Richard Polenberg HEAR MY SAD STORY: The True Tales That Inspired Stagolee, John Henry, and Other Traditional American Folksongs Cornell University Press 978-0-5017-0002-6 www.cornellpress.cornell.edu In 1966 Phil Ochs remarked, “Before … Continue reading →
JEAN RITCHIE Kentucky Mother Goose: Songs and Stories from My Childhood Hal Leonard 9781495007880 www.halleonard.com Jean Ritchie was a phenomenal musician known as the Mother of Folk Music and for good reason. … Continue reading →
Henry Glassie, Clifford R. Murphy, Douglas Dowling Peach OLA BELLE REED and Southern Mountain Music on the Mason-Dixon Line Dust to Digital 978-0-9817342-7-9 www.dust-digital.com The Mason-Dixon line was created in Colonial America to … Continue reading →
PHIL JAMISON Hoedowns, Reels and Frolics:Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance University of Illinois Press www.press.uillinois.edu Alex Ross wrote recently in the New Yorker that “when classical-music fans hear that a new Hollywood production … Continue reading →
JOHN BYRNE COOKE On The Road With Janis Joplin Berkley Books www.penguin.com The Harvard-educated son of apprized British broadcaster Alistair Cooke and great-grand-nephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 74-year-old John Byrne Cooke is an award-winning … Continue reading →
John Prine: In Spite of Himself by EDDIE HUFFMAN University of Texas Press www.utpress.utexas.edu John Prine In Spite of Himself is a breezy biography of the beloved, treasured songwriter and singer. As author Eddie … Continue reading →
ANDREA ROTONDO Tom Petty: Rock ‘n’ Roll Guardian Omnibus Press www.omnibuspress.com I’ve been a fan of Petty’s since his Southern Accents album, a work that really showcased his stellar songwriting. He’s a rocker with … Continue reading →
IAN ZACK Say No To The Devil: The Live and Musical Genius of Rev. Gary Davis University of Chicago Press www.press.uchicago.edu When someone like Bob Dylan says he’s “One of the wizards of modern … Continue reading →
Gary B. Reid The Music of the Stanley Brothers University of Illinois Press 978-0-252-08033-3 www.press.uillinois.edu From the Blue Sky Boys and Monroe Brothers down through the Everlys, brother duets have created some of country … Continue reading →
Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Robinson Roots of the Revival: American and British Folk Music in the 1950s University of Illinois Press 978-0-252-08012-8 www.press.uillinois.edu From chain-gang work songs and the skiffle music of Lonnie … Continue reading →
