"The mountains of Appalachia are home to a folk music tradition that traces its roots to England, Scotland, and Ireland. Picking up the African banjo and other influences in its evolution, this tradition gave rise to gospel, bluegrass and country music. ... the Queen family of Western North Carolina have come to represent Southern Appalachian heritage and a way of life that's passing, but not yet gone"--Container.

Traces Johnny Cash's childhood, including his distant father to his early attempts at a music career. At this point in his life he marries his girlfriend Vivian. During a tour with singer/musicians Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, he encounters singer June Carter, and his love for her, and her rejection of him through the years, spurs him into drugs, drinking, and depression. June is both a sassy spitfire singer whose charm breaks hearts and eventually...

Singer Joey Martin and her songwriter husband Rory Feek were enjoying a steadily growing fan base in country music and a baby daughter when Joey was diagnosed with a rapidly spreading cancer. Rory blogged about the final months of Joey's life. In this memoir, Rory takes us for the first time into his own challenging life story and what it was like growing up in rural America with little money and even less family stability. He helps us not only to...

"Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Darren Purchase has been a lifelong fan of country music legend Decklee Cassel, who's as famous for her classic hits as she is for her partnership with songwriter Mickenlee Hooper. The same Mickenlee who mysteriously backed out of the limelight at the height of their careers, never to be heard from again. Now Decklee's televised funeral marks the unveiling of her long-awaited time capsule. But when it's revealed...

A famous country singer set to marry a glamorous Hollywood actress returns to his small town roots. When he crosses paths with his childhood sweetheart, and finally feels inspired to write songs again, he reevaluates his life, his values and his opinion of true love. As his wedding day approaches, he must decide if he has chosen the right woman to be his wife.