George Hamilton IV (Paperback)

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Product Description

This is the story of well-known country and Gospel singer, George Hamilton IV, who has delighted audiences with his music and his speaking over five decades.

From the Back Cover

George Hamilton IV, one of America's greatest music stars, has enjoyed numerous chart successes in a career spanning half a century. His most famous hits include: Abilene, Canadian Pacific, A Rose and a Baby Ruth and Steel Rail Blues. He worked with some of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll artists--Elvis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and the Everly Brothers--although his first love was country music and the Grand Ole Opry.

From his birth in North Carolina in 1937, Ambassador of Country Music traces Hamilton's rising fame, and the pressures of touring and a thriving career that threatened his family life. It reveals the tough times in Nashville when George turned his back on "pop" to concentrate on country music, and describes how most of George's life was spent coasting along in "token Christianity", until he "nailed his colours to the mast" in a dramatic way.

This inspiring book is essential reading for adherents of Country Music and Gospel Music alike. It tells of a winsome personality of skill and integrity, worthy of the role model that he has become.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (August 1, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0007101058
• ISBN-13: 978-0007101054
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,381,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars International ambassador of country music, July 1, 2003

By	Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: George Hamilton IV: Ambassador of Country Music (Hardcover)

George IV has a unique place in country music history that is worth remembering. In his own country, the USA, his track record is good but nothing special. He had a huge pop hit in the fifties (A rose and a Baby Ruth) and a series of country hits in the sixties, the biggest of which was Abilene although Canadian Pacific is arguably the most famous. However, he was nowhere near as successful as Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Buck Owens, Jim Reeves and George Jones, to name a few other country singers of the sixties.

However, George IV got opportunities to sing and promote his music around the world and he made the most of them. Although he did not have any hits in the UK (where there have never been country singles charts - only pop charts), he became a household name via TV and radio appearances, supported by regular concert tours. He also became hugely popular in Canada - he recorded so many Canadian songs that some people actually think he's a Canadian. He also became popular in other countries around the world and was one of the few American singers of any genre to take his music to Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

This book tells George IV's story, including plenty about his family and his religion (perhaps too much for me). If you wonder about the IV at the end of his name, you can find the answers here. You not only learn about I, II and III but also about V and (at the end) VI. The amount of name-dropping of all the celebrities he's met is also a bit excessive.

By doing more to spread country music around the world than any other individual has ever done, George IV has earned his place in country music history. As a book, this is much less exciting than other biographies I have read. George IV fans will want this book anyway, as will anybody (like me) interested in the spread of country music around the world. But if you're just looking to read a biography of a country singer, there are more exciting stories to read than this one.