"Described as "the Bible for country music history and scholarship" on its original publication, it is quite simply the cornerstone--and a highly readable one at that--of any shelf devoted to the country's Southern/Western rural class music and should be in any library of America's music heritage." — From reviews of the first edition: "The most accurate, complete and serious study of country music ever published." "It will stand as a basic source of reference [on] country music for many years to come—probably forever." "A splendid book...impressively documented, and...beautifully written." From reviews of the revised edition: "[Malone] has done something that most readers thought was impossible and that is to actually improve what most of us thought was a perfect book." "For almost two decades, Bill Malone's has stood as book in its field; this new edition secures that position. Scholars, music lovers, and general readers will all find it rewarding, whether for the first or second time." "A book to be read, re-read, and savored." Since its first publication in 1968, Bill C. Malone's has won universal acclaim as the definitive history of American country music. Startingwith the music's folk roots in the rural South, it traces country music from the early days of radio to the beginning of the twenty-first century. This second revised edition includes an extensive new chapter that continues the story from 1985 to 2000, along with an annotated listing of books and recordings which came out during that time.