Southwest Shuffle

While Nashville has long been considered the epicenter of country music, Southwest Shuffle documents the important influence of country music styles of the region stretching from Texas to California. Less conservative, more geared to dancing and dazzling instrumental prowess, it was in many ways the opposite of the Grand Ole Opry's conservative styles. Southwestern singers, bands and instrumentalists left a profound and enduring impact on country music--and Nashville to this day. It was the basis of the legendary Bakersfield Sound exemplified by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. In this book you'll read about: Spade Cooley, the fiddler whose band incorporated highly sophisticated, smooth musical ideas into Western Swing, his career cut short by his imprisonment for murdering his wife in 1961l; Hank Thompson, a Texan whose hits reflected a durable meld of barroom music and Western Swing that anticipated George Strait; Ray Price, the Hank Williams protege whose intense vocals and "shuffle" rhythms createda style still popular today, and stood firm amid the popularity of elvis; Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West, legendary California pickers whose incendiary instrumental records and accompaniment behind others earned the nickname "The Flaming Guitars" Tennessee Ernie Ford, the onetime disc jockey who went from local LA TV star to a household word in the 50s and Willie Nelson, who struggled for years in the Nashville wilderness, convinced someday his Texas-style eclecticism would prevail, as it did. The book also includes the true story of Bob Wills's 1944 face off with the Grand Ole Opry over his use of drums, and much more. These stories are based on original interviews and archival research by one of the most respected writers on this period of country history. Kienzle's vibrant writing reflects his long-time love for these musical styles. Southwest Shuffle will stand beside our Classic Country as a landmark book on American popular music. It will enthrall everyone from the new-country to alt-country fanto the hardcore traditionalist.

Rich Kienzle served as contributing editor to Country Music Magazine from 1975 to 1999. He has also served as researcher, editor, and principal writer for The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia, and as a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of Country Music