Books by Tony Russell

The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings

by Tony Russell, Chris Smith

A one-of-a-kind new guide to recorded blues

This informative, insightful, and easy-to-use A-Z guide surveys the recorded work of more than a thousand blues artists. From towering figures of the past like Charley Patton, Bessie Smith, and Robert Johnson to stars of the modern era such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, this valuable resource provides crisp, expert, and witty reviews of almost six thousand recordings and is required reading for blues aficionados as well as anyone just starting a collection.

Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost

by Tony Russell

Graced by more than 200 illustrations, many of them seldom seen and some never before published, this sparkling volume offers vivid portraits of the men and women who created country music, the artists whose lives and songs formed the rich tradition from which so many others have drawn inspiration. Included here are not only such major figures as Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family, Fiddlin' John Carson, Charlie Poole, and Gene Autry, who put country music on America's cultural map, but many fascinating lesser-known figures as well, such as Carson Robison, Otto Gray, Chris Bouchillon, Emry Arthur and dozens more, many of whose stories are told here for the first time. To map some of the winding, untraveled roads that connect today's music to its ancestors, Tony Russell draws upon new research and rare source material, such as contemporary newspaper reports and magazine articles, internet genealogy sites, and his own interviews with the musicians or their families. The result is a lively mix of colorful tales and anecdotes, priceless contemporary accounts of performances, illuminating social and historical context, and well-grounded critical judgment. The illustrations include artist photographs, record labels, song sheets, newspaper clippings, cartoons, and magazine covers, recreating the look and feel of the entire culture of country music. Each essay includes as well a playlist of recommended and currently available recordings for each artist. Finally, the paperback edition now features an extensive index.

Yonder Come the Blues: The Evolution of a Genre

by Tony Russell, Paul Oliver, Robert M. W. Dixon, John Godrich, Howard Rye

This book combines three influential and much-quoted books Savannah Syncopators; Blacks, Whites and Blues and Recording the Blues, updated with additional new essays, which collectively confront the problem of how, when and from where the blues emerged and developed. It emphasizes the significance of the African heritage, the mutuality of much white and black music and the role of recording in consolidating the blues. Redressing some of the misconceptions that persist in writing on African-American music, it will be essential reading for all enthusiasts of blues, jazz and country music.

Vintage Country: The Essential Artists and Songs, from Old-Time to Honky-Tonk, 1920–1970

by Tony Russell

Discover the roots of country music with Vintage Country—an illustrated journey through 100+ pioneering artists, styles, and essential recordings.

Vintage Country is the first illustrated book to explore the rural and urban roots of country music, tracing its evolution from early recordings and radio days to its 1940s–1950s rise, before Nashville’s dominance.

Written by renowned historian Tony Russell, it profiles over 100 key artists and bands, including Jimmie Rodgers, Doc Boggs, Taylor’s Kentucky Boys, Red Foley, DeZurik Sisters, Carl T. Sprague, Hackberry Ramblers, Hank Williams, Molly O’Day, Merle Travis, and the Louvin Brothers.

The book is organized into six chapters by style and era: pre-Depression “Old Time” music, Radio Years stars (1930s–WWII), cowboy & western music, Western swing, honky-tonk, and bluegrass. Each entry highlights the artist’s history, influences, and career, with an “essential recordings” list for quick reference.

Richly illustrated with posters, sheet music, and artifacts, Vintage Country brings the genre’s origins to life through evocative visuals and expert storytelling, making it a compelling resource for music lovers and historians alike.

Fiddle Tunes from Mississippi: Commercial and Informal Recordings, 1920-2018 (American Made Music Series)

by Tony Russell, Harry Bolick

In 2015 University Press of Mississippi published Mississippi Fiddle Tunes and Songs from the 1930s by Harry Bolick and Stephen T. Austin to critical acclaim and commercial success. Roughly half of Mississippi’s rich, old-time fiddle tradition was documented in that volume and Harry Bolick has spent the intervening years working on this book, its sequel.

Beginning with Tony Russell’s original mid-1970s fieldwork as a reference, and later working with Russell, Bolick located and transcribed all of the Mississippi 78 rpm string band recordings. Some of the recording artists like the Leake County Revelers, Hoyt Ming and His Pep Steppers, and Narmour & Smith had been well known in the state. Others, like the Collier Trio, were obscure. This collecting work was followed by many field trips to Mississippi searching for and locating the children and grandchildren of the musicians. Previously unheard recordings and stories, unseen photographs and discoveries of nearly unknown local fiddlers, such as Jabe Dillon, John Gatwood, Claude Kennedy, and Homer Grice, followed. The results are now available in this second, companion volume, Fiddle Tunes from Mississippi: Commercial and Informal Recordings, 1920–2018.

Two hundred and seventy musical examples supplement the biographies and photographs of the thirty-five artists documented here. Music comes from commercial recordings and small pressings of 78 rpm, 45 rpm, and LP records; collectors’ field recordings; and the musicians’ own home tape and disc recordings. Taken together, these two volumes represent a delightfully comprehensive survey of Mississippi’s fiddle tunes.

Nature Guide: Trees The World in Your Hands

by Tony Russell

A new generation of illustrated natural history handbooks, produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution.

 

The new DK Nature Guides form a comprehensive, accessible, and informative series of illustrated reference books that tackle key natural history subjects in DK's inimitable style.

From beech to buttonwood, pear to polar, walnut to weeping willow, Nature Guide: Trees is packed full of stunning images that reveal intricate details and unique characteristics of each tree, whether a spore, seed, or flowering tree.

Includes:

   • Stunning images revealing intricate details and unique features of specimens
   • Expert writing and research by specialists
   • Clear, concise, and informative text bring the subjects to life
   • Specially commissioned close-up photography and illustrations
   • Carefully structured profiles ensuring it is easy to locate key information
   • Entries organized in intuitive categories or groupings for ease of reference