Goldsmith's judicious selections include a fascinating combination of older, more obscure, and previously unavaliable publications with pieces that are classics in the history of writing about bluegrass: Alan Lomax in Esquire , Mayne Smith's groundbreaking dissertation, Ralph Rinzler's Sing Out piece on Bill Monroe, and Mike Seeger's Folkways liner notes. T he Bluegrass Reader also features writers as disparate as Marty Stuart, David Gates, and Hunter Thompson writing for magazines like The New Yorker , the Atlantic Monthly , and the Muleskinner News . In an age where musical trends flit by like models on a runway, bluegrass has endured changes while faithfully checking its advances against the formative years. Goldsmith follows its history through three roughly twenty-year periods: From 1939 to 1959, from 1959 to 1979, and from 1979 through the present. Goldsmith's substantial introduction describes and traces the development of the music from its origins in Anglo-American folk tradition, overlaid with African American influences, to the breakout popularity of Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
He introduces each selection offering a wealth of additional information, making The Bluegrass Reader both enjoyable and invaluable for new fans of the music as well as for its lifetime devotees.
Share This Book: