Honky-Tonk Heroes & Hillbilly Angels: The Pioneers of Country & Western Music (review)

Before there was Garth, Toby, and Faith-and-Tim, there was Roy, Hank, and Tammy-and-George. Kids who like their CMT and their C&W downloads may be curious about life before Country moved to the city, and Levine is happy to oblige with fourteen profiles, in rough chronological order, covering seventeen artists who defined and popularized the genre. Each single-page text entry is pretty much just-the-facts-ma'am in scope, with barebones biographical data, some mention of signature songs, and an explanation of the performer's specific style and/or contribution. Some cool factoids slip in, such as George Jones' practice of hiding his guitar in the woods before school, but most of the juicy gossip about the achy breaky lives behind the achy breaky lyrics is filtered out, even the famous bits about Loretta Lynn's string of family tragedies and Johnny Cash's addictions (not to mention wife June Carter's steamy musings behind "Ring of Fire"). Whereas the Carter Family serves as a solid entry point, there's no rationale offered for ending with Johnny Cash, and no effort is made to connect these legends with their legacies gracing the airwaves today—the tidbits that Willie Nelson composed "Crazy" and that Asleep at the Wheel ("Who?" readers may query) has taken up Bob Wills' Western Swing hardly bridge past and present. Levine supplies a bright, naïve, vintage-framed portrait of each artist, and most have symbols of their lives and music tucked into the composition, but no explanation is offered beyond what can be gleaned from the text. Despite its omissions, there's considerable visual appeal to draw in readers and sufficient hints to send readers out to track down the tunes.