Honky-Tonk Heroes and Hillbilly Angels: The Pioneers of Country and Western Music

Discover the surprising beginnings and humble origins of the charismatic pioneers who helped shape the country-and-western scene into the influential musical empire it is today.

Included among this collection of legends are Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and more unforgettable people who changed the face of music forever!

Publishers Weekly

George-Warren and Levine, whose Shake, Rattle and Roll profiled early rock-n-rollers, appeal to country fans in this collection of kitschy painted portraits and mini-biographies. The book condenses the history for a young audience and for older readers who know the stories but want Levine's portfolio on the shelf with the old LPs. A concise introduction chronicles the evolution of folk ballads into 1920s "hillbilly" music collected by "talent scouts" (and folklorists), then into mainstream "C&W" on the radio and at dances. "Vocalists sang about whiskey, broken marriages, and other tragedies of modern life" in the '40s, writes George-Warren, whose one-page bios of the musicians mention but don't linger on the hard luck and rampant sinnin' among Opry aspirants. (Similarly, she downplays the powerful influences of gospel and black performers.) Levine's mixed-media folk-art paintings, each presented in an antique wooden frame, provide the collection's raison d' tre; if they don't entirely resemble their subjects, they capture the down-home mood of the rootsy music and the inimitable style of, say, Tammy Wynette's big blond hairdo. Between the opening act (the Carter Family) and the closer (Johnny Cash), Levine's luminaries include bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe, tragic heroes Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, singer-guitarist Kitty Wells and picker/grinner Buck Owens. Yet without a CD library, one cannot imagine the Carter Family's "unique harmonizing," "Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers's yodel, tenor vs. bass singing or the niceties of fiddles, steel guitars or electric jamborees. This album rates a couple of rhinestones, but appeals to those already familiar with that good ole Nashville music. Ages 6-10. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Holly George-Warren is an award-winning writer, editor, producer, and music consultant. She has contributed to more than two dozen books about rock and roll, including The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock, and The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. She's also written for the New York Times, the Village Voice, the Journal of Country Music, and Rolling Stone. Ms. George-Warren lives in upstate New York with her family.