cover image Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 19721981

Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 19721981

Henry Horenstein. Chronicle Books, $24.95 (144pp) ISBN 978-0-8118-3627-2

Shot in Boston and Nashville during the 1970s, the photographs in this collection present a moving tribute to the pre urban cowboy world of country music. Horenstein's black-and-white pictures are unpretentious and direct, a style that suits his subject matter. Some of his images show the happy cutting up of fans in ordinary honky tonks and in the legendary Nashville Tootsies Orchid Lounge. Other photographs give well-composed offstage portraits of stars like Emily Lou Harris, Lester Flatt, Anita Carter, Dolly Parton and Hank Williams, Jr. But grainy or sharp, all these images attest to Horenstein's sincere affection for the makers of bluegrass and country music and their fans. 100 duotone photographs.