The Country Music Reader by Travis D. Stimeling

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Country Music Reader by Travis D. Stimeling J. Michael Butler The Country Music Reader. By Travis D. Stimeling. ( New York and other cities: Oxford University Press, 2016. Pp. xvi, 382. Paper, $39.95, ISBN 978-0-19-931492-8; cloth, $99.00, ISBN 978-0-19-931491-1.) The Country Music Reader, assembled for "students of music history" by Travis D. Stimeling, is a wonderful collection of primary sources whose purpose is to present the subject "not simply as the result of musicians' work but also as a product of many figures, often with competing interests and goals" (p. ix). The variety of sources that Stimeling has accumulated achieves his primary objective and is the strength of this volume. The text features the mainstream magazine and newspaper articles that often dominate such anthologies, but Stimeling also pulls from trade publications, memoirs, biographies, music criticism, academic journals, archived interviews with musicians, and fan literature to provide a diverse sampling of the types of sources available to scholars who study popular music. Early "songcatcher" Cecil B. Sharp, The Talking Machine World,and Cash: The Autobiography (New York, 1997) are some examples of the variety of sources the work features. As a result, the collection satisfies Stimeling'sgoalof "providing access to the voices of people who have created country music culture over the course of the genre's nine-decade history" (p. ix). The volume would work best as an ancillary text in a college-level course on country music and related topics, or as an accompaniment to narrative histories on the genre such as Bill C. Malone's Country Music, U.S.A. (3rd ed. [with Jocelyn R. Neal]; Austin, 2010) or Jocelyn R. Neal's Country Music: A Cultural and Stylistic History (New York, 2012). Yet even more experienced scholars of country music, popular culture, and southern history will find much to appreciate about The Country Music Reader. First, Stimeling provides an introduction to each document he has included in the volume. The brief background narratives allow teachers to use different sources in their courses without the loss of context that often comes with a selective use of documents from one text. Furthermore, the detailed footnotes and number of suggested readings at the end of each source provide ample materials for those who want to learn more about a particular person, theme, or topic. Second, Stimeling's reader gives a nice overview of the major trends and key personalities that populate country music history. Hillbilly fiddlers, the Bristol sessions, barn dance programs, Bill Monroe, Sun Records, Chet Atkins, the 1960s folk revival, "outlaw country," Urban Cowboy (1980), and Garth Brooks are all profiled in key documents. Finally, scholars will find that many common themes resurface at different points in [End Page 755] the work, which present the potential for future research. The most interesting topics from a cultural historian's perspective are the constant struggle between artistic respectability and authenticity within the genre; the public fascination with the hillbilly, outlaw, and country stereotypes; and the globalization of country music. Despite the numerous strengths The Country Music Reader possesses, there are some shortcomings that potential users should recognize. There is no introduction or conclusion to the work, and only a brief preface provides a modest overview of the book's objectives. It seems odd to give each document an introduction but not the entire volume, and the work ends in a rather anticlimactic way when the final selection is followed by only an index. The absence of a comprehensive narrative, which an introduction would establish and a conclusion could reflect, makes documents that pertain to the 1990s and beyond rather hard to synthesize. What does the author hope to accomplish by highlighting the rise of country dance clubs and the MuzikMafia, of classic country radio, and of Miranda Lambert? Finally, there is only passing reference to the role that African Americans and feminism have played in country music history. Slim entries on the domestic life of Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn's 1975 song "The Pill," and Charley Pride pose more questions than they address. Still, these concerns should not deter scholars from giving The Country Music Reader strong consideration...