Fate, Flukes and Fame in Country Music # 2 - Softcover

Goodwin, Dennis

9780936885063: Fate, Flukes and Fame in Country Music # 2

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0936885068 ISBN 13: 9780936885063

Publisher: Activity Factory, 1997

A colorful creative nonfiction booklet about the quirks of fate and chance happenings that opened the doors of fame for many country music legends. The twelve sections highlight the unexpected "twists in the road" along their paths. Each section begins with an illustration and is complete within itself. Those covered in booklet # 2 are: George Jones, Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Pride, Porter Wagoner, Tammy Wynette, Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Little Jimmy Dickens, Bob Wills, Uncle Dave Macon, & Ernest Tubb.

The reader will smile knowingly as he or she hears George Jones telling his producer, Billy Sherrill, that the song "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was simply "nothing special." Then he will join a young Martin David Robertson as the wide-eyed boy listens to his grandfather's stories about his Texas Ranger days. Those stories would one day flavor colorful western ballads when little Martin eventually turned into the grown-up "Marty Robbins." Later, the reader will follow James Cecil Dickens on his winding journey to fame. Along the way, he will run across a nearly forgotten song written by an old Arkansas gospel composer. That novelty song, "Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait," would open the door to a special place in the hearts of country music fans for "Little Jimmy Dickens."

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From the Back Cover:

Through the years, country music has given us stories about everything from wildwood flowers to train wrecks and murders. The pure music of the country originally oozed from the heart and soul of dirt-poor farmers and backwoods mountain families.

During the decades ahead, however, many who sang these songs would trade their mud-caked boots and overalls for designer cowboy boots and tailored suits. As they climbed out of glittering limousines and waved their hundred dollar hats, it seemed as if country music had left the country. But the roots of the rhinestone-clad stars beneath those hats usually reached down through the same rocky tangle of hard-times and lucky breaks as their rough-hewn predecessors.

Porter Wagons, for example, began his career tucked between the lettuce and Jello boxes of his local grocery market. Bob Wills found his lucky break when his father stopped off a little too long at the "corn liquor wagons" on the way to a barn dance. Willie Nelson traded a would-be classic song for fifty bucks to get food and the gas to drive to Nashville, Tammy Wynette was only chosen after a cheaper studio deal fell through. And Hank Williams Jr. began his magical metamorphosis with a near-death plummet down a mountainside.

Their stories are filled with the same heart-felt sentiments as the songs they have sung. Open the cover and join the solid gold legends of country music as they travel down the elusive path of fate, flukes and fame.

About the Author:

Dennis Goodwin has published books, booklets, and magazine articles on early entertainment. In addition to the FATE, FLUKES and FAME series, he has published a two-part project on various forms of early entertainment, titled Brass Bands and Snake Oil Stands & Sword Swallowers and Dream Followers.

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