The Encyclopedia Of Country Music

Covers the important figures, trends, and forms of country music throughout its history--from the Carter Family of the 1920s to Taylor Swift and Keith Urban today.

A comprehensive reference source on the history, impact, and current state of country music, offering portraits of figures in the country music world.

Offers biographical sketches with pictures of over 200 major figures in Country and Western music.

Country music has come of age. It has a rich history in American culture, and its story is well told in this definitive encyclopedia, written with verve and insight by the editors of America's leading and most popular country music magazine. The background of all the major -- and minor -- performers in country music, their greatest hits, fascinating anecdotes about their childhoods, their rise to (or fall from) fame, the truth behind publicity releases and general rumor -- it's all here, from Roy Acuff and Billy Ray Cyrus to Patsy Cline and Reba McEntire. The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia offers a fresh, absorbing portrait of country music from its folkloric origins to its present status as the popular music of choice for 42 percent of the adult population, according to industry estimates. Indeed, in the past decade, the country music audience has tripled. Between 1988 and 1990, sales of country records jumped 56 percent as sales of rock-'n'-roll records slumped 5 percent. Combining more than six hundred short descriptive entries with longer evaluative articles, the encyclopedia is informative, engaging, and a pleasure to read. The critical events and individuals that have shaped country music are all here in one indispensable volume. More than a reference book to be consulted simply for the dates or details of a particular artist's hits or career, the encyclopedia offers a virtual social history of country music. It distinguishes itself not only by the unassailable authority of its contributors -- the most knowledgeable and gifted writers in this field -- but by its in-depth portraits of country music's pioneers and contemporary stars. Individual entries are placedwithin a larger historical and musical context. Linking discrete facts, dates, and events through what amount to interpretive essays, The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia presents the overarching themes and musical ideas that have animated the landscape of country music. An additional feature of the encyclopedia is the more than six hundred photographs, many rarely seen. These superb photographs convey the social and cultural spirit of the artists depicted. Together with the compelling text, the encyclopedia is certain to engage the curiosity, interests, and passions of every reader, and of every fan.

The rich and colorful story of America's most popular music and the singers and songwriters who captivated, entertained, and consoled listeners throughout the twentieth century--based on the upcoming eight-part film series to air on PBS in September 2019 This gorgeously illustrated and hugely entertaining history begins where country music itself emerged: the American South, where people sang to themselves and to their families at home and in church, and where they danced to fiddle tunes on Saturday nights. With the birth of radio in the 1920s, the songs moved from small towns, mountain hollers, and the wide-open West to become the music of an entire nation--a diverse range of sounds and styles from honky tonk to gospel to bluegrass to rockabilly, leading up through the decades to the music's massive commercial success today. But above all, Country Music is the story of the musicians. Here is Hank Williams's tragic honky tonk life, Dolly Parton rising to fame from a dirt-poor childhood, and Loretta Lynn turning her experiences into songs that spoke to women everywhere. Here too are interviews with the genre's biggest stars, including the likes of Merle Haggard to Garth Brooks to Rosanne Cash. Rife with rare photographs and endlessly fascinating anecdotes, the stories in this sweeping yet intimate history will captivate longtime country fans and introduce new listeners to an extraordinary body of music that lies at the very center of the American experience.

Discovering Country Music chronicles the incredible evolution of country music in America - from the fiddle to the pop charts - and provides an insightful account of the reasons and motives that have determined its various transformations and offshoots over the years. In order to understand what country music is, and why, it is essential to understand how it makes its money — the basic revenue streams, the major companies involved, and how country artists are booked and marketed. Author Don Cusic helps readers do that, and goes even further, covering not only the business and the technology that have shaped the industry, but also tackling the question of country's relationship to the other major genres of the American recording industry, including pop, blues, and rock music. Discovering Country Music is broken down into ten sections which include: key musical trends; ancillary business trends such as recording technology, radio, and the recording industry; and prominent artists, including as a small sample Stephen Foster, The Carter Family, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, The Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Kenny Chesney. This work should appeal to fans, scholars, educators, libraries and the general reader alike.

From the garden or barnyard to the kitchen table, here is a comprehensive resource for step-by-step information about food production. Filled with more than 1,000 recipes, 700 mail-order sources, how-to instructions, and earthly wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of self-sufficient living, this thorough, reliable treasury should be in every home. Features 300 illustrations.