50 Years Down a Country Road

by Ralph Emery, Patsi Bale Cox

In his three previous bestselling books, Ralph Emerynamed country radio's Greatest Personality of the Century by Radio and Records -regaled readers with fascinating tales of the business. Now, in 50 Years Down a Country Road, stellar figures, including Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Tom T Hall, Ronnie Milsap, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and many others, recount the good, bad, and great times of country music during the past five decades. Ralph Emery begins by delving deep into the roots of country through the reminiscences of such luminaries as Eddy Arnold, Tex Ritter, and Tennessee Ernie Ford. He enters the 1950s by examining how the life and death of Hank Williams forever changed Nashville. This decade also launched such stars as Hank Snow, Marty Robbins, Hank Thompson, Carl Smith, Jim Reeves, and Kitty Wells. Emery brings back the 1960s -when writerartists such as Willie Nelson, Don Gibson, Roger Miller, and Johnny Cash proved that Nashville was truly Music City USA. He examines the colorful and contradictory Patsy Cline, the most influential woman in country's history. He talks with Bobby Bare, who set the stage for the '70s outlaws by taking control of his recording in the '60s. In the 1970s, Kris Kristofferson came to Nashville and revolutionized songwriting. Tom T Hall's compositions became the standard to which all "three-minute movie" songs would be held. Mel Tillis, Charley Pride, and Ronnie Milsap succeeded despite incredible odds. America fell in love with George Jones and Tammy Wynette and were brokenhearted when they became yet another divorce statistic. In the 1980s, the pop-country sound rocketed stars such as Anne Murray, Kenny Rogers, and Alabama to the top of the charts. Emery discusses three Of country's biggest female superstars, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, and Reba McEntire, as well as the traditionalist revival led by George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, and Randy Travis. Finally, he looks back at the past ten years, when phenomenal artists including Garth Brooks, Trisha Year-wood, Shania Twain, and Faith Hill helped sell more records than the country music industry ever dreamed possible. 50 Years Down a Country Road is a must for all country music fans.

Genres: Music

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ralph Emery takes us through his 50 years in the county music industry, telling stories about the artist that made country great. It was fine. Some chapters were better than others. I think the first quarter of the book was too focused on Hank Williams and it bogged down a bit.

[Sharon Bezrutczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was full of facts but very dry for me.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It is a Country Music history in a way & I learned a lot from Ralph & the artists he featured.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book, Ralph Emery takes a fairly chronological approach to his 50 years in country music. He spotlights the individuals and groups that were popular during each decade. It read like a roller coaster to me. I really liked some parts, but others dragged.

[Koren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A history of country music with a personal stories from one of Nashvilles most beloved personalities. This book is 10 years old so some of the stories are a bit outdated but otherwise an interesting book.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was travel down memory lane with background music during that era. We should do that in the Philippines and inspire our atists.

[Lulaberry]

I really enjoyed this book which included stories about some of my favorite country music writers and/or singers (Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, Bobby Bare, Tom T. Hall, Carl Smith, to name a few).