The essence of country music for many aficionados is harmony singing, and country harmony, for most of these, is synonymous with the blended voices of Ira and Charles Louvin.

This book is the first full study of the Louvin Brothers' remarkable career and of their rich, complex music. Based on extensive...

The Johnson Family Singers, a gospel group from North Carolina, rose to national acclaim during the 1940s and 1950s. This memoir was written by one of the three sons who sang with them. It focuses not only upon family singers that became famous on popular radio but also upon American gospel music. Although neglected by scholars and historians, it is loved by aficionados and is cherished by many devoted Christians everywhere.

Here, in a frank, objective narrative Kenneth M. Johnson looks back on his singing days and details both the successes and struggles the Johnsons experienced during...

"Listening to the Beat of the Bomb" UPK author Charles Wolfe discusses his work and his new book Country Music Goes to War in the NEW YORK TIMES. While Toby Keith suggests that Americans should unite in support of the president, the Dixie Chicks assert their right to criticize the current administration and its military pursuits. Country songs about war are nearly as old as the genre itself, and the first gold record in country music went to the 1942 war song "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" by Elton Britt. The essays in Country Music Goes to War demonstrate that country...