Some Resources on Country Music:

For a general overview of the history of country music, a good book to begin with is Bill C. Malone's Country Music USA (University of Texas Press, 1985), which chronicles in detail the various periods in the development of country music and provides a comprehensive overview into the 1980s. For a briefer overview, Malone's pieces in the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture on "Country Music" (p.1002-5) and"Honky-Tonk Music" (p.1014-16) provide a solid description in a few pages.

Similarly, American Folklore: An Encyclopedia provides a brief overview in the form of a piece by Ed Kahn entitled "Country Music" (p.164-6). It also includes sections on fiddle music and bluegrass. Both of these encyclopedias also contain numerous pieces on country music artists and other relevant topics.

For more in-depth study, All That Glitters: Country Music in America (Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Ohio, 1993), edited by George H. Lewis, consists of essays on various aspects of country music and its place in American culture. Another book that addresses various aspects is Cecilia Tichi's Reading Country Music (Duke University Press, 1998).

For information on country artists, Stars of Country Music (University of Illinois Press, 1975), edited by Bill C. Malone and Judith McCulloh, may be the easiest to use, as it contains several pages of biography on each of many people who were important in the history of country music. Another book providing a broad overview is the Country Music Foundation's Country: The Music & The Musicians: From the Beginnings to the '90s (1993).

Both Douglas B. Green's Country Roots: The Origins of Country Music (New York, 1976) and Bill C. Malone's Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers: Southern Culture and the Roots of Country Music (1993) provide information on the beginnings of country music. Charles K. Wolfe has written several works on early country music, including A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry (Vanderbuilt University Press, 1999) and The Grand Ole Opry: The Early Years, 1925-35 (London, 1975). He has also written books on other specific areas of country music, including Tennessee Strings: The Story of Country Music in Tennessee (University of Tennessee Press, 1977).

Another book on country music in a specific locale is Daniel W. Wayne's On Pickin' On Peachtree: A History of Country Music in Atlanta, Georgia (University of Illinois Press, 1990). Norm Cohen, in Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong (University of Illinois Press, 1981) deals with the significance of the railroad and idealization of the wandering life.

Perhaps the best biography of Jimmie Rodgers, the "singing brakeman" who is often called the father of country music, is Nolan Porterfield's Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America's Blue Yodeler (University of Illinois Press). Rodgers' wife, Carrie, also wrote a biography, entitled My Husband, Jimmie Rodgers (1935, since reprinted).

On bluegrass, which was modeled after Bill Monroe and his brother in the 1930s, is covered in James Rooney's Bossmen: Bill Monroe and Muddy Waters (New York, 1971). An interesting account of the early days of bluegrass is True Adventures with the King of Bluegrass, which follows the life of Jimmy Martin, a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys who, at age 72, still performs regularly (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation). Robert Cantwell's book Bluegrass Breakdown (University of Illinois press, 2003) discusses the historical and cultural origins of bluegrass.

Beginning in the 1940s, the Western cowboy image became important in country music, and John Lomax's American Cowboy Songs was influential. Douglas B. Green's Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation, 2002) discusses this aspect of country music, as does John White's Get Along Little Dogies: Songs and Songmakers of the American West (University of Illinois Press, 1975).

For a brief overview of Western swing, one can consult the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and also Charles R. Townsend's "A Brief History of Western Swing" in Southern Quarterly (Vol. 22, no. 3, 1984). In-depth information on Bob Wills can be found in Bob Wills: Hubbin' It by Ruth Sheldon (1938, reprinted 1995) and San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills by Bob Pinson (University of Illinois Press. 1976).

Bill C. Malone discusses Honky-tonk music in "Honky Tonk: The Music of the Southern Working Class" (Folk Music and Modern Sound). He discusses changes in country music in "Keeping It Country: Tradition and Change, 1940 to the Present" (American Roots Music), and Joli Jensen discusses specifically the change from honky-tonk to the Nashville sound in The Nashville Sound: Authenticity, Commercialization, and Country Music (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation Press, 1998). Bill Koon's biography Hank Williams, So Lonesome (2002) discusses the 1950s country music icon, and Curtis W. Ellison, in Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven (University Press of Mississippi, 1995), deals with the politics and culture of Nashville as a music city.

Much has also been written about country music and society, as well as specific groups within country music. The Country Music Message: Revisited by Jimmie N. Rogers (University of Arkansas, 1989) discusses the themes communicated by country music. Bill C. Malone's Don't Get Above Your Raisin': Country Music and the Southern Working Class (2002) talks about social class and how it played into politics, and country music. Nick Tosches, in Country: Living Legends and Dying Metaphors in the Biggest Music in America (New York, 1985), discusses race, and Barbara Ching, in Wrong's What I Do Best: Hard Country Music and Contemporary Culture, discusses masculinity in country music.

A place to start in finding information on women and country music is Finding Her Voice; Women in Country Music, 1800-2000 by Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann (New York, 1993). Bufwack also wrote "The Feminist Sensibility on Post-War Country Music" in Southern Quarterly (Spring 1984, p.135-44).

Specifically on the contradiction between rural and urban influences in country music, D.K. Wilgus wrote "Country-Western Music and The Urban Hillbilly" in the Journal of American Folklore (April 1970, p. 157-84), and Ivan Tribe wrote "The Hillbilly Versus the City: Urban Images in Country Music" in John Edwards Memorial Foundation Quarterly (Summer 1974, p.41-51).

As to the regional meaning of country music, Cecelia Tichi's High Lonesome: The American Culture of Country Music (University of North Carolina Press, 1994) argues that country music is part of America, not just the South. Bill Malone argues in Southern Music, American Music (University Press of Kentucky, 1979) that American music and Southern music are the same thing because American music originated in the South.

An alternative history of country music is Heartaches by the Number: Country Music's 500 Greatest Singles by Bill Friskics-Warren and David Cantwell (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation Press, 2003). Also, Robert K. Oermann wrote an illustrated history of country music (New York, 1999), and South Atlantic Quarterly featured country music in its winter 1995 issue. Of course, a popular source for the latest on country stars is CMT.com, the website for Country Music Television.

For a reference on specific items and terms, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Country Music, edited by Paul Kingsbury (Country Music Foundation) may be helpful. Additional country music encyclopedias were edited by Paul Kingsbury (New York, 1998), Fred Dellar and Roy Thompson (New York, 1977).