Pressing On

Ellen Wright Roni Stoneman

ISBN 10: 0252074343 / ISBN 13: 9780252074349

Published by University of Illinois Press, 2007

About this Item

pp. 304.

Seller Inventory # 263433343

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Pressing On
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252074343
• ISBN 13: 9780252074349
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Roni Stoneman was the youngest daughter of the pioneering country music family and a woman who overcame poverty and abusive husbands to claim the title of "The First Lady of Banjo," a fixture on the Nashville scene, and, as Hee Haw's Ironing Board Lady, a comedienne beloved by millions.

Drawn from more than seventy-five hours of recorded interviews, Pressing On reveals Roni's gifts as a master storyteller. With characteristic spunk and candor, she describes her "pooristic" ("way beyond 'poverty-stricken'") Appalachian childhood, and how her brother Scott taught her to play the challenging and innovative three-finger banjo picking style developed by Earl Scruggs. She also warmly recounts Hee Haw-era adventures with Minnie Pearl, Roy Clark, and Buck Owens; her encounters as a musician with country greats like Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, June Carter, and Patsy Cline; as well as her personal struggles with shiftless and violent husbands, her relationships with her children, and her musical life after Hee Haw.

About the Author

Roni Stoneman was a member of the legendary Stoneman Family and a longtime cast member of Hee Haw. She remains a performing banjo player, entertainer, and comedienne. Ellen Wright is Distinguished Senior Lecturer Emeritus in the writing program at Northwestern University.