ABOUT

1988

by the Country Music Foundation. Edited by Paul Kingsbury and Alan Axelrod

CMF Press/Abbeville

Description

First published in 1988, this book received hundreds of laudatory reviews. The first edition of this high-quality photo-essay book was among the winners of the prestigious Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards in 1990. Now updated, it includes information on recent stars and events as well as a current discography. It tells the story of the music and its people from early days of the 1920s with the Carter Family through to today's stars like Reba McIntyre. 400 illustrations in black-and-white and color. It will take you inside the country music industry to meet the stars and the starmakers. Includes a selected bibliography, an annotated index and a concise discography of the greatest country recordings.

Reviews

The fine work of the Country Music Foundation continues with this deluxe picture book, part history, part criticism, and mostly celebration of country-and-western music. Among the rhinestones, boots, and guitars are 16 essays by country's best writers and historians, including a touching essay by Paul Hemphill on country's appeal. Every notable hillbilly singer, string band, honkytonker, or pop traitor, from Bakersfield's most obscure to Nashville's most estimable, gets a word or a picture. The approach is celebratory yet sober, eschewing puff for quality. Photographs, many informal and unfamiliar, are well chosen. Highly recommended.-- Timothy L. Zindel, Hastings Coll. of the Law, San Francisco

Awards

1989 Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award