Elvis Presley was strongly connected to Nashville and recorded approximately 260 songs at RCA Studio B in Nashville. He also performed in several concerts in the area and, during his early days, often came to Nashville to confer with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who lived in Nashville.

Discovering Country Music chronicles the incredible evolution of country music in America -- from the fiddle to the pop charts -- and provides an insightful account of the reasons and motives that have determined its various transformations and offshoots over the years. In order to understand what country music is today, and why, it is essential to understand how it makes its money -- the basic revenue streams, the major companies involved, and how country artists such as Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, and Rascal Flatts are booked and marketed. In Discovering Country Music author Don Cusic helps readers do that, and goes even further, covering not only the business and the technology that have shaped the industry, but also tackling the question of country's relationship to the other major genres of the American recording industry, including pop, blues, and rock music. Discovering Country Music is broken down into ten sections which include: key musical trends; ancillary business trends such as recording technology, radio, and the recording industry; and prominent artists, including as a small sample Stephen Foster, The Carter Family, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, The Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Kenny Chesney. This work should appeal to fans, scholars, educators, libraries and the general reader alike.

The first comprehensive overview of contemporary inspirational music, covering its historical roots and dramatic growth into one of America's most vital music genres. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship is the first comprehensive reference work on a form of American music that is far more popular than nonfans may realize. It fills a major gap in the literature on American music and Christian culture, looking at this increasingly popular genre in the context of the overall history of religious music in the United States. With over 200 entries, The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music covers important performers and industry figures, songs and albums, concerts and festivals, the rise of Christian radio and television, and other issues related to the growth of inspirational music. Scholars and fans alike will find a wealth of revealing information and insightful coverage illustrating the influence of gospel on modern American music with musicians such as Elvis, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and U2.The work also examines the use of fundamental rock, pop, and rap music templates in the service of songs of faith.

As a songwriter, James Weldon Johnson is best known for "Life Every Voice," which he wrote with his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. However, during the early 1900s he was part of one of the most popular and successful songwriting teams in America. Johnson, along with his brother, Rosamond, and Bob Cole wrote hit songs for musicals during the ragtime era, 1895-1910. Later, he became one of the most prominent African-Americans in the United States before World War II. He was a diplomat, the author of a novel (The Autobiography of a Colored Man), poet ("God's Trombones"), Civil Rights leader (the first black Executive Secretary of the NAACP), an active member of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and a distinguished Professor at Fisk University. Most of James Weldon Johnson's songs have not been heard for over a hundred years because he wrote during the era of sheet music. Now, for the first time, here is a collection of Johnson's lyrics and an extended biographical essay on him as a songwriter. Don Cusic is Professor of Music Business at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and the author of 25 books. Cusic and Mike Curb produced a double album containing 30 of James Weldon Johnson's songs, recorded by Melinda Doolittle, for Curb Records.

Gene Autry was the first of the wildly popular "singing cowboys" of the thirties and forties and the man who carried the flag for "western" in "country and western," popularizing the genre's marriage of seemingly disparate western and hillbilly influences. Beyond his highly successful recording career, his on-screen persona influenced an entire generation of American boys. Autry, an accomplished investor and businessman, was a longtime owner of Major League Baseball's Angels franchise.

This meticulously researched biography takes the reader from Gene Autry's childhood in Oklahoma through his phenomenally successful career as a singer and actor, and covers his later triumphs in business and sports. Of particular interest is the book's detailed day-to-day treatment of Autry's performing career, with a wealth of information on each recording session and film shoot, including key personnel (e.g., songwriters, engineers, directors, crew) and interesting anecdotes. The work includes information from the author's own interviews with Autry's contemporaries.

Born in 1856 in Thomasville, Georgia, Henry Ossian Flipper was just nine years old at the end of the Civil War. His parents were part of the privileged upper class of slaves, one of few families allowed to operate an independent business under the protection of their owner. This placed Henry in an excellent position to take advantage of the new educational opportunities opening up to African Americans, culminating in his nomination to West Point by congressman J.C. Freeman in 1873 and his graduation in 1877.After graduation, Flipper served at Fort Sill in what is now Oklahoma; took part in the Indian Wars; and served at Fort Elliott in Texas, where a court-martial relating to missing commissary funds ended his Army career with a dishonorable discharge. Flipper later was an assistant to the secretary of the Interior during the Harding administration, and he died in 1940. Recent investigations into the circumstances of Flipper's court-martial have resulted in the upgrade to honorable discharge in 1976 and a posthumous pardon signed by President Clinton in 1999. Passages from Flipper's autobiography (published in 1878) and excerpts from contemporary military reports as well as newspaper articles contribute firsthand observations to this biography of West Point's first black graduate.

This series of biographical profiles shines a spotlight on that special place "Where the West meets the Guitar." From Gene Autry and Roy Rogers to contemporary artists like Michael Murphy, Red Steagall, Don Edwards and Riders in the Sky, many entertainers have performed music of the West, a genre separate from mainstream country music and yet an important part of the country music heritage. Once called "Country and Western," it is now described as "Country or Western." Though much has been written about "Country," very little has been written about "Western"--until now. Featured are a number of photos of the top stars in Western music, past and present. Also included is an extensive bibliography of works related to the Western music field.

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.

Coming of age story of a Southern boy who dreams of being a country music singer.

As a songwriter, James Weldon Johnson is best known for "Life Every Voice," which he wrote with his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. However, during the early 1900s he was part of one of the most popular and successful songwriting teams in America. Johnson, along with his brother, Rosamond, and Bob Cole wrote hit songs for musicals during the ragtime era, 1895-1910. Later, he became one of the most prominent African-Americans in the United States before World War II. He was a diplomat, the author of a novel (The Autobiography of a Colored Man), poet ("God's Trombones"), Civil Rights leader (the first black Executive Secretary of the NAACP), an active member of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and a distinguished Professor at Fisk University. Most of James Weldon Johnson's songs have not been heard for over a hundred years because he wrote during the era of sheet music. Now, for the first time, here is a collection of Johnson's lyrics and an extended biographical essay on him as a songwriter. Don Cusic is Professor of Music Business at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and the author of 25 books. Cusic and Mike Curb produced a double album containing 30 of James Weldon Johnson's songs, recorded by Melinda Doolittle, for Curb Records.

Sharecropper's Son is a coming of age story of a Southern boy who wants to be a country singer. Compton Gregory is an unforgettable character, both naive and wise, who will capture your heart as he discovers his life calling in country music.

In 1964 Roger Miller hit the pop charts with "Dang Me"-the same year the Beatles hit America and began the British Invasion. Roger received five Grammys for that year-and six more in 1965 when he had "King of the Road." Roger Miller was not an overnight success-he was a successful country songwriter since 1958, penning hits for Ray Price ("Invitation to the Blues), Jim Reeves ("Billy Bayou" and "Home") and Ernest Tubb ("Half a Mind"). Later, he wrote the score to the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Big River. In this biography, Don Cusic traces the personal life and career of Roger Miller, from Erick, Oklahoma to the Country Music Hall of Fame and shows why Roger Miller was an American Genius. Don Cusic is one of the premier historians of country music. He has written twenty-five books, including two novels. He is currently Professor of Music Business at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Elvis was connected to Nashville throughout his career. He recorded approximately 260 songs at RCA Studio B in Nashville and performed in several concerts in the area. During his early years, he often visited his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who lived in Nashville.

A novel of Nashville during the Civil War.

" It's the Cowboy Way tells the full story of the amazing true adventures of group members Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim, and Joey "The CowPolka King" for the first time, from their first gigs at "Herr Harry's Phranks 'N' Steins," in Nashville, to their rise to the top of the Grammy heap. Since 1977, Riders In The Sky has faithfully tended a musical tradition kindled by singing cowboy legends, such as Gene Autry and the Sons Of The Pioneers. Throughout its long career, the group has branded the genre with its own mark, crafting a well-balanced mix of both classic and original western songs -- smooth harmony, hot licks, and comedy. Over the past quarter of a century, and more than 4,500 shows, 290 national TV appearances, 203 public radio shows, nearly 700 Grand Ole Opry appearances, 2.3 million miles on the road, two Grammy Awards, three television series, and 31 albums down the trail, a group that began with a commitment to carry on an American musical tradition has itself become a national treasure.