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CLASSIC COUNTRY

Name: CLASSIC COUNTRY
Author: Charles K. Wolfe
ISBN: 0-415-92826-5

LEGENDS OF COUNTRY MUSIC

by Charles K. Wolfe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2001

Many of these pioneering artists died in relative obscurity, but Wolfe goes a good ways toward reviving their legacies. (47...

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Profiles of influential but largely forgotten country music artists.

Wolfe’s (Mahalia Jackson, 1990, etc.) mini-biographies are based largely on personal interviews with the musicians themselves (many of whom have long since moved on to their Great Audience Above) and with those who knew them. The anecdotes provide some interesting tidbits (Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, for example, copied the falsetto singing style of blackface performer Emmett Miller), and Wolfe is able to sketch out the larger significance of each artist’s musical accomplishments. There are 50 profiles altogether, and the collection is divided into 7 sections. The first section showcases well-known artists from the Country Music Hall of Fame (such as the Carter Family, Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell, and Kitty Wells), while less-familiar names (such as Fiddlin’ John Carson—who is largely credited with making the first country record) fill out the second. Artists famous for performing on live country radio (including Cousin Emmy, who paved the way for future female stars but whose legacy may be overlooked due to an absence of taped recordings) are featured in “From the Airwaves.” The remaining sections focus on unsung heroes (including studio or backup musicians), successful live-act touring performers, genuine singing cowboys and cowgirls, and modern artists who have a special affinity for the traditional style. From the hillbilly sound to gospel to duets to swing, from the banjo to the fiddle to the harmonica, the roots of country music are revealed in a representative (if not altogether comprehensive) manner.

Many of these pioneering artists died in relative obscurity, but Wolfe goes a good ways toward reviving their legacies. (47 b&w photos)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-415-92826-5

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Routledge

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.