Description
Book SynopsisFew expressions of popular culture have been shaped as profoundly by the relationship between commercialism and authenticity as country music has. This title demonstrates that commercialism has been just as powerful a cultural narrative in the development of country music.
Trade Review“
The Selling Sound is the best book on country music that I have ever read. It is an important, valuable, and pleasurable book, likely to set the standard for years to come. Diane Pecknold brings the past alive, painting a rich picture of the cultures of consumption behind the stars and songs that comprise most historical studies of popular music.”—Aaron A. Fox, author of
Real Country: Music and Language in Working-Class Culture“A thorough and thoughtful historical account of how country music was ‘made to mean’ by fans, producers, and social critics. Diane Pecknold offers a definitive analysis of how the genre’s status and values are intimately connected to commercialism and ‘consumer democracy.’ A remarkable contribution to our understanding of how social class, cultural authority, and mass mediation shape the meanings of popular music.”—Joli Jensen, author of
The Nashville Sound: Authenticity, Commercialization, and Country Music“Any intelligent reader will enjoy
The Selling Sound. Tackling an element of country music that few other writers have addressed, Diane Pecknold redefines the relationship between the ‘financial economy’ and ‘cultural economy.’”—David Sanjek, coauthor of
Pennies from Heaven: The American Popular Music Business in the Twentieth Century“I know of no other book in the realm of country music scholarship quite like this one, and I can think of few topics more deserving or neglected. Focusing on country music since it first emerged as a commercial entity in the 1920s, Diane Pecknold argues that commercialism itself has been a means of establishing the music’s legitimacy in the world of American popular entertainment. I applaud Pecknold’s originality and creativity. All country music scholars should embrace this book and its ideas.”—Bill C. Malone, author of
Don’t Get above Your Raisin’: Country Music and the Southern Working ClassTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
Introduction: Commercialism as a Cultural Text 1
1. Commercialism and the Cultural Value of Country Music, 1920-1947 13
2. Country Music Becomes Mass Culture, 1940-1958 53
3. Country Audiences and the Politics of Mass Culture, 1947-1960 95
4. Masses to Classes: The Country Music Association and the Development of Country Format Radio, 1958-1972 133
5. Commercialism and Tradition, 1958-1970 168
6. Silent Majorities: The Country Audience as Commodity, Constituency, and Metaphor, 1961-1975 200
Conclusion: Money Music 236
Notes 245
Selective Bibliography 273
Index 287
