Some time before Christmas this book was mentioned on this list, and I
got a copy from my son for the holiday, and it's chicken soup for
old-time music fans' souls.
Although it's more like an encyclopedia than a history, being a series
of short articles, more often than not there's a connection between one
entry and the next, and although most of them have common elements which
get repetitious read one after another (recording 78's, going out of
music in the depression, and dying, for instance), each is well
researched with interesting fact gems on each one.
My one complaint is that people like me who are inclined to read such a
book would like to find references to artists that pop up in other
articles, and no index is provided for the book, only a bibliography.
On the other hand, each entry lists some notable recordings for the
musicians, which is nice...
It is helping to flesh out for me a sense of the different areas where
old time music proliferated...
Brad Sondahl
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visit Sondahl.com for original art, music, pottery, photography,
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