Country Music

A History

By: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns

Narrated by: Brian Corrigan, Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns

The rich and colorful story of America's most popular music and the singers and songwriters who captivated, entertained, and consoled listeners throughout the twentieth century--based on the upcoming eight-part film series to air on PBS in September 2019

This deeply researched and hugely entertaining history begins where country music itself emerged: the American South, where people sang to themselves and to their families at home and in church, and where they danced to fiddle tunes on Saturday nights. With the birth of radio in the 1920s, the songs moved from small towns, mountain hollers, and the wide-open West to become the music of an entire nation--a diverse range of sounds and styles from honky tonk to gospel to bluegrass to rockabilly, leading up through the decades to the music's massive commercial success today.

But above all, Country Music is the story of the musicians. Here is Hank Williams's tragic honky tonk life, Dolly Parton rising to fame from a dirt-poor childhood, and Loretta Lynn turning her experiences into songs that spoke to women everywhere. Here too are interviews with the genre's biggest stars, including the likes of Merle Haggard to Garth Brooks to Rosanne Cash. Rife with endlessly fascinating anecdotes, the stories in this sweeping yet intimate history will captivate longtime country fans and introduce new listeners to an extraordinary body of music that lies at the very center of the American experience.

Critic reviews

"It gives some of the deeper background on artists and on the places and songs that the film can’t fully provide. Duncan’s lavishly illustrated book — in many ways the photos alone are worth the price of the book and tell a compelling story themselves — well fulfills its purpose as a companion to the PBS series, encouraging us to swim in the many streams that flow into the big river of country music."
—No Depression

"An elegant encapsulation of the material in the documentary, detailing country’s evolution and emergence as a musical form with broader reach and inclusion than many might think."
—Nashville Scene

"Ken Burns' recent PBS opus charted the history of the music that put Nashville on the map. He and his co-producer Dayton Duncan have put equal care into this companion book."
—Newsday

"Master documentarian Burns and his stellar, longtime writer collaborator Duncan have produced another large, handsome, avidly researched volume bursting with vivid anecdotes and rare archival photographs... This dynamic and monumental history captures the spirit, resonance, variety, and power of country music as a balm for hard times, catalyst for good times, and vibrant expression of life’s obdurate complexities. While the Country Music documentary series offers sound and motion, the book offers a still, at-your-own-pace immersion that enriches the video experience and stands steady on its own."
—Booklist, starred review

"This voluminous and hugely entertaining introduction to country music coincides with the release of the eponymous PBS series, by producer and writer Duncan (Out West) and producer and filmmaker Burns (The Civil War)... The narrative—supported by concert photos and images of album jackets and various memorabilia—moves at a quick clip as the authors highlight the lives and music of such influential musicians as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Hank Williams... Duncan’s and Burns’s lavishly illustrated and cinematic narrative will stand as the definitive history of the genre."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A lucid, jam-packed, richly illustrated companion to the Ken Burns documentary series... Country music is America's music—which is to say, music from every culture and ethnicity. An essential guide."
—Kirkus, starred review

Great Historical Documentary

Perfect Burns documentary that chronicles country music and its reflection on our shared history. Most American music is based on the influence of many peoples...country music is no different. This documentary show how country music reflected/s a way of life. Highly recommended. Watch the tv show as well. Like others, I wish they would have included more of the songs that shaped history.

Fantastic. Simply fantastic.

Highly recommended to me and in turn, I highly recommend it to you. Blissful history, thoughtful and compelling NARRATION.

Very well done.

The material was great. Just a very well written history of country music. It would have been amazing to actually hear the music referenced, like I imagine they had for the documentary, but this was still an outstanding audiobook. And I thought the narration was very well done. Great pacing. I’d actually look for other books the main narrator has done to see if I’m interested in the story.

Immersed in country music!

I was highly anticipating the PBS documentary. So much so that I pre-ordered the hardcover and audio versions of the book. None of them were disappointing. I'd watch an episode with the hardcover so I could follow along with pictures, then listen to the part of the book covering that episode the next day. Much easier to absorb the details that way.

As to the content of all of them, you get the most from the books. Does that mean absolutely everyone in country is covered? No, there just wouldn't be time. My husband was disappointed that it ends in 1996, but again, there are time constraints.

Another upside to this being a Ken Burns product is you get the facts, not tabloid fodder. (Maybe someone else would approach it the same way, but I'm a big fan of KB's Civil War, Roosevelt and Vietnam documentaries.)

Narration and production are all professional and polished. Well worth repeat listens!

A great History

A great history of Country Music. I finally listened to this a year after watching the PBS documentary, and the book is no less well written and inviting. While the audiobook has some lengthy chapters (one of which is almost 3 hours long), overall, it is a great listen that takes us through the simultaneously short and long history of Country Music.