Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly: Country Music's Struggle for Respectability, 1939-1954
"Smile When You Call Me a Hillbillyis a very good summation of country music's history during the crucial years from 1939 to 1954. Lange does a particularly good job in exploring the tensions that accompanied the efforts made by entertainers and fans to create a musical product that would be both popular and roots-based. That struggle, of course, is still very much a part of the country music scene today."--Bill C. Malone, author ofDon't Get above Your Raisin’: Country Music and the Southern Working Class