The Women of Country Music: A Reader
ISBN: 9780813157733
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University Press of Kentucky
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Women country musicians -- Biography; Country music -- History and criticism;

Professors Wolfe and Akenson (coeditors of three volumes of Country Music Annual) here compile essays exploring the influential women in country music. Wayne W. Daniel (Pickin' on a Peachtree) shows that Yanks can be country singers too with the story of upstate New Yorker Polly Jenkins and her Musical Plowboys, who, in the 1940-41 season, played 137 dates from Maine to Florida. Ellen Wright highlights Virginian Roni Stoneman, "the first lady of banjo"; and Linda Jean Daniel analyzes the popularity of country music in Canada and how women singers and musicians balance work with homelife. Of course, the editors include essays about today's popular country singers, from the tried-and-true Emmilou Harris ("Getting the Word Out," by Gloria Nixon-John) to relative newcomer Faith Hill ("The Voice Behind the Song," by Jocelyn Neal). While the book offers a solid history of women in country, the academic tone may limit its appeal to students of musicology. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Charles K. Wolfe , professor of English and folklore at Middle Tennessee State University, is the author of numerous books on music. James E. Akenson , professor of curriculum and instruction at Tennessee Technological University, is the founder of the international Country Music Conference.


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