The only child of a hard-drinking father and a Holy Roller mother, Rodney was no stranger to either barroom brawls or Pentecostal sermons. Though anguished by their violent predilections, he adored his epilepsy-racked mother, who scor...

In his brief life, Hank Williams created one of the defining bodies of American music. Songs such as 'Your Cheatin' Heart,' 'Hey, Good Lookin',' and 'Jambalaya' sold millions of records and became the model for virtually all country m...

Considering the range of stars that have claimed Bill Monroe as an influence—Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Jerry Garcia are just a few—it can be said that no single artist has had as broad an impact on American popular music as he...

To millions, he was the rebellious Man in Black, the unabashed patriot, the redeemed Christian-the king of country music. But Johnny Cash (1932-2003) was also an uncertain country boy whose dreams were born in the cotton fields of Ark...

Country music superstar Trace Adkins isn't exactly known for holding back what's on his mind. And if the millions of albums he's sold are any indication, when Trace talks, people listen. Now, in A Personal Stand, Trace Adkins delivers...

A fairy-tale life that fell apart and the perfect love that redeemed it all. Written by Denise Jackson, with co-writer Ellen Vaughn, this inspirational book gives the reader an all-access look into one of country music's most famous ...

Country music superstar Trace Adkins isn't exactly known for holding back what's on his mind. And if the millions of albums he's sold are any indication, when Trace talks, people listen. Now, in A Personal Stand, Trace Adkins delivers...

 Like Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt was the embodiment of that mythic American figure, the troubled troubadour. A Deeper Blue traces Van Zandt's background as the scion of a promin...

Randy Owen, the front man and lead vocalist for one of the biggest music groups of all time, was raised in rural Alabama, grew up working on a small sharecropper farm, and today lives on this same land that his family worked for gene...

Unavailable for decades, this pioneering biography of the King of Western Swing returns to print in a handsome new edition with photographs, index, and a new critical introduction.Few figures in country music's history have left as di...

Born in 1935 into abject poverty, married at age thirteen, mother of six, and a grandmother by age 29, Loretta Lynn went on to become one of the most prolific and influential singers in modern country music. Her success includes sixte...

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is the first major biography of the Carter Family, the musical pioneers who almost single-handedly created the sounds and traditions that grew into modern folk, country, and bluegrass music. Meticulousl...

Strong and sober, George Jones looks back on his life with searing candor. From his roots in an impoverished East Texas family to his years of womanizing, boozing, brawling, and singing with the voice that made him a star, his story i...

Carmen Bryan is no stranger to the rap world. Not only did she work at Def Jam and Capitol Records but she shares a daughter with hip-hop superstar Nas -- a relationship made extremely public through Nas's celebrity status, rap lyrics...

The original road novel--even though it takes the form of autobiography. If Guthrie didn't actually invent the footloose, no- strings-attached American hero (remember this guy Twain who wrote something about lighting out for the terri...

From the day Doc Watson stepped off the bus in New York City, the North Carolina music legend changed the world forever. His influence has been recognized by presidents and by the heroes of modern music. This is the first comprehensiv...

He was the 'Man in Black,' a country music legend, and the quintessential American troubadour. He was an icon of rugged individualism who had been to hell and back, telling the tale as never before. In his unforgettable autobiography,...

Clinton Heylin has devoted his career to Bob Dylan's work and presents here a comprehensive study of all of Dylan's recording sessions. 'A must for rabid fans.'--Seattle Times.

There has never been a better time for a book on Gram Parsons. At the thirty-year anniversary of his death, his sound, a mix of country and rock 'n' roll, is absolutely everywhere. Popular musicians of today trace their inspiration to...

Recorded by jazz legend Billie Holiday in 1939, 'Strange Fruit' is considered to be the first significant song of the civil rights movement and the first direct musical assault upon racial lynchings in the South. Originally sung in Ne...

Country music superstar Reba McEntire describes her Oklahoma childhood as a member of a cattle ranching family, her early days as a performer, her award-winning musical achievements, the tragic loss of her eight band members, an...