Customer Reviews (1)

A Country Music Legend
Jumping Bill Carlisle's career began back in the 1930's. He was a versatile entertainer performing as Smiling Bill Carlisle, The Carlisle Brothers, Hot Shot Elmer, and later years as Jumping Bill Carlisle. He joined the grand ole opry in 1953 and continued to perform there each weekend, his last performance came 10 days before he passed away at the age of 94. This book is a great biography on the life and times of Bill Carlisle as it is told by Bill himself. There is very little music available of this great man on cd, so this book is the next best thing. However i did receive news that bear family records is planning to release a single cd of 30 or more of his recordings on it so lets be sure to look out for its release and cross our fingers for a future Box Set. This book belongs to every fan of the Carlisles, whether you own his music or just seen and listenend to him perform on the grand ole opry, any fan of traditonal country music will be glad to add this book to there library. ... Read more

Product Description
This reference tool offers a complete pre-seleted evaluative guide to the best and most enduring recorded grass roots music (largely American) available on long-playing discs and tapes. It can be used by both libraries and individuals to build up a comprehensive collection reflective of every area of grass roots music (except black music, in another volume in this set). About 1,700 discs are annotated within a space of 300 (average) words eaching indicating musical influences, impact, and importance. However, about 220 key albums are identified and suggested as a "first purchase." These are seminal recordings. ... Read more

Product Description
Created by the legendary Bill Monroe of Kentucky and made famous by his Blue Grass Boys, bluegrass music has been sweeping musicians and audiences off their feet sinde 1939. This guide provides engaging trivia, insider anecdotes, and suggestions for listening that will appeal to bluegrass newcomers and veterans alike. 30 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Introduction To The Beautiful Sounds Of Bluegrass
This book includes 15 chapters and 3 appendixes. Chapter 1 provides a brief intoduction to bluegrass, including a description of its primary musical instruments such as the banjo, fiddle and mandolin. Chapters 2 through 8 are devoted to some of the the all time greats of bluegrass, including Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs and the Osborne Brothers. Chapters 9 to 15 cover a wide range of topics, such as female bluegrass musicians, bluegrass gospel and "newgrass". The appendixes offer contact information for various bluegrass magazines, newsletters andorganizations as well what to know before attending a bluegrass festival.

Richard Smith is a fine writer and this book serves as an excellent introduction for someone new to the beautiful sounds of bluegrass. This book was written in 1995 so obviously it is going to be a little out of date in terms of the recommended resources and current favorite musicians on the bluegrass scene. But the bulk of the writing is based on the classic musical styles and all time great players of bluegrass and is still extremely relevant and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended!

Great for Beginners looking for suggestions on CD purchases
With 500 CD and video suggestions this book is a must have if you're looking for some guidance on CD and video purchases.Stop and think...how much have you spent for CD's that you don't like.If I lost my copy, I'dpay twice the price to get another.

Pretty good place for a beginner to start.
Smith gives a lot of basic information that a bluegrass newcomer might want to know -- the essential names, the basics of each instrument, what to expect at a festival, etc. The author's style gets a little cutesy attimes, but he does warn you that this is an "informal guide."

Superb introduction for new and old fans of Bluegrass music.
Not everyone who has heard Bluegrass music, and was attracted by the driving fiddle playing and banjo picking is aware of the history of the genre. There are several more scholarly studies of this subject, aimed atmore knowledgeable listeners, but, for someone who is just gettinginterested in the form, this may be the best book-length introductionavailable today. With emphasis on the musicians who developed the form, butwith up-to-date coverage of the directions Bluegrass music has taken in thefifty years of its life and where it may head off to in the future, Smith,in his approachable style offers a succinct introduction to one of the mostenjoyable forms of country music. ... Read more

Product Description
20 songs from this folk-influenced country favorite, including: Down at the Twist and Shout * Grow Old with Me * He Thinks He'll Keep Her * I Feel Lucky * I Take My Chances * Let Me into Your Heart * Passionate Kisses * Shut up and Kiss Me * Stones in the Road * You Win Again * and more. ... Read more

Product Description
A new book on improvisation is now available for bluegrass mandolin players. Based on the concept of learning by playing, this 200 page book covers a wide range of improvisation tools and how to implement them in your playing. A large number of examples are presented in both tablature and standard notation, so that a theoretical background is not required. The small amount of theory needed is simply presented and easily learned step by step.A series of exercises designed to help the player develop improvisational skills are included in the book. As an instruction tool, the book can easily be combined with the instructor s individual philosophy or by a student wishing to study alone. The subject matter is varied in difficulty and can be used by both the beginner and more advanced player as an instructional guide and reference book. The major-themes in the book are: The pentatonic sound, scale and major-chord based improvising with any Bluegrass-Tune, Double-stop improvisation, Minor chords and Keys, The blues sound, Melody oriented improvisation, How to use: Monroe Style, Cross picking, Hot licks, how to simplify a lick, and more. MP3 CD accompanies book featuring all examples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book!
Lots of great learning material here.No songs to play though.I have been playing for a little under a year.The book is a little complicted for me, but having a challenge help you (and me learn).The CD is real nice to have.I found its a lot easier to use it on my TV than my computer.It has 200+ exercises and if a person can add four or five of thes to their weekly practice, it will pay off.

Outstanding Book!
Nicely done!Great information...broken down and easily understood...it's pushed me to the next level of improv.

Great Textbook for Lessons
In the two years I've been studying bluegrass mandolin, this is the best book I've found so far. This book is perfect for the beginner/intermediate student. This is unlike most books in which they try to teach you some technique through playing songs. You'll find some songs later on in the book, but the emphasis is on technique rather than learning songs. This book is more like a textbook for the mandolin student and starts with some basic theory and then moves into pentatonic scales and on from there. In each chapter there are exercises and even assignments. I've only begun to scratch the surface of the book, but I can tell this is going to be a long-term project and I've decided to move through it slowly and really learn the techniques and theories (especially as an adult coming to music theory for the first time). Meanwhile, my instructor and I have decided to use this as the textbook for our lessons. I can learn the techniques from this book and then he will reinforce them and build on them in our face-to-face lessons. I have every reason to believe this will pay off over the long run. ... Read more

Product Description
Now for the first time, country music authority Charles K. Wolfe gathers together his profiles of 50 legends of country music, including Bill Monroe, Lefty Frizzell, and Kitty Wells. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Pick a better researched book if you want the truth...
...not a fluff piece extolling the virtues of established artists who stepped on many to get to the top.As the granddaughter of that "textile worker" who had to sue Roy Acuff in order to make him stop claiming authorship of "I Didn't Hear Nobody Pray," (which he cleverly renamed "Wreck on the Highway"), I can tell you my grandfather never tried to ride on anyone's coattails, much less the likes of Acuff, who stepped on more than my grandfather in his climb to the top.Acuff and his lawyers succeeded in preventing my grandfather from obtaining the rights to his song until after its popularity had diminished and most of the money had been made from the song - by Acuff, of course.Very little research is required to find out this information - perhaps the author should have tried an honest representation of the events involved, instead of glossing over a distasteful part of Acuff's past in favor of making him out to be some sort of "put-upon" quasi-hero chased by money-grubbing textile workers.

Anyone wanting the actual story of what happened between my grandfather, Dorsey Dixon, and Roy Acuff need only google his name.

Leesa Dixon Axley

Profiles of fifty selected country legends
Profiles of fifty selected country legends accompany dozens of rare photos in a presentation which charts the Monroe Brothers, Louvin Brothers, and those who paved the way for future country artists. From bluegrass artists to country vocalists, Classic Country provides fine documentation of many lesser-known but important figureheads. ... Read more

Product Description
Ralph Emery has always had the best seat in the house for watching country music grow from its rural American roots into a multinational billion -- dollar business. As country music's foremost radio and television host, Ralph has the inside track on a world many have written about but few actually understand.

Included in The View from Nashville:

The fight over Conway Twitty's estate: the real story.

The night Loretta Lynn threatened to "whup" a British music critic all across England for calling Conway Twitty "fat and fortyish."

One of Colonel Tom Parker's rare interviews, including his best advice for music managers.

How Brooks & Dunn kick-started the country dance craze.

The story behind the Roy Orbison/Mick Jagger feud.Loretta's secret admirer: Buck Owens confesses.

The day Vince Gill faced armed robbers on the golf course!

Travis Tritt's Immutable Law of Honky Tonk -- or, How to Bust Up a Barroom Brawl.

Ray Charles's country roots

When Burt Reynolds begged Tammy Wynette to take Hillary Clinton's telephone call.

Johnny Horton's message from beyond the grave. Ralph Emery has always had the best seat in the house for watching countrymusic grow from its rural American roots into a multinational billion -- dollar business. As country music's foremost radio and television host, Ralph has the inside track on a world many have written about but few actually understand.

Included in The View from Nashville:

The fight over Conway Twitty's estate: the real story.

The night Loretta Lynn threatened to "whup" a British music critic all across England for calling Conway Twitty "fat and fortyish."

One of Colonel Tom Parker's rare interviews, including his best advice for music managers.

How Brooks & Dunn kick-started the country dance craze.

The story behind the Roy Orbison/Mick Jagger feud.Loretta's secret admirer: Buck Owens confesses.

The day Vince Gill faced armed robbers on the golf course!

Travis Tritt's Immutable Law of Honky Tonk -- or, How to Bust Up a Barroom Brawl.

Ray Charles's country roots

When Burt Reynolds begged Tammy Wynette to take Hillary Clinton's telephone call.

Johnny Horton's message from beyond the grave.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Dreary and boring
As another book stated, "He is arrogant". I have never figured out how he got to be the so called endall of records in Nashville.Goes too show you, pickin's must be slim. In my book I will never forget the shoddy treatment of Gram Parsons (a real talent!) by this record spinner.

have read previous book
your first book was 2 thumbs up I will read your 2nd god bless you mr.emery since hee haw has gone and most of any old tm. music it is a pleasure to read about the real country from you some one who was there

Very informative and enlightning. Ralph holds alot of cards!
This book was a very interesting read and and a minimum offers any reader a real "View" from Nashville, TN the World Capital for Country music and the stars and players involved..I give it 4 stars and reccomendto all.

Great reading with inside stories for the country music fan.
When a man has been in a business for all his adult life, he is well quialified to write about that business and the people within.There in lies the story of "View From Nashville". No other living personknows and can tellthe story of "Nashville" scene better thanRalph Emery. The reader gets to know as a person one on oneDolly Parton,Marty Robbins, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty andcountless others. Loretta speaks of an out of body experience as she stoodby the bedside of her dying friend Conway Twitty.Merl Kilgore relatesthrough Ralph the message Jim Reeves sent him from theother side. Onefinds that being a child star does not always mean living in a big house,and driving a fancy car as Brenda Lee relates. That Elvis might haveappeared on a recording after his death.Through the writing ofthisNashville Icon one learns the humor of Roger Miller, and gets to know starsReba McIntre and Brooks and Dunn. For Elvis fans he writes extensivelyabout an interview with Colonel Tom Parker and the book he would neverwrite. One can feel the love the author has for the business, his city, andpeers.No one else could or has told the Nashville story like Ralph Emeryin View From Nashville. No wonder his TNN program was voted the networksmost popular for 10 consecutive years. Thank goodness he has had time topen these stories in written form so they may be enjoyed forever. ... Read more

Product Description
100 full-color photos & illus. 9 3/8 x 12 3/4. ... Read more

Product Description
This book focuses on fifty of the most important entertainers in the history of country music, from its beginnings in the folk music of early America through the 1970s. Divided into five distinct categories, it discusses the pioneers who brought mountain music to mass audiences; cowboys and radio stars who spread country music countrywide; honky-tonk and bluegrass musicians who differentiated country music during the 1940s; the major contributions that female artists made to the genre; and the modern country sound which dominated the genre from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. Each entry includes a brief biography of the chosen artist with special emphasis on experiences which influenced their musical careers. Covered musicians include Fiddlin' John Carson, Riley Puckett, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bob Willis, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Sr., Dale Evans, June Carter Cash, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. ... Read more

Product Description
In this slim, lively book our foremost historian of country music recalls the lost worlds of pioneering fiddlers and pickers, balladeers and yodelers. As he looks at "hillbilly" music's pre-commercial era and its early popular growth through radio and recordings, Bill C. Malone shows us that it was a product not only of the British Isles but of diverse African, German, Spanish, French, and Mexican influences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Enlightening Explanation of Southern Music's Origins
When it comes to tracing the roots of American music, there's just no place like the South: jazz, rhythm & blues, rock & roll, gospel - most music that comes with a "made in America" stamp originated south of the Mason-Dixon line.And while the world obviously owes a huge musical debt to African-Americans for their contributions in the aforementioned genres, what we now call "Country" music primarily evolved from the souls and throats of white rural southerners.It is these singers - and their songs - that are the focus of Bill C. Malone's "Singing Cowboys and Musical Moutaineers."

Malone's first concern is to precisely define white rural southern music, especially that which was sung in the 19th century South (just before this music was discovered by the rest of the world). Was it - as early 20th century British musicologist Cecil Sharpe wanted to believe -merely a twangy re-definition of ancient British ballads?Sharpe collected hundreds of Appalachian songs that were clearly traceable to the British Isles, but as Malone points out in "Singing Cowboys," Sharpe was in the South specifically looking for this connection.He found it in spades but because the other songs he surely heard echoing through the mountains didn't concern his thesis, he simply ignored them.

There was much to ignore.Country music has many primary sources, and although Malone claims that a detailed history of the genre is nigh impossible, he does a masterful job of describing most of its influences in fascinating detail.British ballads,black spirituals, minstrel show songs (most of their composers ironically Northern), German bands and hymns all had a major role in shaping the white folk music of 19th century America.Rural southerners were very catholic in their love for music: a good tune was a good tune, whether it originated in ancient Britain or at the desk of a contemporary New York composer.

By far the most fascinating aspect of Malone's book is hinted at in its title and answers this question: why did Country singers such as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Alan Jackson -- who all hailed from the southeast - dress as though they had been raised on a Texas ranch?Simple: our national hunger for symbols.Before the cowboy singer took over as Country music's mascot in the 1930's, he was the mountain man of the 1920's,romanticized by novels and the "Great War" hero, Alvin "Tennessee Mountain Boy" York,which exemplified a rural, unfettered,Anglo-Saxon America for an increasingly urban and immigrant-heavy America.It was primarily the Carter family and Bradley Kincaid whose performances first personified this mountain personality; their success paved the way for many other southern musicians of the era to cash in on the hunger for the quintessential American symbol.

However, when reports of aberrant behavior and oppression from coal companies began to trickle out of the Appalachians, along with the proliferation of vaudeville acts that degenerated the mountain man's vigorous image into a ridiculous caricature (think "The Beverly Hillbillies"),the cowboy - whose manly persona and limitless freedom was being popularized in countless films and dime novels -- became the preeminent and permanent symbol of Country music.The actual canon of authentic cowboy songs is much smaller than the amount of folk songs originally from the eastern south, but an image is an image and the singing cowboy is here to stay.

"Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers" is a very enlightening read regarding the roots of Country music and provides the definitive explanation for the ubiquitous connection between Country music and cowboy hats.

Detailed History About The Roots Of Country Music
This book is divided into three chapters : 1) Southern Rural Music in the 19th Century 2) Popular Culture and the Music of the South 3) Mountaineers and Cowboys: Country Music's Search For Identity.

The first two chapters are largely devoted to explaining one of Malone's central ideas - that old time country music did not appear as a pure descendent of an Anglo-Saxon/Celtic heritage. But was rather, like nearly all American music, a product of multiple influences. These included German hymns, French cotillions and, perhaps most importantly, black blues and gospel songs. Also the early country classics of the Carter Family and others weren't always pure folk songs. Malone explains how, much to my disappointment, many came from Northern Tin Pan Alley commercial songwriters. For instance, "Mid The Green Fields of Virginia" was actually written by a New Yorker who had never even set foot inVirginia. Other popular entertainment, such as the minstrel shows and the travelling medicine shows, also played a major role in providing new material to rural Southern musicians.

The third chapter deals with country music's fascination with two types of cultural symbols - the cowboy and the mountaineer. The first big stars of country music were Jimmy Rodgers and the Carter Family. Rodger's adopted the image of the cowboy - a tough, masculine rounder who rambled about in search of wild women and good times. The Carter Family, in contrast, were seen as wholesome mountain folks who embodied the traditional virtues of home and hearth. These country musicians were popular not only with their fellow Southerners but also with urban Northerners who liked to romanticize America's rapidly vanishing days of simple family farms and wide open frontiers. Malone goes on to describe many other cowboy icons, from Bob Wills to Willie Nelson, and how they came to symbolize freedom and independence to the American public. The mountaineer influence also remained strong, with a multitude of Appalachian born perfomers such as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Ricky Skaggs. But while the cowboy hat and boots remained in fashion. The mountainer's image as a hillbilly in overalls tended to become the subject of cornpone humor such as on the Hee Haw television show.

Malone has a top flight knowledge of country's musical and cultural roots. This book is a terrific read for anyone wanting to learn more on the subject

Cross-Cultural Influences on "Old Time" Music
For those interested in the history of the music they play or listen to - specifically country, bluegrass and old time - Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers is a detailed and lively introduction to the beginnings of popular American music.

Subtitled, "Southern Culture and the Roots of Country Music," Singing Cowboys analyzes American musical currents across three centuries. Beginning in pre-Colonial America, the book moves rapidly forward to the "industrialization" of country music in the 1920's that reached its apogee in contemporary Nashville.

By demonstrating how rural and urban Americans entertained themselves musically, author Bill C. Malone deftly debunks stubborn linear-inheritance theories of musical transmission. Using countless examples, he shows how American popular music has always had multiple influences.

Favorite tunes like "Coo Coo" or "Shortnin' Bread" did not descend in a straight, "pure" line from slavery. Instead, Malone underscores the significance of close-quarters housing and labor among poor whites and blacks in the 19th century. Despite overt racism, such proximity was particularly common in the south, and forged an active and ongoing interchange of style and repertoire among both groups.

The author also makes a strong case for how music was routinely "traded" between these groups and the professional minstrel troupes performing throughout the big cities and backwaters of 19th century America.

For those who feel that many of our reels and hornpipes remain intact from the British Isles of earlier centuries, this book suggests amalgamating factors not commonly addressed in theories of Celtic or Anglo-Saxon musical influences on American southern music.

Of particular importance to the perpetuation of American folk musical traditions was the Civil War. Men from all over the country circulated songs and playing styles - especially fiddle and 5-string banjo. When soldiers returned home after the war, they brought these musical influences with them.

Underscoring the role of war in cultural transmission, the author points out that American men also went to war in 1775, 1812, 1846, 1898 and 1917.

Where the book really shines, though, is in its analysis of the transition of rural music, performed largely by amateurs and "part-timers," into a multibillion dollar industry. Pivotal to this change was technology. Radio and tape recording were critical factors without which no popular music could have grown to the degree that country music did in the 1930's.

Unfortunately for posterity, there are no eyewitness descriptions of actual playing technique and tunings from earlier centuries. And of course no recordings were made until the first decade of this century. However, banjo players like "Uncle" Dave Macon, born in the 19th century, may have represented somewhat accurate glimpses of these earlier styles in their performances.

Field recordings of rural musicians were made primarily in the American southeast - and most often in the Appalachians. This seeming regional bias was primarily one of convenience: This region was easily accessible from large eastern metropolitan centers -- New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta - that housed the academics who ventured out with tape recorders to "discover" rural music and musicians.

Malone's thoughtful annotations to each chapter of Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers are a Who's Who listing the significant contributions of ethnomusicologists, historians and field recordists to music preservation. Some of those early pioneers mentioned include Bascom Lamar Lunsford, John and Alan Lomax, Cecil Sharp, and Francis Child and, more recently, Ralph Rinzler, Mike Seeger, Norm Cohen and others.

Other musical forms discussed include shape note singing, Child ballads, Tex-Mex conjunto music, German fiddling, Scottish fiddle and bagpipers, the banjo craze of the 1890s, Bill Monroe's inspired creation of bluegrass and the phenomenon of singing cowboys.

Much attention is paid throughout to the powerful role of minstrelsy in transmitting music from rural "amateurs" to professionals and back again. Pop music, after all, has always influenced rural players' musical choices and styles just as much as "mountain music" affected professional performers.

One amusing anecdote from the book highlights the frequent confusion of "genuine" traditional music with commercial recordings:

"At a conference on traditional music held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in April 1989, ballad singer Doug Wallin presented a short program of songs he had learned growing up in that citadel of old time music, Madison County, North Carolina, where Cecil Sharp had found his richest repository of traditional ballads.

"After reverently announcing that he would perform a song he learned from his mother, Berzilla, Wallin...launched into 'After the Ball,' the monster pop hit from 1896 written by Charles K. Harris. The story and lyrics were basically as Harris had written them, but the modal melody and style were Wallin's. Some of the eminent folklorists in attendance sat in embarrassed or stunned silence." [END OF BOOK QUOTE]

Ultimately, the commercialization of country music created its own influences. Song pluggers and the media would help sustain powerful fantasies, created in the 18th and 19th centuries, of rugged individuals, hillbillies, rubes, singing cowboys and lone mountaineers as enduring American cultural stereotypes. ... Read more

Product Description
The legendary flat-picking of Doc Watson, captured in transcriptions of 14 of his best-known works. Includes: Beaumont Rag * Black Mountain Rag * Blue Ridge Mountain Blues * Cotton-Eyed Joe * Deep River Blues * Doc's Guitar * Nashville Pickin' * Thoughts of Never * Windy and Warm * You Must Come In at the Door. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Watson Wins
I have been a long time fan of Doc Watson. I have tried often to learn
his pieces for the guitar. I was very happy to get a book that has all
my favorites in tab format. ... Read more

Product Description
Bluegrass Guitar , the newest title in Backbeat’s Fretmaster series, is a playing guide/history that includes biographies of key artists, music transcriptions, original recordings, and style demonstrations. The history section features bluegrass luminaries such as Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Clarence White, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, and Bryan Sutton, while the accompanying CD offers exclusive backing tracks that allow readers to play along and hone their technique. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

My order wasn't right
Hi. I got my books on time, but my bluegrass guitar book was missing the CD it was supposed to have with it. Thats when I found out that Amazon is just about impossible to contact. So if Amazon reads this and are concerned with fixing my order by sending me the cd, i would greatly appreciate it.

Great idea, poor results
"There are bluegrass bands without a dobro, without a fiddle, without a mandolin, and without a banjo, but there is never a bluegrass band without a guitar." So states author Sid Griffin regarding the clearly important role that the acoustic guitar has in bluegrass music. "Bluegrass Guitar" is a concept that has been needed for some time -- introducing guitar students to the standout bluegrass guitarists and providing a basic lesson on the fundamentals of guitar playing in a bluegrass setting. Unfortunately, the book proves weak in achieving that goal.

Griffin becomes too philosophical in many of his statements regarding bluegrass and the role of the guitar. Some statements he makes can be easily debated (he claims that Lester Flatt "invented" the G-run on the guitar, yet there are many recorded examples of this fret board movement prior to Flatt's tenure in Bill Monroe's band), or are perhaps British-specific (the book is originally published in the UK), such as the referrals to the renewed interest in bluegrass music owing in part to large amounts of Goth teenagers at festivals. This writer has been to numerous U.S. bluegrass festivals in recent years, and the Goth factor is hardly noticeable.

As a proofreader by trade, this writer is appalled by the amount of grammatical errors and lack of quality copyediting throughout the text. Reference to the now-famous movie and soundtrack ping-pongs between "O Brother" and "Oh Brother." One instance has Nickel Creek's guitarist referred to as Sean Watson (instead of Watkins). The choice of photos used seems to be questionable as well. If this is to be a text on bluegrass guitar, there is very little need for photos of Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss and Patty Loveless by themselves. There is one wonderful photo of Stanley with an early incarnation of his Clinch Mountain Boys and Larry Sparks on guitar, but Sparks is not identified.

The overall choice of guitarists to spotlight is probably the greatest strength of this text. Featured artists are Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Clarence White, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, and Bryan Sutton. The bios are good, but slightly erratic in movement (Watson's bio jumps from history, to technique, then back to history in a very awkward way). There is a need in this section for short one-paragraph bios of many other influential guitarists who may be mentioned a number of times in other places in the book (such as Dan Crary, David Grier, Sean Watkins and Cody Kilby, as well as Bill Napier and George Shuffler from the early Stanley Brothers days).

The second part of the book, a brief instructional on bluegrass guitar styles transcribed and presented by Eric Thompson, is well thought-out. His references between the styles of early bluegrass guitarists such as Lester Flatt, Jimmy Martin and Red Smiley are worthwhile to comprehend. However, the accompanying CD has many flaws. The recordings of the printed tablature had the first note or two cut off or fading in too slowly, while the fade out contained too many seconds of silence. The three songs recorded with the band were extremely rough sounding, and it did not seem necessary to provide vocal/non-vocal versions, since the guitar is mixed into one channel enough to hear it apart from the rest of the mix. Moreover, the guitar playing in the third song, "Fair and Tender Ladies," is hardly bluegrass.

Finally, the recommended discography leaves a lot of gaps. While both Norman Blake and Tony Rice are highlighted in the text, there is no mention of the two phenomenal albums that they did together on Rounder Records.

The concept of this book is fabulous, but the results are lackluster. More research and editorial control is needed for it to be a top-notch resource book. For someone interested in learning the basics of bluegrass guitar, there are better print sources such as "Bluegrass Guitar" by Happy Traum.

(Matt Merta, The Bluegrass Journal)

A thoughtful treatise that should increase public consciousness about the instrument and its role in the genre
Bluegrass Guitar: Know The Players, Play The Music
By Sid Griffin & Eric Thompson
Backbeat Books, 600 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA. 94107
[...]

Bluegrass Guitar is subtitled "know the players, play the music." The first 79 pages of this spiral-bound book (to get to "know the players") have some interesting narrative and history about, as well as photos of Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Clarence White, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton, and others. Author Sid Griffin outlines the evolution of the flatpicking style by documenting the influences and motivations of these fundamental players. Much optimism for the future is delineated in the section entitled "why bluegrass is growing," and Griffin boldly states that "bluegrass music via the guitar ... has reclaimed its place in the world." Griffin's performing experience includes bluegrass (The Coal Porters), alt-country (Western Electric, Godfathers the Long Ryders). A documentary script writer for BBC Radio, his 2004 "Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel" aired to much critical acclaim, and he's currently working on scripts about The Carter Family and the history of southern country music.

The "play the music" instructional component of "Bluegrass Guitar" was provided by Eric Thompson, a well-known guitar teacher, workshop leader, and performer with such groups as Bluegrass Intentions, Blue Flame String Band, Todalo Shakers, Aux Cajunals, and Kleptograss (a band that "steals" from various other genres). Thompson's 64 pages (and the accompanying CD) start by introducing basic rhythm patterns. Then we can hear and practice along to licks and runs from Charlie Monroe, Lester Flatt, Jimmy Martin, Edd Mayfield, Red Smiley, The Carter Family and others. The understated guitar breaks for "John Hardy" and "Sad and Lonesome Day" emphasize elegance and efficiency. Flatpicking is introduced with the old standard "Bile them Cabbage Down," and crosspicking is addressed with the straightforward melody for a favorite, "Bury Me Beneath the Willow." One of Thompson's fortes, flatpicking fiddle tunes take us into the territory of Soldier's Joy, Forked Deer, Sally Goodin, Paddy on the Turnpike, Kennedy Rag, Bill Cheatham, Blackberry Blossom, and Dusty Miller. Finally, Thompson demonstrates how to pick breaks to bluegrass songs.

This collaboration between a Brit and American truly does show that bluegrass guitar has a worldwide following. An offering in Backbeat's Fretmaster series, "Bluegrass Guitar" is a thoughtful treatise that should increase public consciousness about the instrument and its role in the genre. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
... Read more

Product Description
Flatpicking guitar style delivers the clean, sharp solo sound that defined some of the greatest bluegrass recordings of the 1950s. Now you can learn to play famous fiddle tunes specially arranged for guitar. Each song includes performance notes which give you helpful hints and tips on playing slides, double stops, fiddle shuffles, tremolos, ornaments, syncopations, and much more! The accompanying CD features specially mixed tracks that let you hear the guitar alone, the guitar with the backing track, or just the backing track to which you can play along to. So, get started flatpickin' now! ... Read more

Product Description
Similar in format to the authors' "Cash Box Singles Charts", this authorized compilation makes available the data contained in Cash Box's country music singles (78 rpm and 45 rpm) charts over a 25-year period. This information, previously available only through a search of the weekly charts themselves, has been completely integrated and accessed via artist and song title entries in a week-by-week listing of song chart positions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Gotta have it!
All due respect to Bilboard magazine and tyhe Joel Whitburn books but Cash Box charts are just as important - and the Country side as presented by CB has alot of detail you won't find in BB, which seems to have gotten mass acceptance as the *only* source.

Don't expect the same format you find in the above-named competitor's books - not as much detail, but still a fun framework to study - and haer all those classics in your head.

Excellent reference book
An excellent reference book on the chart activity of albums ranked on the country singles charts in Cash Box Magazine. Entries include artist, title, catalog no., chart date, and week-by-week position on the chart. A section at the back shows the number one LPs for each week. You won't find any information on the artists themselves, but this is nevertheless an excellent resource for record collectors, discographers, and chart fanatics. Recommended as an addition to the Joel Whitburn Billboard books but not necessarily as a substitute.

Excellent reference book
An excellent reference book on the chart activity of albums ranked on the country singles charts in Cash Box Magazine. Entries include artist, title, catalog no., chart date, and week-by-week position on the chart. A section at the back shows the number one LPs for each week. You won't find any information on the artists themselves, but this is nevertheless an excellent resource for record collectors, discographers, and chart fanatics. Recommended as an addition to the Joel Whitburn Billboard books but not necessarily as a substitute. ... Read more

Product Description
This book features extensive lists of printed resources on 35 years of rockabilly performers, ranging from Charlie Feathers, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley to Shakin' Stevens, The Cramps, Robert Gordon, and The Stray Cats. The bibliographic survey includes biographies, historical studies, concert and record reviews, discographies, and articles from magazines such as "Guitar Player, Goldmine, Now Dig This, Record Collector", and "New Kommotion". More than 220 rockabilly singers and instrumentalists are included. With author index and bibliography. Should be of value to audio librarians, popular culture researchers, rock music enthusiasts, record collectors, and teachers of music, sociology, and American studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What the......?
We need more rockabilly books by real writers, not academics who write in their own vernacular. They write for themselves, not for readers. So, please, give it to us straight! Books like this do not.

What is Rockabilly?
The authors claim that Rockabilly music defies easy definition and this is reflected in their Rockabilly resource guide.Barebone entries for books and articles cover selected artists/groups subjective to the preference of the authors.No guidelines for inclusion have been developed.No annotations for entries provide explanation or analysis.Cited sources seem general in nature, not specific as to rockabilly influence or contribution by the artist.However, the bibliography does contain sources specific to the genre.The authors claim, "the rockabilly sound has never secured analytical baptism by an ethnomusicologist/historian," and this book reaffirms that premise ... Read more

Product Description
Praise for Johnny Bush and Whiskey River (Take My Mind)"Johnny Bush and I started out together . . . The story contained in this book is gospel."--Charley Pride"From the crown of his western hat down to the tips of his needle-nosed James Leddy cowboy boots, Johnny Bush is pure-D Texas from the get-go. His telling reads like a honky-tonk song, only real; you can hear the hurtin', heartache, cheatin', and pain in every word and feel the boot-scootin' shuffle with every turn of the page."--Joe Nick Patoski, author of Selena: Como La Flor and Stevie Ray Vaughn: Caught in the Crossfire and writer for Rolling Stone and No Depression"Through his talents Johnny Bush has made a significant contribution to country music, and has given to his many fans the joy of magnificent music. You will enjoy meeting this creative man through this book."--Ralph Emery"I am as proud of Johnny Bush as I am of Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, and Johnny Paycheck--all Cherokee Cowboys alumni. I am especially proud of his triumph over his debilitating voice problem. This is the real story, told in his own voice."--Ray Price"From hard-time hungry Houston childhood to Nashville hit-making, from scuffling honky-tonk sideman to king of the Texas dancehalls, from victim of a strange career-killing illness to comeback kid, Johnny Bush has a Texas-sized story to tell about his life and times in country music. He tells it honestly, with humor and humility. Listen up when he speaks."--John Morthland, contributing editor, Texas Monthly, and former associate editor of Rolling Stone, Creem, and Country Music"Johnny Bush is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He and I started out together in music, and we're still together. Everything that's been said about me in this book, good or bad, is pretty accurate."--Willie Nelson"I love Johnny Bush. He is classic Texas honky-tonk, one of our state's treasures. Every honky-tonker out there has tried to sing like him, myself included. Thanks, Johnny, for being a true Texas original, and for your friendship."--George StraitWhen it comes to Texas honky-tonk, nobody knows the music or the scene better than Johnny Bush. Author of Willie Nelson's classic concert anthem "Whiskey River," and singer of hits such as "You Gave Me a Mountain," "Undo the Right," "Jim, Jack and Rose," and "I'll Be There," Johnny Bush is a legend in country music, a singer-songwriter who has lived the cheatin', hurtin', hard-drinkin' life and recorded some of the most heart-wrenching songs about it. He has one of the purest honky-tonk voices ever to come out of Texas. And Bush's career has been just as dramatic as his songs--on the verge of achieving superstardom in the early 1970s, he was sidelined by a rare vocal disorder that he combated for thirty years. But, survivor that he is, Bush is once again filling dance halls across Texas and inspiring a new generation of musicians who crave the authenticity--the "pure D" country--that Johnny Bush has always had and that Nashville country music has lost. In Whiskey River (Take My Mind), Johnny Bush tells the twin stories of his life and of Texas honky-tonk music. He recalls growing up poor in Houston's Kashmere Gardens neighborhood and learning his chops in honky-tonks around Houston and San Antonio--places where chicken wire protected the bandstand and deadly fights broke out regularly. Bush vividly describes life on the road in the 1960s as a band member for Ray Price and Willie Nelson, including the booze, drugs, and one-night stands that fueled his songs but destroyed his first three marriages. He remembers the time in the early 1970s when he was hotter than Willie and on the fast track to superstardom--until spasmodic dysphonia forced his career into the slow lane. Bush describes his agonizing, but ultimately successful struggle to keep performing and rebuild his fan base, as well as the hard-won happiness he has found in his personal life. Woven throughout Bush's autobiography is the never-before-told story of Texas honky-tonk music, from Bob Wills and Floyd Tillman to Junior Brown and Pat Green. Johnny Bush has known almost all the great musicians, past and present, and he has wonderful stories to tell. Likewise, he offers shrewd observations on how the music business has changed since he started performing in the 1950s--and pulls no punches in saying how Nashville music has lost its country soul. For everyone who loves genuine country music, Johnny Bush, Willie Nelson, and stories of triumph against all odds, Whiskey River (Take My Mind) is a must-read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Slightly disappointed
I purchased this book hoping for an in depth insight into life on the road with bands like the Cherokee Cowboys, and while this touched on in I felt as though in could have been more detailed.
Of course being a Biography of Johnny Bush he had to be center stage but I finished the book thinking that this guy has an ego as big as Texas and I was very disappointed in his pointed criticisms of other artists, especially Kenny Rogers, who, while not my style, has contributed a lot to the C and W music scene.
Still well worth the read though.

A wonderfully enjoyable book
This book is enjoyable from start to finish.If you enjoy Texas music and have had enough of that "stuff" that passes for country music on the radio, then this is a book for you.Johnny Bush is an institution in Texas music and rightfully so. Johnny and author Rick Mitchell take you to Texas honky tonks of the 50's, 60's and beyond, a great behind the scene look. The book was a page turner that I could hardly put down.Thanks Johnny Bush and thanks to author Rick Mitchell for telling his story.

Country Music Veteran
Not everybody can be Garth Brooks, and thank the Good Lord for that.Johnny Bush is the real deal in country music, he's been laying down good music for years both as a songwriter and singer, primarily on that Texas circuit where the fans demand high quality and will go to the wall for you if they love you.But you have to earn that respect and Bush did.He cut his teeth playing in small time Texas bands like that led by uncle, minor honky tonk legend Jerry Jericho.He then moved up to Ray Price's glorious Cherokee Cowboys.Frustrated in Nashville, he headed back to Texas and built a career based around strong songwriting (he wrote Whiskey River, made famous by Willie Nelson) and solid performance.He tells most in this open, honest autobiography.The text is engagingly written and the stories well told.There is no better insider look at the world of honky tonk music. ... Read more