Texas Music - Hardcover

Rick Koster

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312181930 ISBN 13: 9780312181932

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 1998

Synopsis

The Definitive History of Texas Music From the 1920s to the Present

Texas is the land of Buddy Holly and Janis Joplin, Roy Orbison, and Ornette Coleman. It's where Stevie Ray Vaughn wailed his blues, and where Kirk Franklin praised the Lord. Texas Music covers all of these artists and more in this critically acclaimed history of music in the Lone Star State. From country and blues to rock and soul, jazz and folk to funk and rap, Texas Music has it all. This lively, informative, and fully updated history is a book to make Gene Autry, Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson, Barry White, George Jones, and Texans everywhere proud.

About this title

About the Author

Rick Koster spent fifteen years as a working rock musician before his hair turned gray and he became a writer. A native of Texas, he now lives in New London, Connecticut, with his wife, where he covers music and books for The Day. He also writes a monthly book column for the Dallas Morning News, and his pieces have appeared in the Dallas Observer, Houston Press, Offbeat, and American Way.

Reviews

Veteran music journalist Koster surveys music from the state with the most to offer. In addition to well-researched and historically savvy sections on country, rock 'n' roll, and blues, Koster tackles folk, ethnic music, a variety of black musical styles, easy listening, classical, and jazz. While some formats are inevitably relegated to, at best, a passing treatment, Koster is able to apply his amazing expertise about these forms and combine this knowledge with a smart and funny writing style. His special genius is his ability to link famous names with well-known songs where the relationship has previously been unknown. For instance, how many readers will already know that the Champs, who recorded ``Tequila'' in 1958, had Texans Jim Seals and Dash Crofts as guitarists--the same Seals and Crofts who went on become easy- listening stars in the '70s? His principal weakness is his seeming desire to cast everyone as a Texan. Jimi Hendrix, he points out, was not born, never lived, and did not die in Texas, but he did, Koster notes, once buy a guitar from bluesman Jimmy Vaughan. Robert Johnson is included because he made all his extant recordings in Texas, although he is most often associated with the Mississippi Delta players he inspired. On the other hand, Koster gives proper attention to ground-breaking Texas acts like the indescribable Butthole Surfers and Austin folkster Meredith Louise Miller. Koster also intersperses his text with boxed profiles of ``Criminally Overlooked Musicians,'' to bring attention to some truly influential artists who have gone unnoticed. A lively and affectionate study for music lovers of all stripes. (100 b&w photos, 7 maps, not seen) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

While readers know that Texas is a mighty big state that has produced plenty of great music over the years, they may well be unprepared for the sheer number of musicians who were either born or spent their formative years there. Just about every musical genre has had more than its share of Texas influence: country from Gene Autry to LeAnn Rimes, blues from Blind Lemon Jefferson to Stevie Ray Vaughn, and rock from Buddy Holly to the Butthole Surfers?not to mention folk, jazz, disco, soul, rap, and even easy listening. Journalist Koster, who claims to have an immense record collection, presents an enormous amount of material in an engaging, humorous manner, helped along by frequent sidebars highlighting a "Criminally Underrated Artist" or a "Guitarist Who Changed Modern Music." This book is indispensable to any library where there is interest in music history, and Texas librarians who fail to purchase it should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.?Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Texas is a big place that has produced a lot of music and musicians. Consequently, a wide-ranging survey such as this contains some very brief sketches and some omissions. It would otherwise probably be an unwieldy book. Still, one wonders about the Texas-ness of the likes of Sly Stone, Steve Miller, and Steven Stills, all of whom came to pop fame while associated with other regions of the country. Because Koster seemingly includes every noted musician who ever drew breath in the Lone Star State, his coverage of such too obscure Texas notables as Omar and the Howlers, Greezy Wheels, and Jerry Jeff Walker is briefer than it ideally might be. The treatments of Leadbelly, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mance Lipscomb, etc., etc., are a treat, though, even if a reader may wish for greater depth and more detail. Koster set out in this fast-paced, pleasantly and informally written survey to just chronicle the contributions of Texas and Texans to the American musical heritage. At that, he largely succeeds. Mike Tribby

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312181930
• ISBN 13: 9780312181932
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 340