us this wonderful reminder of "Our Music". Maybe there are many who disagree with me and like the direction Country Music has taken. To those,my only wish is that it gives you the enjoyment that I got from this music we call Country.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
"Country Music" = A very comprehensive, very complete, and a very well illustrated Book on American Country Music!!!!!!!, July 3, 2009
This review is from: Country Music (Hardcover)
This is an excellent book, that covers the history & story of American Country Music. It is presented in Chronological Order, beginning with the
early Country Music pioneers, such as the Carter Family, and Jimmie Rodgers, along with other early pioneers. Then it progresses on and covers all the major American Country Music Artists, from the 1920's through around 2005. The most recent artists covered are Gretchen Wilson, Van Zant, and Big & Rich.
This book also covers some alternative American Country Music artists, such as Gram Parsons, The Flatlanders (From Texas), The Texas Tornados, Lucinda Williams, EmmyLou Harris & others.
It also includes the Charlie Daniels Band, which is also considered to be Southern Rock.
If you like American Country Music, then you'll really enjoy this book, and thus, I highly recommend it. Thanks, and may God Bless!!!
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