Customer Reviews

Elvis, Hank, and Me: Making Musical History on the Louisiana Hayride

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Horace Logan was the emcee and program director for the famed "Louisiana Hayride," a nationally broadcast weekly radio show that for the better part of the 1950s was the main competitor of the "Grand Ole Opry." Known as "the cradle of the stars," the Hayride had a reputation for developing hot new talent, and has long been an object of fascination for me since it was here that Webb Pierce got his start. As the main creative director of the Hayride, Logan's path intersected those of many top-flight hick musicians, including Webb, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, Jim Reeves and a slew of others whose careers took off when they became regulars on the show. This book concentrates the bulk of its effort towards two oft-mythologized stars whose lives are amply documented elsewhere - Hank Williams and Elvis Presley -- and while it's cool to get insights from a person who helped start both their careers, in a sense the book feels like a missed opportunity, since Logan must have had plenty more to say about the "early" days when country music made the transition from rinky-dink local operations into a major industry with a nationwide scope. He broke into the business at the tail end of a period when all the action was on local radio stations, and helped usher in the era when things became increasingly professionalized and big-league. While the book is very readable, it's unfortunate that Logan and his ghost-writer, Bill Sloan, didn't see fit to explore "the old days" a little bit more, and bring out more of the flavor of what the hick music business was like back when. It's understandable that they would emphasize the bankable big boys like Elvis and Hank, but considering how much has already been written about them, the "witness to history" approach doesn't add as much to the historical lore as more under-the-radar observations might have. In short, it would've been cool if the story had been more about Logan himself, and the world he saw, and not simply about the stars that lived in it. Still, Hayride enthusiasts should definitely check this one out!

Being a country music disc jockey for almost a half-century as well as a song-writer and columnist, I found Horace Logan's "Elvis, Hank and Me" a genuine "refresher", a work of true art that not only informs but captures the attention of the reader by revealing the raw facts pertaining to the entertainment industry and the rough and rowdy trails many of the super-stars blazed in order to make the marquees of big-time show business. Horace mentions in this book the fact we toiled together for awhile at a radio station in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. He always had a most-interesting story to tell on the air. Now, many of those true, interesting and oft-times sad tales have been put into print for true enjoyment. -Bill Mack (Grammy winning songwriter of LeAnn Rimes', "BLUE"; Radio's "Midnight Cowboy", heard nightly on the "Bill Mack Trucking Network", and host on "Country Crossroads", syndicated nationally each week on radio & television.)

I grew up in east Texas, and listening to country music during the late 40's and 50's ,along with rock and roll.We would listen to the radio and the Louisiana Hayride was one of several saturday night music programs that we listened to. this book "Elvis Hank and Me" was a plesant suprise, I found the book to be easy and informative reading. 'Hoss' Logan,gives you a warm and personal glimse into the everyday lives of some of the biggest stars to ever come along. Thanks 'Hoss'. If you start this book , you'll finish it.

I thought the book was well written and I could hardly put it down. I learned a lot about the La. Hayride. Being from Monroe, La. it told me a lot about the early days of very good entainerners I've always loved. I wish I could have gone during its heyday.