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