Welcome to the University of Illinois Press’s virtual exhibit for the 37th Annual International Country Music Conference! We hope you’ll step inside our virtual booth and browse new books, featured […]
ICMC Virtual Exhibit
Tag: country music
Q&A with Lydia R. Hamessley, Author of Unlikely Angel
Lydia R. Hamessley, author of Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton, answers questions about her inspirations, Appalachian music, songwriting, and, of course, music legend Dolly Parton. Q: Why did […]
Banjo Roots and Branches Awarded American Musical Instrument Society’s Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize
We are pleased to announce Banjo Roots and Branches edited by Robert B. Winans has won the American Musical Instrument Society’s Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize. The Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize is awarded […]
Marty Robbins, El Paso, and Mr. Teardrop
In three decades as a singer and songwriter Robbins placed a staggering 94 songs on Billboard’s country music charts. His musical style ranged from rockabilly rave-ups to pop standards and […]
Throwbacklist Thursday
The University of Illinois Press thinks country and western music hung the moon. Our list of C&W books reads like a who’s who of that musical form’s rhinestone-studded history. You want singers? […]
Throwbacklist Thursday
George Hamilton IV departed the world two years ago today. Unrelated to the actor and tanning phenomenon of the same name, IV, as he was sometimes called, ambled out of […]
Beyond “El Paso”: a story song survey
Story songs had won love from an admiring public since the days when drunken Vikings flung wandering skalds into a nearby volcano. When the wireless came along, story songs filled […]
For the love of wicked Feleena
There is a possibly apocryphal story about Loretta Lynn’s classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Supposedly, Lynn’s original version of the song included ten (or eight or twelve) verses. Hearing it, her […]
Happy birthday Alison Krauss
Born on July 23, 1971, Central Illinois native Alison Krauss has been awarded with more Grammys than any other female artist. The singer and fiddle player has put up sales […]
Happy birthday to Ginger Boatwright
Bluegrass singer Ginger Boatwright was born on September 21st in 1944. She has been involved in various bands throughout the years including the Grammy nominated Red White and Blue(grass), the […]
Happy birthday to bluegrass pioneer Rose Maddox
Rose Maddox, the lead singer of America’s “most colorful hillbilly band” the Maddox Brothers and Rose, was born on August 15, 1925. Rose went from very modest beginnings to fronting […]