Contains alphabetical entries on musicians and others in the music industry, covering natives of Georgia as well as those who have made a major contribution to the state's musical history. Contains career biographies of personalities including the Allman Brothers, James Brown, R.E.M., Millie Jackson

Purt Nigh Gone: The Old Mountain Ways, the latest book by New York Times best-selling author, former U. S. senator and Georgia governor Zell Miller, is about a way of life that once was, but is no more. Time has taken its toll on much of the unique Appalachian mountain culture. Only a remnant now remains.

"Purt nigh gone" (pretty near gone) is the region's disappearing dialect, swallowed up by exposure to mass media popular culture. Nearly gone as well is the area's traditional music, its food, its old-time religion, its humor, and even its moonshine.

While considering these fading...