Author Description

Covering everything from Western to Rockabilly, Bluegrass to Country Rock, this profusely illustrated celebration of country music is an authoritative and lively history of America’s most popular form of music, its creators, interpreters, and institutions. A rich visual chronicle of the diverse American musical idioms collectively known as “country,” this entertaining and meticulously researched book explores more than 100 of the most significant people, places, and moments in its century-long history. Profiles include Stephen Foster, the Carter Family, Gene Autry, Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, Minnie Pearl, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, the Oak Ridge Boys, Alan Jackson, the Dixie Chicks—and dozens more. Other subjects include the Grand Ole Opry, the Bristol Sessions, “Louisiana Hayride,” Rockabilly, Country Rock, and O Brother Where Art Thou, among many other things. Timelines lay out the entire history of the form at a glance, and the greatest country songs of all time are discussed in depth throughout. Every page of this extroardinary book features a wealth of images—many of them rare and never-before published in book form—from sheet music and memorabilia to portraits, album covers, and candids. It is truly a must-have for the millions of fans of country music in all its diversity.