The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music

Country is old. Country is new. Country is us. Now The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music explores the most durable of genres, following its development through the twentieth century and up to today. Chapters trace the history of country chronologically, from early hillbilly music (Roy Acuff & The Carter Family), "singing cowboys" (Gene Autry & Roy Rogers), bluegrass (Bill Monroe & the Stanley Brothers), honky tonk (Hank Williams & Ernest Tubb), rockabilly (Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee Lewis), and Nashville (Johnny Cash & Patsy Cline), to country rock (the Byrds & the Eagles), outlaws (Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard), mainstream country and pop crossovers (Tammy Wynette & Dolly Parton), and the neo-traditionalists (Garth Brooks & Emmylou Harris), as well as the more recent "alternative country" (Lucinda Williams & Gillian Welch), and the bluegrass revival (Alison Krauss & Bela Fleck). From the earliest days of country to the latest artists, The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music tells the story of a great American genre in words and pictures.