David Black is the fount of counsel and friendship I always sought in an agent. Susan Raihofer is a daily source of affirmation and devotion, as is Gary Morris. Lou Aronica has been a tireless champion of this book. Trish Grader, who inherited the project, has improved it immeasurably with her editorial input and heartfelt enthusiasm. At Avon Books, additional thanks to Joan Schulhafer, Mark James, Anne Marie Spagnuolo, Robin Davis Gomez, Andrea Sinert, and Laura Richardson. Karen Lehrman was a central part of the development of this idea and an unswerving cheerleader throughout its completion. Also, my everlasting thanks to Tina Bennett, Ruth Ann and Justin Castillo, Andy Cowan, Cathy Collins and Doug Frantz, Jessica Korn, David Shenk, Dana Sade, Ellen Silva, Karen Gulick and Max Stier, and Jane von Mehren.
As always, my family has provided a boundless supply of encouragement, good humor, and blunt editorial opinions. I am grateful for their continued presence in my life and work. In particular, I pay special tribute to my brother, Andrew Feiler, for mastering yet another field in his exhaustive quest to be the perfect editor, no matter what subject I throw at him. Finally, being in Nashville and living in the world of country music has reminded me time and again of the importance of family in the creative process. Two members of my family, Ellen Abeshouse Garfinkle and George Alan Abeshouse, have passed in the course of my writing life, and this book is dedicated to their memory.
THE SOURCES
“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” That comment—variously attributed over the years to Elvis Costello, Frank Zappa, Laurie Anderson, and Martin Mull—has been in my mind continually during the process of writing this book. With all due recognition of the difficulty of capturing music—and musicians—in print, I would like to pay tribute to the many writers who have written so lucidly about Nashville and country music in recent years and whose writing has informed and improved this book.
First, one of the joys of researching this project was reading the autobiographies of many current and legendary country music stars. In particular, I recommend the following: Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn with George Vecsey (Warner, 1976); Man in Black, Johnny Cash (Zondervan, 1976); Minnie Pearl, Minnie Pearl with Joan Dew (Simon & Schuster, 1980); Pride, Charley Pride with Jim Henderson (Morrow, 1994); The Storyteller’s Nashville, Tom T. Hall (Doubleday, 1979); and Waylon, Waylon Jennings with Lenny Kaye (Warner, 1996). Also, I have drawn from several other autobiographies, including Love Can Build a Bridge, Naomi Judd with Bud Schaetzle (Ballantine, 1993); Crook & Chase, Lorianne Cook and Charlie Case (Morrow, 1995); and Rough Mix, Jimmy Bowen and Jim Jerome (Simon & Schuster, 1997).
The best general purpose history books I consulted were Country Music, U.S.A., Bill Malone (Texas); Country: The Music and the Musicians, the Country Music Foundation (Abbeville Press); The Grand Ole Opry History of Country Music, Paul Kingsbury (Villard); Finding Her Voice, Mary Bufwack and Robert Oermann (Crown); The Nashville Sound, Paul Hemphill (Ballantine); Nashville: Music City, U.S.A., John Lomax (Abrams); Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Nick Tosches (Da Capo); and Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers, Bill Malone (Georgia). Also, a special thanks to Don Doyle for his two-part history of Nashville, Nashville in the New South and Nashville Since the 1920s, both published by the University of Tennessee.
As for books about individual artists, I have drawn from a wide variety of sources, including the following: Garth Brooks, Michael McCall (Bantam); Garth Brooks, Edward Morris (St. Martin’s); The Judds, Bob Millard (St. Martin’s); The Outlaws, Michael Bane (Dolphin); Waylon, R. Serge Denisoff (Tennessee); Get Hot or Go Home, Lisa Rebecca Gubernick (Morrow); Honky-Tonk Angel, Ellis Nasour (St. Martin’s); Your Cheatin’ Heart, Chet Flippo (St. Martin’s); and Last Train to Memphis, Peter Guralnick (Little, Brown). Also, I have benefited immensely from several collections of writing, including Behind Closed Doors, Alanna Nash (Knopf); Everybody Was Kung-Fu Dancing, Chet Flippo (St. Martin’s); and Lost Highway, Peter Guralnick (HarperCollins).
In addition, several notes of acknowledgment. For their insight into the music business, I pay tribute to the following: Hit Men, Frederic Dannen (Vintage); Moguls and Madmen, Jory Farr (Simon & Schuster); The Rise and Fall of Popular Music, Donald Clark (St. Martin’s); and Stiffed, William Knoedelseder (HarperCollins). For their insight into the South: The Americanization of Dixie: The Southernization of America, John Egerton (Harper’s); Dixie Rising, Peter Applebome (Times); and A Turn in the South, V. S. Naipaul (Vintage). And for their insight into Tennessee, a special nod to the novels of Peter Taylor, particularly A Summons to Memphis (Ballantine).
Three reference books in particular have worn holes through my desk. They are The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia by the editors of Country Music magazine; Definitive Country, edited by Barry McCloud; and Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy by Dorothy Horstman. I can’t imagine having done this book without them.
In addition, I am profoundly indebted to the limited number of publications and the even more limited number of writers who cover contemporary country music in a serious and thoughtful way. This book draws extensively from work that has appeared in The Tennessean, the Nashville Banner, USA Today, People, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Country America, Country Music, New Country, Billboard, Music Row, Radio & Records, the Nashville Scene, and the Journal of Country Music. In particular, I have benefited from the work of a small cadre of dedicated writers, notably David Browne, Patrick Carr, Daniel Cooper, Nicholas Dawidoff, Robert Hilburn, Geoffrey Himes, Jack Hurst, Beverly Keel, Brian Mansfield, Michael McCall, Bob Millard, Ed Morris, Jay Orr, James Patterson, Neil Pond, Jim Ridley, Tom Roland, David Ross, Brad Schmitt, Rob Tannenbaum, Mario Tarradell, and Kay West. Many of these writers are now my friends, for which I am deeply thankful. In addition, eternal gratitude for their kinship and support to Peter Applebome, Chet Flippo, Peter Guralnick, Alanna Nash, Melinda Newman, and David Zimmerman.
Finally, my heartfelt appreciation to James Hunter, who not only opened up his treasure chest of music knowledge to me, but also improved this book immeasurably with his painstaking edits and intellectual camaraderie. For this and so many other measures of support from the community of writers in and around Nashville, Tennessee, I am forever grateful.
THE MUSIC
“Hank Williams You Wrote My Life.” That classic song, written by Paul Craft and performed by Moe Brandy in 1975, still captures the feeling that many people have when they hear a well-written country song, whether it’s by Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, or Wade Hayes. Even in an era of increased competition and bottom-line pressures, Nashville in the 1990s continues to produce music that is thoughtful, emotional, and wickedly clever (“If I can make a living out of lovin’ you / I’d be a millionaire in a week or two…”). What follows is a selective list of some of the many albums I have enjoyed during my time in Nashville, with particular emphasis on the artists referred to in this book.
The best collection of Garth Brooks’s music can be found on The Hits (Liberty), a gathering of eighteen of his biggest singles, from “Ain’t Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)” to “The Dance,” that covers the years 1989 through 1995. To ensure that the collection would be available for a limited time only, Garth buried what he claimed were the masters of the album underneath his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1997, the final copy of the collection was shipped to stores. As for his studio albums, the two records that best capture his mix of fun-loving, honky-tonk dance numbers and warm, sensitive-guy ballads are 1990’s No Fences (Liberty), which contains his masterpieces “Friends in Low Places” and “Unanswered Prayers,” and 1991’s Ropin’ the Wind (Liberty), which contains “Shameless” and “The River.”
Wynonna (Curb/MCA), released in 1992, is a perfect pop-country album and best captures Wynonna’s blend of country, R&B, and rock; it contains two of her signature hits, “She Is His Only Need” and “No One Else on Earth.” The hits from that album, along with her other tw
o Curb/MCA solo albums, Tell Me Why and revelations, are gathered together on a single disc entitled Collection, released in 1997. As for Wynonna’s work with her mother, twelve of the hit records recorded by the Judds are presented together on a single album called The Number Ones and available on Curb/RCA.
It would be hard to think of a better traditional country debut album this decade than Wade Hayes’s Old Enough to Know Better (Columbia), which contains four hit singles (including two number ones), along with several unreleased gems, including “Family Reunion” and “Kentucky Bluebird,” written by Wally Wilson and Don Cook. Also, despite its limited commercial success, On a Good Night (Columbia) contains five or six outstanding songs with exemplary vocal performances, including the dark ballads “Hurts Don’t It” and “The Room” and Wade’s gentle tribute to his parents, “Our Time Is Coming.”
Other albums I have enjoyed that highlight the breadth and depth of contemporary country music include the following: Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Come On Come On (Columbia); Deana Carter’s Did I Shave My Legs for This? (Capitol); Alan Jackson’s Who I Am (Arista); the Mavericks’ What a Crying Shame (MCA); Kim Richey’s Bitter Sweet (Mercury); George Strait’s Blue Clear Sky (MCA); Shania Twain’s The Woman in Me (Mercury); Trisha Yearwood’s The Song Remembers When (MCA); and Dwight Yoakam’s This Time (Reprise). Twenty years from now, these albums will be on the shelves of music lovers of all generations, and critics will once again be complaining that contemporary country music does not hold up to the past. What they will mean is Nashville in the nineties.
Searchable Terms
A
A Turn in the South (Naipaul)
Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards
New Male Artist of the Year
ACM. See Academy of Country Music Awards
acoustic music
Acuff, Roy
“Ain’t Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)” (Brooks)
albums:
covers, Hayes
recording
sales, system of calculating
statistics concerning
Alexander, Lamar
Alger, Pat
A-list
Alonzo, George
Altman, Robert
American Music Awards
Favorite Artist of the Year, Brooks and
“American Pie” (Brooks)
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
analog recording
Anderson, Bill
Anderson Merchandisers
Appelbome, Peter
Arata, Tony
artists:
average age of
female
income
reluctance to make records
ASCAP. See American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
Atkins, Chet
Autry, Gene
B
backstage passes
Baez, Joan
Bailey, Deford
Bakker, Jim
“Ballad of the Green Berets,”
The Baltimore Sun
Bare, Bobby
Batson, Paula
BBS
Beatles Anthology
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (Fender)
Believer magazine
Bellamy Brothers
Belle Meade, Tennessee
Berg, Matraca
Berry, John
“Betty’s Got a Bass Boat” (Tillis)
Between Now and Forever (White)
Billboard magazine
Brooks ad in
calculating album sales
Debut Artist of the Year
Black, Clint
Blackhawk
blacks:
absence of, in country music
influence on country music
Blue Clear Sky (Strait)
Bluebird Cafe
BMG
BMI. See Broadcast Music Incorporated
Bogguss, Suzy
Boone, Larry
Bouton, Bruce
Bowen, Jimmy
Bowles, Woody
Bradley, Jerry
Bradley, Mike
Bradley, Owen
Brand New Man (Brooks & Dunn)
Bransford, Helen
Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI)
Broadcasting magazine
Bronco’s Lounge
Brooks, Colleen
Brooks, Garth
American Music Awards and
appearance
arrogance toward media
breakdown with own team
Capitol Records relationship
career
career, early
changing the world with music
childhood
in concert
“The Dance” video
Entertainer of the Year award
at Fan Fair
film company
financial affairs
future
Hayes differences
image
“LIVE! With Regis and Kathie Lee” interview
marriage
martyrdom
Nashville return
NBC specials
Omni Coliseum concert
personality
playing Central Park
premature death theme
use of media
Brooks, Sandy Mahr
Brooks, Troyal Raymond
Brooks & Dunn
Country Music Association (CMA) Awards
Brown, Tony
Bush, George
Butler, Allen
C
Capitol Nashville
Capitol Records:
Brooks relationship
party
career song
Carnegie Hall
Carpenter, Mary Chapin
“Carried Away” (Strait)
Carter, Deana
Carter Family
Cash, Johnny
CEMA
Central Park, Brooks concert in
“The Change” (Brooks)
video
Charles, Ray
“Check Yes or No” (Strait)
Chestnutt, Mark
Chicago Tribune
Chuck D
Ciminella, Michael
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Clark, Dick
Clark, Terri
Cline, Patsy
CMA Awards. See Country Music Association Awards
Coal Miner’s Daughter (Lynn)
Collins, Judy
Colter, Jessi
Cook, Don
country music:
absence of blacks in
blacks influence on
changing nature of
in concert
contemporary
cowboy image
early history of
hillbilly image
media’s lack of interest in
middle-class themes
radio market
reason why centered in Nashville
sales, decline in
sexual liberation in
women dominating
Country Music Association (CMA) Awards
Entertainer of the Year
Horizon
Song of the Year
Country Music Foundation
artists age study
Country Music magazine
Country Music Television
Country Weekly
Country: The Music and the Musicians
Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Tosches)
Covey, Stephen
cowboy hats
cowboy image
Cuevas, Manuel. See Manuel
Curb, Mike
Curb Records
Curb/Universal
D
“Daddy’s Money” (Ricochet)
Dallas Morning News
“The Dance” (Brooks)
&
nbsp; video
Darnell, Catherine
DAT. See Digital Multitrack Recorder
Davis, Stephanie
Deakin, Paul
DeCurtis, Anthony
Delmore Brothers
Denver, John
Diamond, Neil
Diana, Debbie
Diffie, Joe
Digital Multitrack Recorder (DAT)
Dire Straits
Dixie Rising (Appelbome)
Don Hayes and the Country Heritage
“Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’ (with Lovin’ on Your Mind)” (Lynn)
“Don’t Stop” (Hayes), video
Doyle, Bob
DuBois, Tim
Dunn, Ronnie
Dust Bowl Ballads (Guthrie)
E
Earle, Steve
Egerton, John
Ellis, Len
EMI North America
“End of the Line” (Mavericks)
England, Ty
Entertainment Weekly