How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: A History of Music Row, Updated and Expanded

by Michael Kosser

Overview

How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A. was first published in 2006 and quickly became the go-to reference for those seeking to understand the Nashville music industry, or write about it. Now, Michael Kosser, prolific songwriter and author, returns with an updated and expanded edition, bringing the history of Music Row up to the present, since so much has changed over the last fifteen years. This new edition of How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A. details the history of the Nashville song and recording industry from the founding of its first serious commercial music publishing company in 1942 to the present.

Kosser tells the history of Music Row primarily through the voices of those who made and continue to make that history, including record executives, producers, singers, publishers, songwriters, studio musicians, studio engineers, record promoters, and others responsible for the music and the business, including the ambitious music executives who struggle to find an audience who will buy country records instead of just listening to them on the radio. The result is a book with insight far beyond the usual media stories, with plenty of emotion, humor, and historical accuracy.

Kosser traces the growth and cultural changes of Nashville and the adventurous souls who fly to it to be a part of the music. He follows the changes from its hillbilly roots through its “Nashville Sound” quasi-pop days, from the outlaws, the new traditionalists, and the mega-sellers to the recent bro country and the rise of mini-trends. This edition also bears witness to the huge influence of Music Row on pop, folk, rock, and other American music genres.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493065127
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	440
Sales rank:	273,522
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Michael Kosser came to Nashville to write songs in 1971 and enjoyed a songwriting career that included recordings by country stars like George Jones, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette, Ray Price, Kitty Wells, Barbara Mandrell, Marty Robbins, The Kendalls, Blake Shelton, and Josh Gracin. He has written twenty published books and was a senior editor at American Songwriter Magazine, where he wrote a column, “Street Smarts,” for more than twenty years. Kosser has also written extensively for Variety, the Nashville news media, and various other music publications. He and his wife, Gina, live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Acknowlegments ix

Introduction xi

Cast of Characters xv

Chapter 1 The Roots of Music Row 1

The country music in Nashville, before the Row.

Chapter 2 The Opry Puts Its Foot Down 9

The only good studio in town shuts its doors. Owen and Harold Bradley build a new one in an old house on 16th Avenue, and Music Row is born.

Chapter 3 It All Begins with a Song 19

Acuff-Rose, the cornerstone of the Nashville Music Industry.

Chapter 4 Now We Have an Industry! 27

"Heartbreak Hotel" changes pop music-and Nashville.

Chapter 5 When Country Music Almost Died 33

It was pop music that saved Music Row.

Chapter 6 Oohs and Aahs 41

The Jordanaires saw it all-and sang it all.

Chapter 7 Saving Country 51

A few determined souls, on a mission from God.

Chapter 8 Dang Me! 57

Roger Miller takes on the British Invasion.

Chapter 9 Crazy 67

Willie Nelson gets a steady gig, and Patsy Cline battles it out in the studio.

Chapter 10 Homegrown Talent and the Nashville Machine 79

Teen bands just a heartbeat away from the big time.

Chapter 11 The Everly Brothers and the Bryants 87

A husband-and-wife songwriting team launches the greatest duo in the history of pop music.

Chapter 12 A Pair of Aces 95

Ray Stevens and Charlie McCoy, two truly original talents.

Chapter 13 Rebels and Respect 107

Naked statues and Jack the cowboy.

Chapter 14 Gallico and His Boys 121

The men who led country musk into the '70s were handpicked by a garrulous Italian from Brooklyn.

Chapter 15 Strings and Power Saws 139

Billy Sherrill and Bob Johnston re-invent and battle the "Nashville Sound."

Chapter 16 Lou Bradley: Knight of the Console 153

Tales from beyond the Quonset Hut.

Chapter 17 "Wesley, It's Music!" 161

A Muscle Shoals bass player in Nashville's greatest pop studio, and the producer who kept "real" country alive and well.

Chapter 18 Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em 179

United Artists comes alive with Kenny and Crystal.

Chapter 19 Wanted: Jerry Bradley 191

The crown prince of Music Row meets the Outlaws.

Chapter 20 Nashville, Before and After Bowen 211

A California powerhouse turns Music Row upside down.

Chapter 21 "Man, There's Only Three Chords!" 225

An honest record promoter and a pop record producer help launch the "New Traditionalist" country revival.

Chapter 22 "I'm Gonna Cut This Song and I Really Can't 243

Tell You Why"

Three of the biggest music executive survivors of Music Row, and the stars they made.

Chapter 23 The Men of Garth 259

No one becomes a star on his own, not even the incomparable Garth Brooks.

Chapter 24 From the Alleyway to MCA 281

From "art writers" to hit makers.

Chapter 25 Texas and Oklahoma Song Dogs 297

Without these three plainsmen, there ain't no "Bootscootin' Boogie."

Chapter 26 The King of the Independents 311

Mike Curb came a little later, but he made a big footprint.

Chapter 27 Galante and Tomlinson; Keepin' It Real 321

Two true believers make good.

Chapter 28 Murder on the Row 335

Where is country music going? And will the new be killing the old?

Chapter 29 "If It Is Not Known for Music, It Will Not Be Known for Anything" 345

A noted chronicler of the South with a warning for Nashville.

Afterword to the Second Edition: Did It Have to Be Like This? 349

Index 383

Editorial Reviews

"An excellent history of the country-music business, told by those who know. .. . Insider Kosser uses a medley of first-person recollections to explain how a subculture of Tennessee's capital turned it into the world's country-music capital. It's all recalled, often with sly country wit. .. . It was never about the deals, they remind us: It was always about the music, hoss, the music."—Kirkus Review

"It's as if Michael was looking over our shoulder from day one on Music Row, watching us crawl, then walk, then run. Michael Kosser captures the heartbeat of the real Nashville music scene, then and now. What a book!"—Harold Bradley, co-founder of Music Row

"I love this book! For the people who weren't around in the beginning, it gives you insight into how the original deals were born that made Nashville what it is. Michael Kosser is a part of Music Row and knows what he's talking about. Wonderful!"—Brenda Lee

"At first it was New York and L.A., and in the South, among others, there was The Louisiana Hayride, The Ozark Jubilee, the WSB Barn Dance in Atlanta, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. But Nashville had the recording studios and the magic and became Music City, U.S.A. This book tells who the people were who made the magic happen. Congratulations, Mike—you've nailed it!"—Ray Stevens, recording artist/songwriter ("Everything is Beautiful," "The Streak")

"Michael Kosser's book is the most complete documentation that's yet been written on the incredible impact that Music Row has made on American pop and country music."—Mike Curb, chairman of Curb Records

From the Publisher