Southwest Shuffle
Kienzle is an encyclopedic authority on U.S. country and western music. His enthusiasms are intense and persuasive -- if you like anything at all about the genre, which is far from universal fondness. Here, in a scholarly but thoroughly readable volume, Kienzle explores the Southwest element of the genre, quite distinct -- especially before the 1950s -- from the more traditional Southeastern and Midwestern species. Even the casual fan can hear from memory the voices of Tennessee Ernie Ford, Hank Thompson and Willie Nelson, who figure strongly here. But there are a dozen other main players, and legions of lesser ones. A fine piece of cultural journalism about a powerful engine of music and poetry.–Michael Pakenham,The Baltimore SunKienzle, with the gift of a storyteller combined with the details of a professor's research, shows off our state's music roots in his book Southwest Shuffle, a must for anyone interested in the annals of country and Western music, a link to rock 'n roll, swing and rhythm and blues styles that owe a lot to country boogie.–Daily OklahomanKienzie has put together an absorbing and eminently readable account of an important period of music history that's often overlooked, filled as it is with engaging stories and personalities. Any self-respecting fan of the genre should hunt this book down.–The Austin Chronicle, June 2003