Country & Folk Books

Born Country: How Faith, Family, and Music Brought Me Home

Randy Owen, Allen Rucker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Terrific Book....Even better than I expected !!! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I want to say first off I have been a big fan of Alabama ever since 1979 when I first heard 'My Home's In Alabama' so I had extremely high hopes for this book and I wasn't disappointed at all...as a matter a fact it's even better than I could have imagined.

The book starts out with Randy going for his morning drive around Lookout Mountain to start his day.....His and his daughter's dogs all go on this drive through the country with Randy describing the area and how beauiful it is and how much he loves it....From that first chapter you feel like you are going along for a ride with Randy and he is talking to you telling you his story...The book is written in such an easy fun style to read...It makes it very enjoyable...I read it in less than 2 days (for me that is pretty remarkable---never read a book of almost 300 pages that fast before )...I just couldn't put it down !

You will read so many things you never knew..... Like when you hear them sing about a place in one of their songs...you find it's a REAL place that they went to and wrote it into their songs....There is a line in one of their songs called 'Vacation'...Where he talks about going swimming in the Blue Hole...Come to find out in this book....there really is such a place...but you probably wouldn't know that if you didn't live up there....Another cool one is the song 'Ole Baugh Road' on the Southern Star album.....He really did grow up on Baugh Rd !

Liking Alabama as long as I have I feel like I was right there with them all these years and knew the guys (Randy, Teddy, Jeff and Mark) pretty well....but there are so many things that you don't know since they are all private people and don't want to be all over the news (that's a good thing !)....Anyway...some of the things you will remember right along with Randy and some will be brand new ! (For example---In the video 'Tar Top'....That is his son Heath riding the bicycle)...Growing up reading everything I could back then about Alabama...I didn't know that.

He also mentions Dale Earnhardt in here a couple of times (Dale is a big hero of mine) and I didn't know they had known each other since 1981...I knew they were good friends..but had no idea it was for such a long time.


Randy talks alot about his wife (Kelly) and his 3 kids (Alison, Heath and Randa)....His parents also play a huge role in the book.....St Jude's Childrens Hospital is also metioned obviously since it's such an important part of his life....I just can't see how the book could be any better...He intertwined his personal life with his life with the group Alabama so perfectly.....you really get to learn about the whole person...not just the singer.

Honestly I would recommend this book for anyone to read it's just a terrific book, period....but for fans of Alabama this is a must read !....All my friends are wanting copies after seeing mine and hearing me talk about it....Oh yeah I almost forgot...there are some wonderful pictures in it I had never seen before too !

Editorial Review:

Randy Owen, the front man and lead vocalist for one of the biggest music groups of all time, was raised in rural Alabama, grew up working on a small sharecropper farm, and today lives on this same land that his family worked for generations. Born Country weaves together never-before-shared stories about life on the road with the legendary band Alabama, Randy's family, his experiences with temptation in the face of superstardom, and how he held on to his traditional Christian values through it all. Born Country is an inspiring story about how a poor country boy came to touch the lives of millions of fans.

If You're Happy and You Know It (Baby Board Books)

Annie Kubler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Book for Babies 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My daughter who is 10 months has loved to have all the books by Annie Kubler read to her since she was 5 months old. These books by Annie Kubler are great starter books for a child's library!

Great baby book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Was looking for the right books for the very little ones in the family, for Christmas. Saw this (and others in the series) and felt I had found just what I was looking for. Lively, colorful illustrations, activities for parents and little ones to do together. I wound up ordering even more, after my original shipment. The hardest part was which ones to choose!!!

Very Cute Book :o) 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a pretty cute book! I believe it has most of the "If you're happy.." lyrics in it - I've been trying to teach him to clap his hands. It is pretty short - only a few pages, but he seems to appreciate it.

Great for little ones! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great & very durable book for little ones in the 1 year to 2 year range & who are just learning songs.

Good baby book 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

What's most important is that parents can act out the song verses to amuse and entertain their little one. The book is very average.

Editorial Review:

The words to a familiar nursery song encourage babies and their parents to have fun together.

Willie Nelson: An Epic Life

Joe Nick Patoski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

From his first performance at age four, Willie Nelson was driven to make music and live life on his own terms. But though he is a songwriter of exceptional depth - "Crazy" was one of his early classics - Willie only found success after abandoning Nashville and moving to Austin, Texas.

Red Headed Stranger made country cool to a new generation of fans. Wanted: The Outlaws became the first country album to sell a million copies. And "On the Road Again" became the anthem for Americans on the move. A craggy-faced, pot-smoking philosopher, Willie Nelson is one of America's great iconoclasts and idols.

Now Joe Nick Patoski draws on over 100 interviews with Willie and his family, band, and friends to tell Nelson's story, from humble Depression-era roots, to his musical education in Texas honky-tonks and his flirtations with whiskey, women, and weed; from his triumph with #1 hit "Always On My Mind" to his nearly career-ending battles with debt and the IRS; and his ultimate redemption and ascension to American hero (2008)

Cash: The Autobiography

Johnny Cash

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 81 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

He was the "Man in Black," a country music legend, and the quintessential American troubadour. He was an icon of rugged individualism who had been to hell and back, telling the tale as never before. In his unforgettable autobiography, Johnny Cash tells the truth about the highs and lows, the struggles and hard-won triumphs, and the people who shaped him.

In his own words, Cash set the record straight -- and dispelled a few myths -- as he looked unsparingly at his remarkable life: from the joys of his boyhood in Dyess, Arkansas to superstardom in Nashville, Tennessee, the road of Cash's life has been anything but smooth. Cash writes of the thrill of playing with Elvis, the comfort of praying with Billy Graham; of his battles with addiction and of the devotion of his wife, June; of his gratitude for life, and of his thoughts on what the afterlife may bring. Here, too, are the friends of a lifetime, including Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Kris Kristofferson. As powerful and memorable as one of his classic songs, Cash is filled with the candor, wit, and wisdom of a man who truly "walked the line."

It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life

Denise Jackson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 117 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my mom last Christmas. She read it in two days. She loved it and it made her respect Alan Jackson all the more.

Changed my life 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I cannot recommend this book enough for every woman. It truely changed my life. I read it in half a day, and think about it weekly. It truely taught me forgiveness and for those struggling with hurt and betrayal, who need a way to faithfully overcome the hurt and to forgive, this is an excellent book!

It's All About Her? 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

First of all, I do not believe Denise and Alan Jackson were compatible from the very start of their relationship. Initially it was a physical attraction at best - more so on Alan's part. As time marched on in their marriage, they began to drift apart and then later fell apart due to Alan's infidelity.
I sensed that Denise would have liked to share more concerning Alan's unfaithfulness but showed great restraint in choosing not to cast him or his career in a bad light.
It was upsetting to me and countless others to see Denise blame herself for Alan's betrayal or trying to pull herself down to his level for a few impure thoughts she may have had back when - whenever.
Denise fought long and hard by exhausting every avenue to restore her relationship with Alan until finally surrendering it all to Christ, the Author and Finisher of Our Faith. I to have been there until I did exactly what Denise did in crying out to God to not only save my marriage but to save myself and by divine intervention, my marriage was spared. That was over 25 years ago and we are still going so very strong.

In all honesty, I do not think Denise would have fought so long and so vehemently to save her marriage if it were not for the extravagant and opulent lifestyle she had come to know and love, for herself and for their children. I appreciate Denise's honesty in making mention in her book before the fame and fortune she said, "I don't remember any woman chasing after you when you worked the second shift at the local K-Mart." I truly believe that Denise would have shown Alan to the door had it not been for all the wealth.

It is my hope that they will both stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to everlasting life and their children as well.
The scripture does say, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
Denise closed her book by quoting the passage, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him."
However, for the readers sake I would like to add the very next passage that states, "But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God."
I'll close by sharing this thought, "It is Christ Himself who empowers us to forgive those who have violated our trust, all we need do is ask and by the Holy Spirit he will enable us to forgive all."

For a truly extraordinary story of love and redemption, check out D. W. Gutridge's "Captured by a Smile." You will not be disappointed.Captured by a Smile "Imprisoned by Love": A Memoir of Young Love that Refused to Die

Editorial Review:

Written by Denise Jackson, with co-writer Ellen Vaughn, this inspirational book gives the reader an all-access look into one of country music's most famous couples: their love story, struggles, dreams, success, the near-failure of their marriage, and the rediscovery of their faith and how that has dramatically shaped their lives.

A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck

Trace Adkins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Country music superstar Trace Adkins isn’t exactly known for holding back what’s on his mind. And if the millions of albums he’s sold are any indication, when Trace talks, people listen. Now, in A Personal Stand, Trace Adkins delivers his maverick manifesto on politics, personal responsibility, fame, parenting, being true to yourself, hard work, and the way things oughta be.

In his inimitable pull-no-punches style, Trace gives us the state of the union as he sees it, from the lessons of his boyhood in small-town Louisiana to what he’s learned headlining concerts around the world. Trace has worked oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, been shot in the heart, been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, and braved perhaps the greatest challenge of all: being the father of five daughters. And shaped by these experiences, he’s sounding off.

• I’m incredibly frustrated with the state of American politics. If there were a viable third party, I’d seriously consider joining it.
• If anybody wonders who the good guys are and who the bad guys are in this world, just look at the way we teach our children as opposed to the way the fundamentalist Muslims teach their children.
• Organized labor now exists for the sake of organized labor, and not for the workers it once protected.
• I believe the easiest way to solve the illegal immigration enforcement problem is to go after the employers who hire illegal aliens.
• As a society, we’re unwilling to sacrifice our luxuries and our conveniences in order to conserve. We won’t change until we’re forced to.
• The war on terror is like herpes. People can live with it, but it’ll flare up from time to time.

Brash, ballsy, persuasive, and controversial, A Personal Stand isn’t just the story of Trace Adkins’s life; it’s the story of what life can teach all of us.

The Fiddler's Fakebook (Fiddle)

David Brody

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great source of traditional and Irish tunes 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book has a great assortment of tunes ranging from traditional tunes, Irish and English favorites, French Canadian tunes, Bluegrass, and some Western swing tunes. Arrangements are pretty true to what I have "heard" in live performances. Presented in alpabetical order. This book and the "Portland Collection" volumes will keep you playing and learning for quite some time !

Fiddler fakebook great resource 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is a wonderful resource for any fiddle or mandolin player who appreciates traditional American music. The songs are charted in standard musical notation, playable by either fiddle or mandolin, and many have chords included for accompanists. A caveat, tho' - This is not a TAB book - if you are not familiar with picking melodies on your instrument, you will not find fingering assistance in here. The only other down-side I found is that if you use it as frequently as I do, the pages eventually start to tear at the junction with the plastic binding! P.S. - if you like the mandolin piece they use on the Time Warner ads, look at Soldier's Joy!

Editorial Review:

Contains nearly 500 jigs, reels, rags, and hornpipes from all the major fiddling traditions. Special introductory materials on regional styles, bowing, and ornamentation. Includes an extensive discography.

Reba: My Story

Reba Mcentire, Tom Carter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

MCENTIRE EXAGGERATES A LOT!! 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 8 people found this review helpful.

There are two sides to every story and Tom Carter, the ghostwriter and co-author of this "Norman Rockwellish" biography attempts to help McEntire glorify her position in the annals of country music. There is a lot that leaves to be desired in this book. The truth is greatly exaggerated and I just remember the one hot summer when Reba left her fans standing in the hot sun at fan fair and they began stomping and tearing her pictures to bits!!

Reba : The Truth, and Other Fairy Tales 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

First of all, I really like Reba's writing style. Its as if you're sitting with an old friend and catching up with whats happening in their lives. That said, the positives end with that. As a fan of Reba's music, I have always been perplexed and annoyed by some of her musical decisions. Obviously I cant be upset about her personal choices in her life, because its her life, she can do what she wants to - but her attempt at sainthood in this sad autobiography was very, very disappointing.

I think Dolly Parton was probably the only country singer who actually sang about her background and childhood with some degree of truth. Here, Reba contradicts herself so often that its hard to empathize. I especially found her account of `that' tragic incident (her entire band killed in an airplane crash) very strange and distant, as if she didn't want to dwell too much on it. She also seems very defensive at various stages in the book, as if the public opinion really did matter so much to her. Then she follows it up by vehemently stating that she doesn't care what people think. I don't know, maybe she's bipolar?

I think the worst part of the book is where Reba defends her relationship with Narvel Blackstock. This was a man that the entire country music industry knew she was having an affair with for almost five years, while she was also married to another man at the same time. In an attempt to sanitize this, Reba gives us curious, vague, and often inexplicable stories of how they NEVER kissed or held hands while she was still married, and how every romantic notion she had about Blackstock came MUCH after her divorce. Really Reba? Are people that stupid, or have you deluded yourself into believing your own version of the truth?

The musical memories are fun though. I always wondered how she came about singing Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy" (one of the all time great songs) and she tells the tale so well. Also, her insecurities and neuroses are very similar to most peoples' but she does come across as very determined and hard-fisted. Perhaps that's why many people think shes a bit of a harlot, but frankly don't read this book if you want to GAIN respect for Reba. I lost much of the respect I had for her after reading this, because it seems that she's taken every major portion of her life and polished it up to an extent that she emerges looking like some sort of heroine. Seriously.

A great work of fiction. An autobiography it is not. Take all of Reba's reminisces with a Manhattan-sized pinch of salt.

Editorial Review:

Country music superstar Reba McEntire describes her Oklahoma childhood as a member of a cattle ranching family, her early days as a performer, her award-winning musical achievements, the tragic loss of her eight band members, and her marriages. Reprint.

Sara Bareilles: Little Voice (Pvg)

Sara Bareilles

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Sheet music approved by the artist -- and it shows! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

So many mainstream P/V/G (piano/vocal/guitar) sheet music books disappoint. Transcriptions are dumbed down. Keys are changed. And the most common and hideous offense is that the melody/lyric line is inserted directly into the piano accompaniment.

"Little Voice" -- the sheet music edition -- is as good as it gets when it comes to accurate, fun-to-play transcriptions. The PVG book stays true to the unique complexity and pop/rock/acoustic/jazz dimension of Sara Bareilles' music.

ARTIST APPROVED: This is the real deal! The table of content says "This book was approved by Sara Bareilles," and boy does it make a real difference. You're getting the ACTUAL original sheet music editions, what you hear Sara playing exactly on the CD! So piano-based songs like "Love Song," "Gravity" and "Between the Lines" sound true to the real tracks. You can SAMPLE a PDF page of "Love Song" on SheetMusicPlus' Web site (Since Amazon doesn't allow reviewers to publish Web URLs, you'll have to Google it.)

PIANO: What you get for most of the songs is the piano accompaniment with a vocal/melody line just above it. The skill level required is intermediate, possibly expert. I'm looking at this book from a pianist's perspective, having taken lessons for three years, played for nearly twenty. [I buy a lot of PVG books including: Vanessa Carlton's first and second CDs (awesome), Carrie Underwood (not so good), Taylor Swift (alright), Coldplay's 2nd album (amazing), and The Fray (really awesome).]

Since songs like "Vegas" and "Bottle it Up" aren't piano songs, they are a little awkward in this collection, but the transcriptions are still excellent. Uneven rhythms make the piano music a bit hard to play and learn, but with a little practice (and possibly writing out the 1+ 2+ 3e+a etc) it's not impossible.

GUITAR: Guitar chords include the diagrams and appear to be -- remember I don't play guitar -- pretty solid and complex (includes 'x's and '4fr' and '6fr' and sus/add).

Here are the songs and their keys:
Love Song: 1 flat (B)
Vegas: 5 flats (B,E,A,D,G)
Bottle it Up: C major (no flats or sharps)
One Sweet Love: 2 sharps (F and C)
Come Round Soon: 3 flats (B,E,A)
Morningside: 3 flats (B,E,A)
Between the Lines: 6 sharps (F,C,G,D,A,E)
Love on the Rocks: 3 sharps (F,C,G)
City: 1 sharp (F)
Many the Miles: 2 flats (B,E)
Fairytale: 5 flats (B,E,A,D,G)
Gravity: C major

By the way, if you like Sara Bareilles (Go UCLA Bruins!), please check out the AMAZING singer-songwriter-pianist Brooke Fraser's CD, "Albertine." I promise you won't regret it!

Editorial Review:

A Northern California girl, Sara Bareilles has garnered comparisons to Norah Jones and Fiona Apple. She released her first CD in 2004, but "Love Song," featured as an iTunes free single of the week in June of 2007 and in a commercial for the online music service Rhapsody, catapulted her to stardom. Cherry Lane proudly presents the matching folio to her major-label debut, certified gold by the RIAA. The PVG songbook features her megahit "Love Song" and 11 others, plus photos and an introduction by Sara herself. Other songs: Between the Lines * Bottle It Up * City * Come Round Soon * Fairytale * Gravity * Love on the Rocks * Many the Miles * Morningside * One Sweet Love * Vegas.

Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited (33 1/3)

Mark Polizzotti

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"Highway 61 in NYC" 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Good read. This was the type of book I expected when I bought "A Season in Hell: THe making of 'Exile on Main Street'". "Highway 61 ..." is really about the making of the album. Though the album does not compare, in my opinion with "Free Wheelin" and "The Times..", some of the songs are among my Favorite Dylan compositions". The book seems to answer the question as to which Fourth Street (Minneapolis or NYC) is referred to in "Positively ...". And I enjoyed the Al Kooper opinion that Desolation Row was the pre Guiliani 8th Avenue. Also didn't know that a Hanging of African Americans took place in Duluth, MN. Can't get too much further North than Duluth.
If you are a Dylan Fan,Read this Book.

Editorial Review:

Between the fitfully brilliant Bringing It All Back Home and the sprawling masterwork that is Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited stands as the defining moment in both Dylan’s career and the musical evolution of the mid-1960s. But beyond its place in history, Highway 61 works because of its enduring emotional appeal. Few songwriters before Dylan or since have combined so effectively the intensely personal with the spectacularly universal. In this incisive book, Mark Polizzotti shines a critical light on these remarkable songs and shows us the timeless qualities that make them – and the album as a whole – so affecting.