Overview

"Musicians make music. Producers make records. In the early days of recorded music, the producer was the ""artists-and-repertoire man,"" or A&R man, for short. A powerful figure, the A&R man chose both who would record and what they would record. His decisions profoundly shaped our musical tastes. Don Law found country bluesman Robert Johnson and honky-tonk crooner Lefty Frizzell. Cowboy Jack Clement took the initiative to record Jerry Lee Lewis (while his boss, Sam Phillips, was away on business). When Ray Charles said he wanted to record a country-and-western album, Sid Feller gathered songs for his consideration. The author's extensive interviews with music makers offer the fullest account ever of the producer's role in creating country music. In its focus on recordings and record production, Producing Country tells the story of country music from its early years to the present day through hit records by Hank Williams, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard, among many others. Includes original interviews with producers Chet Atkins, Pete Anderson, Jimmy Bowen, Bobby Braddock, Harold Bradley, Tony Brown, Blake Chancey, Jack Clement, Scott Hendricks, Bob Johnston, Jerry Kennedy, Blake Mevis, Ken Nelson, Jim Ed Norman, Allen Reynolds, Jim Rooney, James Stroud, Paul Worley, and Reggie Young, among others."

Full Product Details

9780819574640

Table of Contents

Reviews

-In its approach to writing the history of country music recordings, Producing Country offers an interesting alternative to dry academic texts.---J. Farrington, Choice Magazine

You would look long and hard to find a more readable contribution to the cultural studies, or country music, canon. --Tim Holmes, Record Collector Magazine

In its approach to writing the history of country music recordings, Producing Country offers an interesting alternative to dry academic texts. --J. Farrington, Choice Magazine

In its approach to writing the history of country music recordings, Producing Country offers an interesting alternative to dry academic texts. J. Farrington, <i><b>Choice Magazine</b></i>

Jarrett has interviewed a cross section of country music producers. The interviews are relatively short, and focus on specific albums or songs. The interested reader can grasp the various styles of production and how they have evolved over the years.... Overall this is a well-written guide to the way records have been made in Nashville, from around 1945 to the present day. Portland Book Review

Author Information

MICHAEL JARRETT is a professor of English at Penn State University, York. He is the author of Drifting on a Read: Jazz as a Model for Writing and Sound Tracks: A Musical ABC, and has spent an inordinate portion of his life in record stores.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available