The country music reader

In The Country Music Reader Travis D. Stimeling provides an anthology of primary source readings from newspapers, magazines, and fan ephemera encompassing the history of country music from circa 1900 to the present. Presenting conversations that have shaped historical understandings of country music, it brings the voices of country artists and songwriters, music industry insiders, critics, and fans together in a vibrant conversation about a widely loved yet seldom studied genre of American popular music. Situating each source chronologically within its specific musical or cultural context, Stimeling traces the history of country music from the fiddle contests and ballad collections of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through the most recent developments in contemporary country music. Drawing from a vast array of sources including popular magazines, fan newsletters, trade publications, and artist biographies, The Country Music Reader offers firsthand insight into the changing role of country music within both the music industry and American musical culture, and presents a rich resource for university students, popular music scholars, and country music fans alike.

• Preface p. ix
• Acknowledgments p. xi
• Note on Sources p. xiii
• 1 "Georgia's Unwritten Airs Played by Old 'Fiddlers' for Atlanta Prizes: Untutored Players from Hillsides and Marshes Perform Traditional Southern Melodies on Wire-Stringed Violins-Society Folk and Workers in Audiences 'Shuffle Feet' to Contagious Strains-'Bald Mountain Caruso' and Treble-singing Dog at Unique Convention" (1914) p. 1 Linton K. Starr
• 2 English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians (1917) [excerpt] p. 8 Cecil B. Sharp
• 3 Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) p. 16 John A. Lomax
• 4 "What the Popularity of Hill-Billy Songs Means in Retail Profit Sensibilities: The Widespread Vogue of the Funereal Type of Songs Is Attested by Publishers and Record Manufacturers-Is It of Significance as Indication of Public Taste?" (1925) p. 22
• 5 "Mountain Songs Recorded Here by Victor Co.: Notable Performers of This Section at Work at Station in This City" (1927) p. 26
• 6 "Discovery of the 1 st Hillbilly Great" (1953) p. 30 Ralph Peer
• 7 "Interview with Mother Maybelle Carter" (1968/1971) p. 37 Bill Williams
• 8 "Bradley Kincaid" (1928) p. 47 Harold A. Safford
• 9 "Radio's Hillbilly King, Carson Robison, who is, with his Pioneers, a regular attraction for Oxydol every Sunday from Luxembourg, Lyons and Normandy, tells us in this interview how he writes his world-famous songs" (1938) p. 51 Paul Hobson
• 10 "J. E. Mainer" (1993) p. 55 John Wright
• 11 "Back Stage Ramble: Cowboys and Cow Belles Enjoy the Barn Dance" (1936) p. 64 Virginia Seeds
• 12 "No Hill Billies in Radio: Ballads Are Still Written, Says John Lair" (1935) p. 69
• 13 "Tenor on Horseback" (1939) p. 74 Alva Johnston
• 14 A Story of the Grand Old Opry (1945) p. 86 George D. Hay
• 15 "The Light Crust Doughboys Were on the Air: A Memoir" (1996) p. 89 Janis Stout
• 16 "Okies Reverse Order of Steinbeck's Tale" (1941) p. 96
• 17 "Hillbilly Boom" (1944) p. 99 Maurice Zolotow
• 18 "Earl Scruggs: Three Fast Fingers" (1997) p. 107 Nicholas Dawidoff
• 19 "Country Music Goes to Town" (1953) p. 117 Rufus Jarman
• 20 Johnny Cash on Recording at Sun with Sam Phillips, Cash: The Autobiography (1997) p. 125
• 21 "Elvis" (2012) p. 131 Charlie Louvin
• 22 "Miss Country Music and Her Family" (1955) p. 137 Murray Nash
• 23 "Steve Sholes-Star Maker" (1956) p. 141 Linda Lamendola
• 24 "Chet Makes Guitar Talk with Rhythm and Melody" (1957) p. 146 Ben A. Green
• 25 "Coast Country Biz Booms" (1957) p. 152
• 26 "Bluegrass Background: Folk Music with Overdrive" (1959) p. 156 Alan Lomax
• 27 The Storyteller's Nashville, on Song Writing and Song Plugging (1979) p. 160 Tom T. Hall
• 28 "The Story of the Country Music Association" (1968) p. 164
• 29 "Ask Trina" (1968) p. 169
• 30 "California White Man's Shit Kickin' Blues" (1969) p. 179 John Grissim Jr.
• 31 "A DJ Tells Why-There's Country Music in the City Air" (1975) p. 205 Lee Arnold
• 32 The Outlaws: Revolution in Country Music (1978) p. 208 Michael Bane
• 33 "The Pill: Should It Be Banned from Airplay?" (1975) p. 223 Rex Rutkoski
• 34 "Of Pride and Country Music" (1975) p. 226 George F. Will
• 35 "The Ballad of the Urban Cowboy: America's Search for True Grit" (1978) p. 229 Aaron Latham
• 36 "Kenny Rogers: Drawing Full Houses" (1981) p. 244 Tom Anthony
• 37 "Emmylou Harris" (1988) p. 251 Alanna Nash
• 38 "Randy Travis: Nice Guy Finishes First" (1988) p. 275 Holly G. Miller
• 39 Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, and the Changing Face of Nashville (1998) p. 280 Bruce Feiler
• 40 "Country Dancing Sparks Club Growth: New Nightclubs, Remixes Target Trend" (1992) p. 290 Debbie Holley
• 41 "Classic Country Stations Fill Niche: Claim Fans of Currents, Standards Mix" (1993) p. 295 Eric Boehlert
• 42 "Nashville's Studio Boom Alters Musical Landscape" (1993) p. 298 Peter Cronin
• 43 "Any Kind of Music But Country: A Decade of Indie Country, Punk Rock, and the Struggle for Country's Soul" (2005) p. 304 Kyle Ryan
• 44 Review of (1996) p. 315 Rich Kienzle
• 45 "Has There Been 'Murder on Music Row'? Key Players Speak Out" (2000) and "Is There 'Murder on Music Row'? Debate Continues" (2000) p. 318 Deborah Evans Price
• 46 "The Critical Rockist and Gretchen" (2005) p. 325 Scott Galupo
• 47 Scenes from a Rose Garden (2006) p. 330 Craig Havighurst
• 48 "Searching for the Republican Artist" (2008) p. 340 Jill Sobule
• 49 "The Very Pink, Very Perfect Life of Taylor Swift" (2009) p. 345 Vanessa Grigoriadis
• 50 "Why the Term 'Country Music' May Disappear: Marketers of the Future May Dissolve Music Genre Labels" (2010) p. 353 Chet Flippo
• 51 "The Girl Who Played with Firearms" (2011) p. 357 Skip Hollandsworth
• Index p. 369
• Song Index p. 379