Country music may have existed before 1925-in barn dances, roadside taverns, tent shows, minstrel shows, and vaudeville-but it didn't become Country Music until the advent of radio and new stars were born. In Classic Country Singers, author Douglas B. Green (a.k.a. Ranger Doug from the Grammy-winning western group Riders in the Sky) celebrates the men and women who built the industry that gave us "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Blue Yodel," "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," and the Grand Ole Opry.

 

From the Inside Flap:
Country music may have existed before 1925-in barn dances, roadside taverns, tent and minstrel shows, and vaudeville-but it didn't become country music until the advent of radio and new stars were born. Classic Country Singers offers intimate biographies and cherished photos of nearly fifty major stars from country music's first half-century. Such beloved musicians as Uncle Dave Macon, the Carter Family, and Jimmie Rodgers up to the pop-country hit makers of the 1950s like Eddy Arnold and Marty Robbins come to life in these warm and personal profiles.

What began as British ballads, Appalachian fiddle and banjo tunes, the blues, sentimental popular music, big band swing, and Tin Pan Alley tunes evolved into a half-dozen more divergent musical styles, from bluegrass to honky-tonk to western swing and more.

Through war, depression, and the advent of rock and roll, these men and women pioneered a sound that moved from regional barn dances and radio stations to an international audience. Fans of country music everywhere will find fascinating tidbits about the innovative singers who made country music what it is today.

 

About the Author:
Douglas B. Green is the author of three previous works on American music: Country Roots, Singing In The Saddle, and Singing Cowboys. He is considered one of the leading experts on American roots music, especially western. His full-time job for thirty years has been as lead vocalist of Riders in the Sky, the two-time Grammy-award-winning western quartet and member of the Western Music Hall of Fame. 

 

Hardcover. 144 pgs.