In The Country of Country

Nicholas Dawidoff's In The Country of Country was book #38 of my quest to read 50 books this year.

This excellent book provides a insightful overview of 'real' or 'hard' Country music from it's roots in the Depression era to its modern day torch bearers like Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle. While writing his book Dawidoff travelled across the country visting the small towns, backwoods, and other places where country music originated and interviewing the fascinating people who made it all happen.

The book is layed out as a series of profiles on individual artists. In order, the primary artists covered include: Jimmie Rodgers (read an excerpt here), Harlan Howard, Chet Atkins, Sara Carter, Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, The Louvin Brothers, Doc Watson, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Rose Maddox, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Iris DeMent, Emmylou Harris, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and The Flatlanders.

As you can see from the list above, Dawidoff's books is by no means an exhaustive study of every important artist in the genre, but the artists chosen allow Dawidoff to cover a lot of territory quickly while still painting a vivid picture of the evolution of the music over the years. I think my favorite two chapters were the one on Merle Haggard and the one on Patsy Cline, but I found almost every profile to be an interesting read.

All told, I'd have to say this was one of the most enjoyable music books I've read in awhile. I learned a lot about the artists I liked already, and also discovered several new artists who I'm now going to check out. Should be required reading for anyone interested in real country and/or alt-country music.

Salon Review
No Depression Review