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Pressing On
The Roni Stoneman Story
The tragicomic life story of one of America’s best-known country entertainers, told with warmth and honesty
This book recounts the fascinating life of Roni Stoneman, the youngest daughter of the pioneering country music family and a woman who, in spite of poverty and abusive husbands, eventually became "The First Lady of Banjo," a fixture on the Nashville scene, and, as Hee Haw's Ironing Board Lady, a comedienne beloved by millions of Americans nationwide.
Drawn from more than seventy-five hours of recorded interviews, Pressing On reveals that Roni is also a master storyteller. In her own words and with characteristic spunk and candor, she describes her "pooristic" ("way beyond 'poverty-stricken'") Appalachian childhood, and how she learned from her brother Scott to play the challenging and innovative three-finger banjo picking style developed by Earl Scruggs. She also warmly recounts Hee Haw-era adventures with Minnie Pearl, Roy Clark, and Buck Owens; her encounters as a musician with country greats including Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, June Carter, and Patsy Cline; as well as her personal struggles with shiftless and violent husbands, her relationships with her children, and her musical life after Hee Haw.
"[A] moving and frequently comical memoir."--The Tennessean
"Co-author Ellen Wright has skillfully assembled and corroborated Stoneman's narratives. . . . Stoneman's story is crammed with her personality, full of funny anecdotes about her family and other performers with whom she worked, all wrapped in her hillborn cussedness."--No Depression
"It is a gripping and well-told tale, and Stoneman's can-do spirit, which helped her rise above daunting personal and professional challenges, should inspire all readers."--Library Journal
"[An] engrossing narrative [that retains] all of Roni's personality, humor, and compassion. Roni conveys emotion powerfully and there were some parts of the book that were so painfully sad I had to stop reading. But I couldn't stay away long, wanting to get back to the parts where she made me laugh out loud."--Bluegrass Unlimited
"[For country music fans] it's another eye-opener. Praise goes to [Stoneman and Wright] for their excellent input on this latest volume in the University of Illinois Press series Music in American Life."--Nashville Musician
"Told in a no-holds-barred, earthy style, Pressing On is a remarkable read."--Country Music People
"Ellen Wright lets Stoneman's raw voice and warm personality come through in every paragraph of the kaleidoscope, and the result is a memorable journey through back stages and bars, recording studios, bedrooms and TV soundstages, from the Appalachian mountains to Alaska and back, from joy to grief and back."--Blue Ridge Country
“Pressing On is an Appalachian Angela’s Ashes told from a female perspective. It tells the story of Roni Stoneman’s private and public life with remarkable and appealing candor. It is a book full of unfolding revelations, told with a sense of humor, and without an ounce of self-pity. Her story is entertaining at times, heartbreaking at others, but always compelling.”--Sandy L. Ballard, editor of Appalachian Journal
“This is a unique book: the authentic story, in her own voice, of a woman who was once one of America’s most widely known entertainers. There will never be another Roni Stoneman, and there will never be another book like this one.”--Elinor Langer, author of Josephine Herbst
"We already knew Roni as a first-rate banjo player and comic. This book reveals her as a sharp, observant, thinking woman, and a captivating storyteller."--Murphy Henry, banjo player and columnist for Banjo Newsletter and Bluegrass Unlimited
To order online:
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/32eqd6pt9780252031915.html
To order by phone:
(800) 621-2736 (USA/Canada)
(773) 702-7000 (International)
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