Author Description

Book Plus CD. Martin Hawkins, co-author of the landmark Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock & Roll, describes the formation and the activities of local, independent recording companies in Nashville in the decade following World War II--the heyday of regional companies, before rock & roll and the eventual internationalization of the music business. These labels and their owners evolved from the local jukebox and amusements business and often featured truly local performers. They sometimes aspired to national status--and occasionally they achieved it. The book also describes the infrastructure they worked within and the personal stories of the main label owners and their performers. Finally, it examines the part the labels played in the emergence of Nashville as Music City USA. The accompanying 20-song CD is the soundtrack to this fascinating story.