Expanded book version about "Nashville portraits," including the sixty photographs in the traveling exhibition and new materials: five additional photos, an essay by folklorist/historian WIlliam R. Ferris, and biographies and quotations to accompany the photographic project.

A gorgeously illustrated and hugely entertaining story of America's most popular music and the singers and songwriters who captivated, entertained, and consoled listeners throughout the twentieth century—based on the eight-part film series. This fascinating history 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. But 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. Rife with 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.

For fans, history buffs and book afficionados, Legends of Country, part of a trio of collectible hardcover books, features the biggest country legends of all time (see also Legends of Rock and Legends of Pop) . Branded by Country Music Television, this book contains fascinating stories and trivia revealing the people behind the fame of each pop legend. You will also find great quotes by and about these legends as well as Greatest Hits sidebars that list the songs that made the artists famous. Legends of Country is full of hundreds of full-color images of the legends of country from the first icons to modern day hit-makers. It includes an appendix of best-selling chart timelines for singles and albums. Some featured artists and groups are: Alabama, Patsy Cline, Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Roger Miller, LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, and The Judds, among many, many more!

For more than four decades, Hendersonville has been home to extraordinary musical talent. Music icons of the early 1960s like Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and June Carter migrated to the city and the tranquility of the lake. These musicians became part of the close-knit Caudill community, which was and continues to be home to southern music royalty. Orbison's legendary "Pretty Woman" came from his time in Hendersonville with his first wife, Claudette. Johnny Cash's critically acclaimed version of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" was filmed in Cash's Hendersonville home, leading to a new generation of fans. The '60s, '70s and '80s were a popular time for musicians to move to Hendersonville. Authors Jennifer Bruce and Tena Lee offer up the legendary history.

Paper dolls of famous country singers with one change of costume for each.

Now in paperback, a volume of stunning photographs of 50 country music icons and intimate accounts of their thoughts on God, America, and their favorite songs. Award-winning photographer and author of My Last Supper, Melanie Dunea traces the throughlines from country music's gritty roots to the chart-topping chanteuses of today, presenting beautiful, imaginative, and revealing photographs of icons ranging from Taylor Swift to Wynnona Judd to Little Jimmy Dickens and conducting interviews that ask stars to discuss their musical roots and inspirations, their defining moments, and what makes country music the heart and soul of America. As the music industry fractures and suffers from flagging sales, country music has enjoyed explosive growth and unprecedented popularity. This totally unique book will be a must-own (and a perfect gift) for fans of the old time country twang and the millions who love the glitz and glamour of today's country-pop. My Country is a music-lovers dream, and in this more inexpensive, accessible market the book is sure to find its core audience amongst country music's legions of fans.

Approaches country music through an interdisciplinary lens, Features close analyses of gendered and racial disparities in country music, Examines politics of both the performance of country music and the scholarship surrounding it Book jacket.