Country Music
Bluegrass Gospel
Heavily influenced by Bill Monroe, the “Father of Bluegrass” in the 1940s and ’50s, gospel music in the South began to shift into bluegrass gospel, a style that combines both genres. In Bluegrass Gospel: ...
Eck Robertson at the Crossroads of American Fiddling
The Texas Panhandle’s frontier days were fresh in memory when fiddler Eck Robertson (1887-1975) arrived. Cowboys still worked on ranches in the 1910s but barbed-wire fences abounded too. Robertson pursued a ...
My Memories of John Hartford
My Memories of John Hartford is a memoir about author Bob Carlin's years working alongside singer, songwriter, banjoist, and fiddler John Hartford (1937-2001). Throughout his short life, Hartford was ...
Making Music
RECIPIENT OF A 2024 NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY OF HISTORIANS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
The banjo has been emblematic of the Southern Appalachian Mountains since the late twentieth century. Making Music: The Banjo ...
Rags and Bones
Contributions by Joshua Coleman, Christine Hand Jones, Kevin C. Neece, Charlotte Pence, George Plasketes, Jeffrey Scholes, Jeff Sellars, Toby Thompson, and Jude Warne
After performing with Ronnie Hawkins ...
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash (1932–2003) took the stage at Folsom Prison in California. The concert and the live album, At Folsom Prison, propelled him to worldwide superstardom. He reached new audiences, ...
Crooked River City
A pianist, arranger, and composer, William Pursell is a mainstay of the Nashville music scene. He has played jazz in Nashville’s Printer’s Alley with Chet Atkins and Harold Bradley, recorded with Johnny Cas ...
The Blue Sky Boys
WINNER OF THE WOODY GUTHRIE BOOK AWARD
WINNER OF THE 2019 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE CATEGORY OF BEST HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN RECORDED COUNTRY OR FOLK MUSIC FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS ...
Country Boys and Redneck Women
Country music boasts a long tradition of rich, contradictory gender dynamics, creating a world where Kitty Wells could play the demure housewife and the honky-tonk angel simultaneously, Dolly Parton could ...
He Stopped Loving Her Today
When George Jones recorded “He Stopped Loving Her Today” more than thirty years ago, he was a walking disaster. Twin addictions to drugs and alcohol had him drinking Jim Beam by the case and snorting coc ...