"The title of this book suggests it covers all the songs Rodgers (1897-1933) performed and wrote. This is not the case. Instead Neal (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) gives the reader an overview of the career and music of this remarkable 'father of country music,' paying considerable attention to musical genres he represented and influenced. The book's in-depth studies of three of Rodgers's most famous songs, 'Mule Skinner Blues,' 'In the Jailhouse Now,' and 'T for Texas,' include helpful musical analysis. The author's research is admirable and carefully documented. She shows how Rodgers, credited as composer of many songs he performed, actually made arrangements of songs he learned from various traditions, a practice not unusual for early recording artists. Neal also provides a sometimes-surprising look at the wide influence some of these songs have exerted on people who never even heard of Jimmie Rodgers. What is perhaps most significant is the author's deep love of the music she writes about, which brings her subject matter to life for readers as no mere scholarly exercise can. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. — Choice"
Universityof North Carolina, Chapel Hill - William Ferris
The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Legacy in Country Music is a classic study that ties the life and songs of Jimmie Rodgers to the history of country music in a powerful, memorable way. Through her study of "Muleskinner Blues," "In the Jailhouse Now," and "T for Texas," Jocelyn Neal shows how each generation of country singers—from the birth of country music, to rock and roll, to second-wave feminism, to rock musicians, to pop musicians, to the revival of old-time music—embraced and defined themselves through the musical legacy of Jimmie Rodgers. This book will be welcomed by all who love country music and the familiar sound of Jimmie Rodgers's blue yodel.
Vanderbilt University - Richard A. Peterson
A very special study. . . . In [Jocelyn Neal's] skilled hands, this rich history is not just about music but also about musicians, fans, publishers, the music industry and the environing society.
Universityof Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance - Walter Everett
All pop historians and analysts, indeed all fans of country music, will gain from this definitive study of Jimmie Rodgers' songs, performances, and recordings. Richly contextualized by references to artists from Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith to Gretchen Wilson and the Dixie Chicks, The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers shows what makes this music tick. By mixing biography, cultural perspective and style analysis with a few close readings, Neal—one of today's leading authorities of country music—easily convinces the reader as to why one yodeling hillbilly Mississippian active from 1927 through 1933 resides at the core of all country.
D. Arnold
The title of this book suggests it covers all the songs Rodgers (1897-1933) performed and wrote. This is not the case. Instead Neal (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) gives the reader an overview of the career and music of this remarkable 'father of country music,' paying considerable attention to musical genres he represented and influenced. The book's in-depth studies of three of Rodgers's most famous songs, 'Mule Skinner Blues,' 'In the Jailhouse Now,' and 'T for Texas,' include helpful musical analysis. The author's research is admirable and carefully documented. She shows how Rodgers, credited as composer of many songs he performed, actually made arrangements of songs he learned from various traditions, a practice not unusual for early recording artists. Neal also provides a sometimes-surprising look at the wide influence some of these songs have exerted on people who never even heard of Jimmie Rodgers. What is perhaps most significant is the author's deep love of the music she writes about, which brings her subject matter to life for readers as no mere scholarly exercise can. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. — Choice
Peter LaChapelle]]>
Neal combines thoughtful, meticulous, razor-sharp analyses of songs and performances with an encyclopedic knowledge of country music history and of the connections between songs and performers.
D. Arnold]]>
The title of this book suggests it covers all the songs Rodgers (1897-1933) performed and wrote. This is not the case. Instead Neal (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) gives the reader an overview of the career and music of this remarkable 'father of country music,' paying considerable attention to musical genres he represented and influenced. The book's in-depth studies of three of Rodgers's most famous songs, 'Mule Skinner Blues,' 'In the Jailhouse Now,' and 'T for Texas,' include helpful musical analysis. The author's research is admirable and carefully documented. She shows how Rodgers, credited as composer of many songs he performed, actually made arrangements of songs he learned from various traditions, a practice not unusual for early recording artists. Neal also provides a sometimes-surprising look at the wide influence some of these songs have exerted on people who never even heard of Jimmie Rodgers. What is perhaps most significant is the author's deep love of the music she writes about, which brings her subject matter to life for readers as no mere scholarly exercise can. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. — Choice
Peter LaChapelle
Neal combines thoughtful, meticulous, razor-sharp analyses of songs and performances with an encyclopedic knowledge of country music history and of the connections between songs and performers.
