The Women of Country Music: A Reader

Professors Wolfe and Akenson (coeditors of three volumes of Country Music Annual) here compile essays exploring the influential women in country music. Wayne W. Daniel (Pickin' on a Peachtree) shows that Yanks can be country singers too with the story of upstate New Yorker Polly Jenkins and her Musical Plowboys, who, in the 1940-41 season, played 137 dates from Maine to Florida. Ellen Wright highlights Virginian Roni Stoneman,""the first lady of banjo""; and Linda Jean Daniel analyzes the popularity of country music in Canada and how women singers and musicians balance work with homelife. Of course, the editors include essays about today's popular country singers, from the tried-and-true Emmilou Harris (""Getting the Word Out,"" by Gloria Nixon-John) to relative newcomer Faith Hill (""The Voice Behind the Song,"" by Jocelyn Neal). While the book offers a solid history of women in country, the academic tone may limit its appeal to students of musicology.