Customer Reviews

The Handbook of Texas Music

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Believe it or not, Texas music is not all twangin' or "I'm A Lone Cowhand" - music of the Lone Star State reflects the diverse cultural backgrounds from which it sprang - American Indians, Anglo- Americans, African Americans, German Americans, and various other immigrant groups. Representatives of this musical heritage are as different as Janis Joplin and Van Cliburn, yet all share one thing in common - the great state of Texas.

Here, in The Handbook of Texas Music one finds alphabetical listings of all that has contributed to this rich musical background. Beginning with Elmer Akins, a radio announcer and gospel music promoter who formed the Royal Gospel Quartet in the early 1940s, and concluding with Zydeco, "a type of music that evolved from an acoustic folk idiom known as la-la, dating back to the 1920s and unique to black Creoles..."

In between there is a plethora of information. We learn that the "Yellow Rose of Texas" is a song about a slave who was supposed to have assisted in winning the battle of San Jacinto, and that musician and composer Roger Miller had no formal training on any of the instruments he played nor did he ever learn to read music.

The roster of notables included is lengthy, including Buck Owens, Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top, Willie Nelson, Selena, the Light Crust Doughboys, and the list goes on.

A bonanza for scholars and music lovers alike The Handbook of Texas Music is 390 pages of facts and noteworthy (pun intended) information.

- Gail Cooke

125 illustrations add spice to The Handbook Of Texas Music, an encyclopedia-style reference of famous Texas composers, performers, musical artifacts, and much more. Packed with history, trivia, and critical insights on the evolution of Texas music, from tradition to popular culture and much more, The Handbook Of Texas Music is a resource guaranteed to foster new fascination and appreciation for this Texas musical and cultural expression.

This is a very good book covering Texas Music History. However, I was disappointed at first, that it did not have an individual entry for "The Texas Tornados", ZZ Top, or even Billy Gibbons. So, I looked at the criteria used by the authors. They only gave individual entries to deceased musicians, at or around time of publishing the book in 2003. I do respect that, these deceased Texas musicians, deserve recognition, but I was hoping for more on all of Texas musicians, both living & deceased. So, if you're looking for Willie Nelson, there will be no entry for him, you'll have to look at the entry of "Country & Western Music", and there you'll find him, lumped in with other living C & W artists. As for ZZ Top, and The Texas Tornados, you have to go to the consolidated entry of "Rock & Roll in Texas". There you'll find ZZ Top, Johnny Winter, and the Texas Tornados, lumped in with other living rock & roll artists from Texas, at the time of publication. There is an individual entry for Doug Sahm (a founding member of the Texas Tornados), because he died in 1999. Plus, it does cover very briefly the "Texas Tornados" under Doug Sahm's entry.

So, in essense more information is provided on deceased Texas musicians, than on living ones. The entries that it does have, are very well presented, and full of information. It has great entries for Janis Joplin, Bob Wills, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Austin City Limits TV Show, Gilley's, Billy Bob's 7 acre night club in Fort Worth, Buddy Holly, Selena, and many, many others. These entries are well deserved. It is presented in alpabetical order, in encyclopedia style. Also, it has an index at the back of the book, which makes it easy to look up specific items. If equal exposure were given to living Texas musicians, I would have gladly given it a 5 star, because what it does cover, as individual entries, it covers very well.

The book does contain many great illustrations, and photos of Texas musicians from the past.

In conclusion, with all due respect to the dead, I am diappointed that equal exposure was not given to living Texas musicians, as opposed to deceased Texas musicians. However, overall, it is still a very, good reference book on Texas Music and well worth the purchase price. So, this is my assessment of the book, and I hope it will be helpful to potential buyers. Thanks!!!

Note: This book was published/copyrighted in 2003, by the Texas State Historical Society.