Three Chords and the Truth: Hope, Heartbreak, and Changing Fortunes in Nashville

Leamer, Laurence

ISBN 10: 0060175052 / ISBN 13: 9780060175054

Published by HarperCollins, 1997

About this Item

First printing, very good + hardcover shows bumping to bottom corner of front cover, age toning to pages and bit of soil to page edges, in a near fine dust jacket (price at flap) that shows a light wrinkle at rear flap and just a touch of shelf wear as well. 450 pages with set of black & whites and index. Still a pleasing copy of this work that ".explores the passionate life of country music.". Seller Inventory # 32756

Bibliographic Details

Title: Three Chords and the Truth: Hope, Heartbreak...

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 1997

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good in Near Fine DJ

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

Edition: First edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

The Fan Fair, held annually in June at the Tennessee State Fair Grounds, becomes the setting for a revealing inside look at the world of American country music, providing a vivid mosaic of rising and falling stars, managers, songwriters, executives, and producers. 200,000 first printing. Tour.

From Kirkus Reviews:

An exhaustive journey into the heart and cash-glutted soul of today's country-music scene that overturns many long-held perceptions about the field--and its fans. As a symbol of the current state of country music, Leamer (The Kennedy Women, 1994, etc.) could hardly do better than the annual Nashville Fan Fair. Originated as a vehicle for fans to chat with their favorite performers and get an autograph or even a picture, the Fan Fair had, by 1996, become yet another example of marketing excess. The curious thing about this turn of events is that country music, so often derided by city slickers as tacky, has, Leamer argues, been made more so by such ``big-city'' companies as Sony Music, BMG, and Frito-Lay, which have rushed in to exploit one of the most lucrative entertainment markets. Leamer interviews fans and musicians, and offers in-depth profiles of stars such as the diva Reba McEntire, whose growing distance from her fans symbolizes country-music aficionados' worst fears; Garth Brooks, a success- obsessed superstar anxious to press the flesh with the record buyers who have made him the biggest-selling male solo artist of all time; and Shania Twain, who emerged from crippling poverty in the woods of northern Ontario and who, despite overwhelming hype, clearly does have a distinctive talent. The old ``covenant'' between country performers and their fans, which Leamer describes as requiring one to be ``as truthful to the past as to the present,'' is being swept aside and the identity of the music diluted by an industry on the prowl for young warblers who look good in jeans and a Stetson; questions about the music and its value place a distinct (and distant) second. As Joe Galante, head of a major label's Nashville office, laments, ``We're strip mining this business,'' attempting to inflate fragile talents into superstars. A disturbing, solid outing whose lessons will interest fans of all styles of pop music. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.