In February 1947, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys played to an enthusiastic crowd in Dayton, Ohio. Among the over 4,000 people gathered to hear Monroe and Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs was 15-year-old Bobby Osborne. The night changed […]
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Like ursine creatures in the winter, the book publishing world slips into hibernation during these long nights. Most publishers shepherded their big books into the world well ahead of the holidays, and this was an especially busy and challenging fall, […]
Despite a few glimmers of hope in the last few weeks, 2020 nevertheless continues to lurch and shuffle like the infamous twirling black-clad figure that leads the line dance of death in The Seventh Seal. As the year staggers toward […]
While 2020 has been a challenging year for the publishing industry — as it has been for the music business — with sales swaying up and down, sometimes wildly, and with author events being canceled because of the pandemic, there […]
The challenge of writing about books — and music or film, for that matter — is sheer volume. Writing about only one book a week means that there are far more books about which I don’t write than those I […]
What happens when gospel music artists cross over into R&B or hip-hop or rock? Have they abandoned glorifying Jesus for the glories of fame and fortune? Can they sing about light, redemption, and sanctification with the same fervor in large […]
’Tis the season to love Dolly! In October, Dolly Parton released A Holly Dolly Christmas, an album of Christmas favorites that includes duets with, among others, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, Michel Bublé, and Willie Nelson. And Parton has recently been […]
Chris Hillman’s refreshingly candid new memoir, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond (BMG), opens with an eerily apocalyptic scene on the night of Hillman’s 73rd birthday on Dec. 4, 2017. Around 11 p.m., his […]
Reading Chris Hillman’s new memoir, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond (BMG), is like sitting down with on old friend to listen to his stories of his days on the road and in the studio. […]
Back in early August, Mary Chapin Carpenter released her newest album, The Dirt and the Stars. Like many of her earlier albums, this new one showcased her gift for moving along a narrative arc and creating a story that […]
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