Heartaches by the Number

No, I'm not talking about Johnny Tillotson's hit; I mean the book by David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren.

Has anybody else read this? It basically takes a page from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul by listing the 500 greatest country singles (as defined by the authors) and including highly entertaining and insightful essays on each one.

What makes Heartaches so interesting, and such great fodder for debate, is that the authors aren't genre purists; their list of "country singles" includes offerings from the likes of Otis Redding, Bing Crosby, the Stones, Olivia Newton-John, Leadbelly, and the Monkees!

I can't recommend this enough to anyone who likes reading about music in a thought-provoking manner, whether you're into country or not. Just a fascinating book.

 

Guy,

I've browsed through this several times, and almost bought it, but it's on the pricey side for a softback; then again, these reference tomes usually are. I'm waiting on a good used deal, I guess.

As with Grant's "what is soul?" thread, this book raises interesting "issues" related to what defines country, and the range of artists that might fit the broadest definition.

From what I've seen, they've done an excellent job in acknowledging the rightful bearers of the country standard and explaining what makes them great, while at the same time opening our eyes to some country and country influenced classics from unexpected sources.

Thanks for the reminder to keep my eye out for this book.

doug