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In a collection of thirty-four interviews, Kathleen Hudson pursues the stories behind the songs of Texas singers like Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Lyle Lovett.
Willie Nelson, Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, Tish Hinojosa, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lyle Lovett...the list of popular songwriters from Texas just goes on and on. In this collection of thirty-four interviews with these and other songwriters, Kathleen Hudson pursues the stories behind the songs, letting the singers' own words describe where their songs come from and how the diverse, eclectic cultures, landscapes, and musical traditions of Texas inspire the creative process. Conducted in dance halls, dressing rooms, parking lots, clubs-wherever the musicians could take time to tell their stories-the interviews are refreshingly spontaneous and vivid. Hudson draws out the songwriters on such topics as the sources of their songs, the influence of other musicians on their work, the progress of their careers, and the nature of Texas music. Many common threads emerge from these stories, while the uniqueness of each songwriter becomes equally apparent. To round out the collection, Hudson interviews Larry McMurtry and Darrell Royal for their perspectives as longtime friends and fans of Texas musicians. She also includes a brief biography and discography of each songwriter.
The richly diverse ethnic heritage of the Lone Star State has brought to the Southwest a remarkable array of rhythms, instruments, and musical styles that have blended here in unique ways and, in turn, have helped shape the music of the nation and the world. Historian Gary Hartman writes knowingly and lovingly of the Lone Star State’s musical traditions. In the first thorough survey of the vast and complex cultural mosaic that has produced what we know today as “Texas music,” he paints a broad, panoramic view, offers analysis of the origins of and influences on specific genres, profiles key musicians, and provides guidance to additional sources for further information. A musician himself, Hartman draws on both academic and non-academic sources to give a more complete understanding of the state’s remarkable musical history and ethnic community studies with his first-hand knowledge of how important music is as a cultural medium through which human beings communicate information, ideas, emotions, values, and beliefs, and bond together as friends, families, and communities. The History of Texas Music incorporates a selection of well-chosen photographs of both prominent and less-well-known artists and describes not only the ethnic origins of much of Texas music but also the cross-pollination among various genres. Today, the music of Texas—which includes Native American music, gospel, blues, ragtime, swing, jazz, rhythm and blues, conjunto, Tejano, Cajun, zydeco, western swing, honky tonk, polkas, schottsches, rock & roll, rap, hip hop and more—reflects the unique cultural dynamics of the Southwest.
Do you want to become the next star country music singer-songwriter but don’t know where to start? Congratulations, you’ve come to the right place! This HowExpert guide contains everything you need to know. Written by country music singer-songwriter Caroline Watkins, this guide goes into detail on every topic you need to understand in order to make it big in the country music industry. In this guide, you’ll find information such as: • How to write a commercial country song • How to get ideas to start a song • How to put on a great country live performance • How to find the right producer to record your songs • Who to make connections with in order to further your career • The best ways to connect with fans on social media • The best ways to build a fanbase without a record or publishing deal • How to get a record deal • How to get a publishing deal • Who to need on your professional team • The best places to book shows to build a country fanbase • How to appeal to country music fans • How to find the perfect band And so much more! You’ll also find breakdowns and explanations of the expert’s songs and how she and her cowriters wrote them, with tips on how to incorporate their techniques into your own songs. And in addition, at the end of each chapter, you’ll find an expert Q & A, where you’ll find the most common questions and answers about the country music industry. If you want to have a career in the country music industry, this book is for you! About the Expert Caroline Watkins has lived and breathed country music since the day she was born. Born and raised in Nashville, TN, she started writing songs as soon as she could read, and began performing around Nashville at the young age of 13. At 17, she was given the opportunity to play her own songwriters’ round at the legendary Bluebird Café, Nashville’s top songwriting venue, and has been a regular there ever since. The day before her high school graduation, Watkins signed a worldwide publishing deal with Warner-Chappell Music Publishing, where she is still signed as a songwriter to this day. Since then, she has opened for country stars such as Brett Eldredge, Walker Hayes, and the legendary Willie Nelson. Watkins continues to perform all over the country with her band and to write songs with Grammy-winning country songwriters on a daily basis. She loves country music and being a part of the country music family. HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.
"In detailing his recovery from the accident and his roundabout climb back onstage, Bell shines a light in those dark corners of the music business that, for the lone musician whose success is measured not by the Top 40 but by nightly victories, usually fall outside of the spotlight. Bell's prose is not unlike his lyrics: spare, beautiful, evocative, and often sneak-up-on-you funny. His chronicle of his own life and near death on the road reveals what it means to live for one's art."--BOOK JACKET.
Many books and essays have addressed the broad sweep of Texas music—its multicultural aspects, its wide array and blending of musical genres, its historical transformations, and its love/hate relationship with Nashville and other established music business centers. This book, however, focuses on an essential thread in this tapestry: the Texas singer-songwriters to whom the contributors refer as “ruthlessly poetic.” All songs require good lyrics, but for these songwriters, the poetic quality and substance of the lyrics are front and center. Obvious candidates for this category would include Townes Van Zandt, Michael Martin Murphey, Guy Clark, Steve Fromholz, Terry Allen, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Bell, and David Rodriguez. In a sense, what these songwriters were doing in small, intimate live-music venues like the Jester Lounge in Houston, the Chequered Flag in Austin, and the Rubaiyat in Dallas was similar to what Bob Dylan was doing in Greenwich Village. In the language of the times, these were “folksingers.” Unlike Dylan, however, these were folksingers writing songs about their own people and their own origins and singing in their own vernacular. This music, like most great poetry, is profoundly rooted. That rootedness, in fact, is reflected in the book’s emphasis on place and the powerful ways it shaped and continues to shape the poetry and music of Texas singer-songwriters. From the coffeehouses and folk clubs where many of the “founders” got their start to the Texas-flavored festivals and concerts that nurtured both their fame and the rise of a new generation, the indelible stamp of origins is inseparable from the work of these troubadour-poets. Please see the listing for the print edition to view the table of contents for this title.
Bruce Springsteen has been cherished by his fans for decades, from his early days playing high school gymnasiums through globally successful albums and huge stadium shows to solo performances in intimate theaters. As his long and illustrious career has evolved, the legendary devotion of his fans has remained a constant. Springsteen fans have become worthy of study in their own right, with books, memoirs, and even a movie documenting their passion and perspectives. But his fans are not monolithic, and surprisingly little attention has been paid to why so many women from across the world adore The Boss. Mary Climbs In illuminates this once overlooked but increasingly important and multi-faceted conversation about female audiences for Springsteen’s music. Drawing on unique surveys of fans themselves, the study offers insight into women’s experiences in their own voices. Authors Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff explore the depth of women fans’ connection to Springsteen and the profound ways this connection has shaped their lives. Reflections from fans enliven each page as readers journey through the camaraderie and joy of concerts, the sorrow and confusion of personal loss and suffering, the love and closeness of community, and the search for meaning and for the self. Viewed through a psychological lens, women fans’ relationship with Springsteen is revealed in all its complexity as never before. Mary Climbs In is an important interdisciplinary contribution to the growing field of Springsteen studies and a must-read for any fan.
This book is unique in offering practical advice on writing song lyrics within a critically informed framework. Part I provides the theoretical underpinning, while Part II covers the creative process, pulling together all the best songwriting advice and offering practical exercises. Fusing creative guidance with rigorous criticism, this is an essential companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of songwriting, creative writing and music. Lively and accessible, it is a one-stop shop for all aspiring songwriters.
Songs, pervasive sonic ephemeral acts that combine words and music, live in a contemporary world of commercialization as commodity. Flowing through our everyday lives as a given and oft-underacknowledged artifact to accompany our shopping, car trips, date nights, and gym days. Yet songs have a history as long as humanity and language. They hold a place, up until recently in our evolution, as an oral history library of the human species. Why then is there limited scholarship about how songs tell stories, and the ways in which those stories come together with sounds? And why is there a disconnect between songwriting as industrial practice and academic thought? A New Philosophy of Songwriting argues that all songwriting choices are storytelling choices and asks the question: how can we think about Song as one of the most memorable, potent, multimodal, and portable storytelling devices ever devised? In doing so, Andy Ward and Briony Luttrell make the case for rethinking the analysis of songs and practice of songwriting with an emphasis on listening. This is a book for songwriters, scholars, and song lovers alike. Ultimately, the authors challenge contemporary thinking on music and song itself and argue for a new theorisation of song as a multimodal storytelling sonic act.
“Other people locked themselves away and hid from their demons. Townes flung open his door and said, 'Come on in.'” So writes Harold Eggers, Townes Van Zandt's longtime road manager and producer, in My Years with Townes Van Zandt: Music, Genius, and Rage – a gripping memoir revealing the inner core of an enigmatic troubadour, whose deeply poetic music was a source of inspiration and healing for millions but was for himself a torment struggling for dominance among myriad personal demons. Townes Van Zandt often stated that his main musical mission was to “write the perfect song that would save someone's life.” However, his life was a work in progress he was constantly struggling to shape and comprehend. Eggers says of his close friend and business partner that “like the master song craftsman he was, he was never truly satisfied with the final product but always kept giving it one more shot, one extra tweak, one last effort.” A vivid, firsthand account exploring the source of the singer's prodigious talent, widespread influence, and relentless path toward self-destruction, My Years with Townes Van Zandt presents the truth of that all-consuming artistic journey told by a close friend watching it unfold.