Download or read book The Grand Ole Opry History of Country Music written by Paul Kingsbury and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best and most luxurious history of country music ever published, this 70th-anniversary tribute to the Grand Ole Opry has been selected by this beloved institution as its chief souvenir. The complete history of the Opry is given, from the early days of Roy Acuff and the Carter Family through Dolly Parton and Minnie Pearl to Garth Brooks and Reba McIntire--all illustrated with more than 225 photos, many in full color.
Download or read book The Grand Ole Opry written by Colin Escott and published by Center Street. This book was released on 2009-02-28 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This official guide chronicles the story of the birthplace of country music as told by the people who were there. Escott presents the official inside history of the home of country music, offering fans an exclusive look into the heart and soul of country music. Full color, and packed with photos from the Opry Archives covering 80 years of history.
Download or read book A Story of the Grand Ole Opry written by George D. Hay and published by . This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Saturday Nights with Daddy at the Opry written by Libby Leverett-Crew and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2003-11-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The daughter of the Grand Ole Opry’s official photographer reminisces about witnessing country music history alongside her father in this memoir. Like many little girls, Libby Leverett-Crew’s father, Les Leverett, often had to work nights and weekends. But unlike many girls, Libby’s father took her along to his job—where he was the official photographer for the Grand Ole Opry for more than thirty years. First at the historic Ryman Auditorium, and later at the Grand Ole Opry House, Libby Leverett-Crew was a witness to country music history. And now some forty years later, she pays tribute to the wonderful people who touched the lives of her entire family while at the same time hearing witness to the powerful impact a loving father can have on his child’s life. In Saturday Nights with Daddy at the Opry, Libby Leverett-Crew shares not only her remarkable memories of those Saturday nights with Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, and countless others, including assorted Muppets, astronauts, ballet dancers, actors, Andy Warhol, and k.d. lang, but also a beautiful father-daughter relationship. The book also includes more than 100 photographs from her father. Praise for Saturday Nights with Daddy at the Opry “Les Leverett has added so much class and talent to our world; I’m not surprised that his daughter, Libby, has done this book. Yeah, Libby good for you. I’m proud to have baby-sat you from time to time backstage. You were always a joy.” —Dolly Parton “There’s an old song, “I Was There When It Happened So I Guess I Oughta Know.” That’s [Libby’s] story inside the world of country music. I knew her first as Les Leverett’s kid. It must be in the water at their house because she’s come into her own as a masterful photographer. She also wields a pen that has a detailed memory for great storytelling.” —Marty Stuart
Download or read book Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain written by Grand Ole Opry and published by Center Street. This book was released on 2008-10-08 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Grand Ole Opry has been home to the greatest legends of country music for over eighty years, and in that time it has seen some of conutry music's most dramatic stories unfold. We'll hear of the great love stories ranging from Johnny Cash and June Carter in the 1960s to Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who married in 2005. We'll get the truth of the tragedies that led to the loss of three stars all in the same month, starting the rumor of the "Opry Curse." We'll learn how after being stabbed, shot, and maimed, Trace Adkins calls his early honky-tonk years "combat country," and we'll find inspiration from DeFord Bailey, an African American harmonica player in 1927 crippled by childhood polio who rose to fame as one of the first Opry stars. Our hearts will break for Willie Nelson, who lost his only son on Christmas Day, and soar for Amy Grant and Vince Gill, who found true love. Based on over 150 firsthand interviews with the stars of The Grand Ole Opry, these are stories that tell the heart of country--the lives that are lived and inspire the songs we love.
Download or read book Historic Photos of the Opry written by Marty Stuart and published by Turner. This book was released on 2007-11 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Called The Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium saw a historic chapter come to a close in 1974 when it closed its doors on 5th Avenue to move into new quarters at Opryland USA. Nashville photographer Jim McGuire had full access to the Ryman and shares over 100 stunning black and white photographs with chapter introductions and captions from the last year of this landmark and the most famous show in country music. Most of the photographs have never been published so come share the memories of this institution and your favorite legendary country music stars. With the foreword written by Garrison Keillor, and an introduction by Opry legend Marty Stuart, this book is a must have for any country music lover
Download or read book Whisperin Bill Anderson written by Bill Anderson and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whisperin' Bill: An Unprecedented Life in Country Music presents a revealing portrait of Bill Anderson, one of the most prolific songwriters in the history of country music. Mega country music hits like "City Lights," (Ray Price), "Tips Of My Fingers," (Roy Clark, Eddy Arnold, Steve Wariner), "Once A Day," (Connie Smith), "Saginaw, Michigan," (Lefty Frizzell), and many more flowed from his pen, making him one of the most decorated songwriters in music history. But the iconic singer, songwriter, performer, and TV host came to a point in his career where he questioned if what he had to say mattered anymore. Music Row had changed, a new generation of artists and songwriters had transformed the genre, and the Country Music Hall of Fame member and fifty-year Grand Ole Opry star was no longer relevant. By 1990, he wasn't writing anymore. Bad investments left him teetering at bankruptcy's edge. His marriage was falling apart. And in Nashville, a music town where youth often carries the day, he was a museum piece--only seen as a nostalgia act, waving from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Anderson was only in his fifties when he assumed he had climbed all the mountains he was intended to scale. But in those moments plagued with self-doubt, little did he know, his most rewarding climb lie ahead. A follow-up to his 1989 autobiography, this honest and revealing book tells the story of a man with an unprecedented gift, holding on to it in order to share it. Known as "Whisperin' Bill" to generations of fans for his soft vocalizations and spoken lyrics, Anderson is the only songwriter in country music history to have a song on the charts in each of the past seven consecutive decades. He has celebrated chart-topping success as a recording artist with eighty charting singles and thirty-seven Top Ten country hits, including "Still," "8 x 10," "I Love You Drops," and "Mama Sang A Song." A six-time Song of the Year Award-winner and BMI Icon Award recipient, Anderson has taken home many CMA and ACM Award trophies and garnered multiple GRAMMY nominations. His knack for the spoken word has also made him a successful television host, having starred on "The Bill Anderson Show," "Opry Backstage," "Country's Family Reunion," and others. Moreover, his multi-faceted success extends far beyond the country format with artists like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Dean Martin, and Elvis Costello recording his songs. Today, thanks to the support of musical peers and a few famous friends who believed in him, Anderson continues to forge the path of lyrical integrity in music, harnessing his ability to craft a song that tells a familiar story, grabs you by the heart and moves you. Modern day examples include "Whiskey Lullaby" (Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss), "Give It Away" (George Strait), "A Lot of Things Different" (Kenny Chesney), and "Which Bridge to Cross" (Vince Gill). A product of a long-gone Nashville, Anderson worked to reinvent himself, and this biography documents Anderson's fifty-plus-year career--a career he once thought unattainable. Richly illustrated with black-and-white photos of Anderson interacting with the superstars of American music, including such legends as Patsy Cline, Vince Gill, and Steve Wariner, this book highlights Anderson's trajectory in the business and his influence on the past, present, and future of this dynamic genre.
Download or read book Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry written by Grandin Hood Publishers and published by . This book was released on 2013-10-10 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photo illustrated book presenting a backstage tour of the dressing room area of the Grand Ole Opry. Book includes nostalgic, archibval photos of stars and events of the Opry though its eighty-five year history, as well as contemporary scenes of themed dressing rooms and backstage activities.
Download or read book DeFord Bailey written by David C. Morton and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bailey is largely forgotten today, a victim of the recording industry's emphasis on the blues during the 1920s--a decision which segregated forever "black" folk music from "white" folk music. Bailey was from an African American mountain culture that shared much of its musical heritage with its Anglo-Saxon neighbors, producing a unique hybrid which Bailey called "black hillbilly." A virtuoso on the harmonica, guitar, and banjo, Bailey became one of the Grand Old Opry's earliest stars during the 1920s, only to be fired from the Opry in 1941 during one of the Opry's more repressive eras. Bailey's story is told mainly in his own words through interviews conducted by his longtime friend Morton, with Wolfe (English and folklore, Middle Tennessee State Univ.) providing cultural and historical background. The authors' stated goal was to write a book of universal appeal, and indeed the work is a fascinating cultural history. -- Library Journal
Download or read book They Came to Nashville written by Marshall Chapman and published by Vanderbilt University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marshall Chapman knows Nashville. A musician, songwriter, and author with nearly a dozen albums and a bestselling memoir under her belt, Chapman has lived and breathed Music City for over forty years. Her friendships with those who helped make Nashville one of the major forces in American music culture is unsurpassed. And in her new book, They Came to Nashville, the reader is invited to see Marshall Chapman as never before--as music journalist extraordinaire. In They Came to Nashville, Chapman records the personal stories of musicians shaping the modern history of music in Nashville, from the mouths of the musicians themselves. The trials, tribulations, and evolution of Music City are on display, as she sits down with influential figures like Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, and Miranda Lambert, and a dozen other top names, to record what brought each of them to Nashville and what inspired them to persevere. The book culminates in a hilarious and heroic attempt to find enough free time with Willie Nelson to get a proper interview. Instead, she's brought along on his raucous 2008 tour and winds up onstage in Beaumont, Texas singing "Good-Hearted Woman" with Willie. They Came to Nashville reveals the daily struggle facing newcomers to the music business, and the promise awaiting those willing to fight for the dream. Co-published with the Country Music Foundation Press
Download or read book Dixie Dewdrop written by Michael D. Doubler and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2018-08-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the earliest performers on WSM in Nashville, Uncle Dave Macon became the Grand Ole Opry's first superstar. His old-time music and energetic stage shows made him a national sensation and fueled a thirty-year run as one of America's most beloved entertainers. Michael D. Doubler tells the amazing story of the Dixie Dewdrop, a country music icon. Born in 1870, David Harrison Macon learned the banjo from musicians passing through his parents' Nashville hotel. After playing local shows in Middle Tennessee for decades, a big break led Macon to Vaudeville, the earliest of his two hundred-plus recordings and eventually to national stardom. Uncle Dave--clad in his trademark plug hat and gates-ajar collar--soon became the face of the Opry itself with his spirited singing, humor, and array of banjo picking styles. For the rest of his life, he defied age to tour and record prolifically, manage his business affairs, mentor up-and-comers like David "Stringbean" Akeman, and play with the Delmore Brothers, Roy Acuff, and Bill Monroe.
Download or read book Air Castle of the South written by Craig Havighurst and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2007-11-05 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How WSM put Nashville on the map of American entertainment
Download or read book Twentieth Century Drifter written by Diane Diekman and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2012-02-15 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins is the first biography of this legendary country music artist and NASCAR driver who scored sixteen number-one hits and two Grammy awards. Yet even with fame and fortune, Marty Robbins always yearned for more. Drawing from personal interviews and in-depth research, biographer Diane Diekman explains how Robbins saw himself as a drifter, a man always searching for self-fulfillment and inner peace. Born Martin David Robinson to a hardworking mother and an abusive alcoholic father, he never fully escaped the insecurities burned into him by a poverty-stricken nomadic childhood in the Arizona desert. In 1947 he got his first gig as a singer and guitar player. Too nervous to talk, the shy young man walked onstage singing. Soon he changed his name to Marty Robbins, cultivated his magnetic stage presence, and established himself as an entertainer, songwriter, and successful NASCAR driver. For fans of Robbins, NASCAR, and classic country music, Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins is a revealing portrait of this well-loved, restless entertainer, a private man who kept those who loved him at a distance.
Download or read book Forever and Ever Amen written by Randy Travis and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting tale of unfathomable success great joy deep pain, and redemption that can come only from above. From a working-class background in North Carolina to a job as a cook and club singer in Nashville to his "overnight success" with his smash 1986 album Storms of Life--which launched the neotraditional movement in country music--Randy's first three decades are a true rags-to-riches story. But in 2009, this seemingly charmed life began a downward spiral. His marriage dissolved, he discovered that his finances had unraveled, and his struggles with anger led to alcohol abuse, public embarrassment, and even police arrest in 2012. Then, just as he was putting his life back together, Randy suffered a devastating viral cardiomyopathy that led to a massive stroke which he was not expected to survive. Yet he not only survived but also learned to walk again and, in 2016, accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by singing the hymn that explains his life today: "Amazing Grace." Filled with never-before-told stories, Forever and Ever, Amen is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at dizzying success and the miraculous road to restoration.
Download or read book The Nashville Sound written by Paul Hemphill and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2015-04-15 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While on a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, journalist and novelist Paul Hemphill wrote of that pivotal moment in the late sixties when traditional defenders of the hillbilly roots of country music were confronted by the new influences and business realities of pop music. The demimonde of the traditional Nashville venues (Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Robert’s Western World, and the Ryman Auditorium) and first-wave artists (Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, and Lefty Frizzell) are shown coming into first contact, if not conflict, with a new wave of pop-influenced and business savvy country performers (Jeannie C. “Harper Valley PTA” Riley, Johnny Ryles, and Glen Campbell) and rock performers (Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, the Byrds, and the Grateful Dead) as they took the form well beyond Music City. Originally published in 1970, The Nashville Sound shows the resulting identity crisis as a fascinating, even poignant, moment in country music and entertainment history.
Download or read book Going Our Way written by Becky Perry Brown and published by . This book was released on 2018-08 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Becky Perry Brown's book is a story of good times, bad times, funny stories, and lessons learned through her life and fifty-four year marriage to country music legend, Jim Ed Brown.
Download or read book The Man in Back written by Jimmy Capps and published by . This book was released on 2018-11-15 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In his own words, Jimmy shares memories of working behind country music legends including Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Dottie West and many more." -- Publisher.
