Country Music: An Illustrated History

By Caroline O'Connor | August 28 2019 | AdultsGeneralAllGiftPop Culture

     It 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.

     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. Full of 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.

   Country Music is based on the upcoming eight-part film series to air on PBS in September 2019. Check out the sneak peak below!

 

 

 

Need more?? There is a Spotify playlist for COUNTRY MUSIC!

 

 


 

An Illustrated History
9780525520542
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, featuring a foreword from Ken Burns, exclusive stories, extended interviews with stars, and unbelievable photos not shown in the PBS documentary. "Duncan's and Burns's lavishly illustrated and cinematic narrative will stand as the definitive history of the genre."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
$55.00 US
Sep 10, 2019
9-1/8 x 10-7/8
Hardcover
560 Pages
Knopf

The Life and Legacy of the Man in Black
9781588346391
An illustrated biography of Johnny Cash that tells his life story through never-before-seen personal photographs and memorabilia from the Cash family
$40.00 US
Oct 30, 2018
9 x 11
Hardcover
216 Pages
Smithsonian Books

My Life in Lyrics
9780307594891
One of the most beloved country music stars of all time gives us the first collection of her lyrics and, in her own words, tells the stories that inspired her most popular songs, such as "Coal Miner's Daughter," "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin'," and, of course, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl."
$40.00 US
Apr 03, 2012
8 x 10-7/8
Hardcover
240 Pages
Knopf

A Memoir
9780143119395
"One of the best accounts of an American life you'll likely ever read." -Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune As moving, disarming, and elusive as one of her classic songs, Composed is Rosanne Cash's testament to the power of art, tradition, and love to transform a life. For more than three decades she has been one of the most compelling figures in popular music, having moved gracefully from Nashville stardom to critical recognition as a singer-songwriter and author of essays and short stories. Her remarkable body of work has often been noted for its emotional acuity, its rich and resonant imagery, and its unsparing honesty. Those qualities have enabled her to establish a unique intimacy with her audiences, and it is those qualities that inform her long-awaited memoir.
$17.00 US
Jul 26, 2011
5-5/16 x 8
Paperback
256 Pages
Penguin Books

Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation
9780593132951
A celebration of America and the music that inspired people and illuminated eras, from the Revolutionary War to the present, by Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham and Grammy winner Tim McGraw.
$30.00 US
Jun 11, 2019
7-3/8 x 9-1/8
Hardcover
320 Pages
Random House

A Collector's Catalog
9780804189606
The autobiographical companion to an analog collection, this journal, which has a cover that looks and feels like a record, includes space for cataloging discs, tips for maintaining a collection, information on rating a disc's condition, and tear-out wish lists to fill out and take with you to the store.
$16.99 US
Aug 29, 2017
6 x 10
Stationery & Accessories
192 Pages
Clarkson Potter