Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass (Music in American Life)
For too many years, bluegrass was considered a “man’s music.” But as this impressive history of women in bluegrass clearly indicates, women have been a big part of bluegrass since its earliest days, even when they were ignored by the media and fellow musicians. Henry herself is a banjo player and teacher as well as founder of the Women in Bluegrass newsletter. Many of the more than 70 women in Henry’s book have been sadly overlooked. What most people don’t know, she points out, is that when Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and Lester Flatt created the Blue Grass Boys in 1945, they were accompanied by Sally Ann Forrester on accordion, and there are plenty of other similar examples. Among the bluegrass women profiled here are Rose Maddox, the Stonemans, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, and the Buffalo Gals, along with Alison Krauss and the Dixie Chicks. In all, a much-needed addition to the bluegrass canon. --June Sawyers--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.