The Women of Country Music

June 1, 2003
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.

June 15, 2003
Three years ago, Wolfe (English and folklore, Middle Tennessee State Univ.) and Akenson (curriculum and instruction, Tennessee Technological Univ.) launched the publisher's Country Music Annual to record country music scholarship. With this truly interesting collection of scholarly papers, they have retired the eclectic annual and inaugurated a new thematic series. Steering clear of country pop stars for the most part, essays deal with the role of women in Canadian country music and in American radio and television broadcasting in the country genre; ways of teaching about women in country music; and the different perspectives of male and female songwriters, among other subjects. The emphasis is on the sociology of women in country music, and the contributors have excellent credentials in that field. This book is highly recommended for academic libraries and will make a fine contribution to both gender studies collections and collections with a focus on American vernacular music.-James E. Perone, Mount Union Coll., Alliance, OH

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