RUBY RED

by William Price Fox ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 1971

The real nice -- real nice -- travelling of Ruby Red Jamison. . . she is the groovier half of ""The Honkeytonk Angels"" (""The Rose of Sharon Girls"" before Nashville) together with good-hearted big mouth Agnes. The girls play down gospel as they head toward the Oprey road, accompanied by Virgil (who finally marries Agnes away from the clutches of a hellfire preacher) and Jimmy Lee Rideout, a temporarily not-writing songwriter. In spite of some hot leads which cool among minidealers and talents on the maxi circuit, and one or two flights, it looks as if the only steady employment will be touring for the Bite Quik drive-ins. But Ruby is beginning to catch the drift and on the way learns something about her feelings for three men -- Spider, devoted hometown moonshiner who slept neat; Jimmy Lee who twitched; and that ""truck drivin' fool"" singer, Big John, who thrashed. And when Agnes drops out of the act for what promises to be a monumental pregnancy, Ruby Red and her new partner, Irene, with Jimmy Lee's help, deal a hand that lands the Angels on a 5:00 A.M. radio show and fulfillment: ""I'm Irene. Morning folks. . . . And I'm Ruby Red. . . ."" Joyful burlesque, a compassionate view of the Scene and a sassy heroine. Mr. Fox's Southern sprawls are a continuing pleasure.

Pub Date: May 28, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION