Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 19721981 [Paperback]

Henry Horenstein (Author), Charles McGovern (Afterword), Eddie Stubbs (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003

In the 1970s, Henry Horenstein was a young photographer who shot album covers for Rounder Records. In his off-hours, he immersed himself in country music at the show venues, music parks, and the rural saloons that coursed with the music and its rough-and-tumble lifestyle, otherwise known as honky tonks. With over 100 incomparable duotone photographs, Honky Tonk captures the heart of the country music experience during a period of transition, as the friendly familiarity of the scene -- from the huge hall of the Grand Ole Opry to the family vacation camps -- took on a more commercial polish. Disarming portraits of legends such as Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, and Waylon Jennings brush up against shots of the workaday fans who kept the scene alive. Offering an intimate glimpse into country music as it was performed and enjoyed, these photographs capture a true slice of American life where artists and fans converged to enjoy music and strut their stuff.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shot in Boston and Nashville during the 1970s, the photographs in this collection present a moving tribute to the pre-urban cowboy world of country music. Horenstein's black-and-white pictures are unpretentious and direct, a style that suits his subject matter. Some of his images show the happy cutting up of fans in ordinary honky tonks and in the legendary Nashville Tootsies Orchid Lounge. Other photographs give well-composed offstage portraits of stars like Emily Lou Harris, Lester Flatt, Anita Carter, Dolly Parton and Hank Williams, Jr. But grainy or sharp, all these images attest to Horenstein's sincere affection for the makers of bluegrass and country music and their fans. 100 duotone photographs.
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About the Author

Henry Horenstein has exhibited his photographs internationally and published over 30 books. He lives in Boston.

Charles F. McGovern is a cultural history curator at the Smithsonian Institution.

Eddie Stubbs is the WSM Grand Ole Opry announcer in Nashville.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811836274
• ISBN-13: 978-0811836272
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,668,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henry Horenstein is a widely published and exhibited professional photographer and the author of more than two dozen books, including the classic texts Black & White Photography and Beyond Basic Photography, and monographs such as Honky Tonk, Animalia, Show, Close Relations, and Racing Days. Horenstein is professor of photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. You can see his work at www.horenstein.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look at a Vanished Age of American Music, May 21, 2008

By 

James R. Holland "Author of Boston's Notable ... (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 19721981 (Paperback)

As a person who grew up in the heart of the Bible belt and in the shadow of the "Ozark Jubilee" and "Grand Old Opry" I knew I'd like this book. Many of my Jr. High Class mates were part of the "Wagon Wheelers Square Dancers" on the national televised "Jubilee." It was a common occurrence to see Red Foley, and enormously popular preteen singer Brenda Lee and some of the people photographed in this book strolling down the street. My parent's CPA was also Red Foley's accountant. That's my bias in reviewing this book. I'm so glad Henry had the insight to document this fascinating and important part of American Music lore. Honky Tonk refers to Southwestern and Southern bars with musical entertainment and sometimes dancing. It is also subgenre of USA country-western music. If an upright piano player or small group of musicians weren't playing at the bar there was usually a jukebox. Sometimes there were both.
As a young photographer who loved Honky Tonk music, Henry Horenstein was selling cover photos to Rounder Records and that little known company arranged for the young photographer to get backstage at WSM's Grand Old Opry and from 1972-1981 Henry made the photographs in this fascinating visual history. He also made photographs of individual Honky Tonk legends on tour, at their homes and at various Honky Tonk bars such as the legendary Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville, TN and the Hill Billy Ranch in Boston. Some of this readers favorite pictures were taken of the typical working class patron of these bars. One of my favorites was a close-up picture of woman standing directly in front of the camera holding out an open HAV-A-TAMPA cigar box with a handwritten sign stating "Band Plays for Tips Only--Thank You--Very Much." Who is the beautiful woman posing for this picture while she makes the rounds of the bar patrons looking for contributions. Most of the money in box is change and two or three one dollar bills. It doesn't appear that the band is going to make much money on this particular night. The obviously pleased to be having her picture taken subject is wearing what looks like a form fitting leather dress and may well be a member of the band or one of the band members wives or girl friends. It's a great picture that appears to have been taken on a Rolleiflex camera with a strobe right on the camera. The square formatted picture asks many questions that the viewer can only guess at answering. Another series of pictures from Tootsie's Orchid Lounge is mostly still life pictures of the programs, flyers and autographed pictures and album jackets completely covering the walls. The series includes many terrific portraits of the typical Honk Tonk patrons and café/bar/road house staff surrounded by the autographed and graffiti covered walls.
Most of the book is simple flash on camera straight-forward, unadorned portraits of the performers. Ernest Tubb and fans is another of my favorites included in the book. It shows a smiling cowboy clad Tubb surrounded by his adoring fans. A young boy appears transfixed while looking up into his face while an older woman has both her hands holding onto his right lower arm and shirtsleeve as she stares lovingly into his face that reminds me of a Ancient Greek Theater Mask with it's frozen-in-time- waxlike smile and piercing eyes.
There are lots of outstanding and very telling portraits of the various musicians usually staring directly into the camera. There are so many good ones that it would be impossible to even list them all here. I liked seeing the ones of Mother Maybelle Carter, Porter Wagner, a very young looking Dolly Parton, Hank Williams Jr., Tex Ritter, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis lighting a cigar as he sits at his Honky Tonk upright piano, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Don Stover (cover photo), Jeannie C. Riley, Hank Snow, Anita Carter, Stringbean, Nathan Abshire at home next to his old fashioned washing machine and pickup truck, Del Reeves. Lester Flatt, Emmy Lou Harris, Ray Acuff, Banjo pickin' dog, Hillybilly Tex at Boston's Hillbilly Ranch, an Acme Boots representative, sponsor of show, Bluegrass music fan Frank Brown, and lots and lots of other wonderful black and white portraits.
The brief, but enlightening text for the book was supplied by the photographer, Eddie Stubbs, and Charles McGovern of the Smithsonian Institution. This is a wonderful documentation of a vanished part of American Music history and we are all very blessed that Henry Horenstein not only took the pictures, but saw that they were published 25 years later when their historical significance became obvious to everyone. Studying it makes me really miss the old, always rocking, tobacco smoke-filled Hill Billy Ranch that was located on the fringes of Boston's Theater District and the city's infamous Combat Zone. Great job Henry!

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Really Fun Book, April 6, 2011

By 

A Southern Reader (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 1972-1981 (Paperback)

I just finished Honky Tonk in one 2 hour sitting. Horenstein has produced a book that is entertaining as well as informative. Classic country music lovers will love this book. Five stars all the way !