A Few Honest Words

The Kentucky Roots of Popular Music

Jason Howard

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780813147451
• eBook ISBN:
  9780813140599
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

"This book's combination of interviews and history makes for an entertaining study of the heart of American roots music." — Library Journal
 
In industry circles, musicians from Kentucky are known to possess an enviable pedigree—a lineage as prized as the bloodline of any bluegrass-raised Thoroughbred. With native sons and daughters like Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Loretta Lynn, the Everly Brothers, Joan Osborne, and Merle Travis, it's no wonder that the state is most often associated with folk, country, and bluegrass music.
 
But Kentucky's contribution to American music is much broader: It's the rich and resonant cello of Ben Sollee, the velvet crooning of jazz great Helen Humes, and the famed vibraphone of Lionel Hampton. It's exemplified by hip-hop artists like the Nappy Roots and indie folk rockers like the Watson Twins. It goes beyond the hallowed mandolin of Bill Monroe and banjo of the Osborne Brothers to encompass the genres of blues, jazz, rock, gospel, and hip-hop.
A Few Honest Words explores how Kentucky's landscape, culture, and traditions have influenced notable contemporary musicians. Featuring intimate interviews with household names (Naomi Judd, Joan Osborne, and Dwight Yoakam), emerging artists, and local musicians, Jason Howard's rich and detailed profiles reveal the importance of the state and the Appalachian region to the creation and performance of music in America.
 
"Skillfully documents a new era of Kentucky roots music. His book deserves a place in the history of American song." — The Courier-Journal

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1. Naomi Judd: Ancestral Memory
• 2. Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore: Sword and Snow
• 3. Chris Knight: Trailer Poet
• 4. Carla Gover: Mountain Edge
• 5. Kevin Harris: Freedom Doxology
• 6. Joan Osborne: Brooklyn Meets Appalachia
• 7. Dwight Yoakam: A Hillbilly in Hollywood
• 8. Nappy Roots: The Pursuit of Nappyness
• 9. Matraca Berg: Headwaters
• 10. Cathy Rawlings: From the Wings
• 11. Dale Ann Bradley: These Prisoning Hills
• 12. Jim James: The Ghost of Jim James Past
• 13. Kate Larken: Far West
• 14. The Watson Twins: Southern Manners
• Acknowledgments
• Bibliography
• Index