Tales from Country Music

If you're a country music fan, you will LOVE this book. It'll make you laugh (Conway don't allow nothing on his bus) and cry (Bill Monroe's funeral service at the Ryman). You will get to know the performers and the business of country music. Mr. Wood's in-depth knowledge and personal connections make this book the encyclopedia of this important musical genre.He portrays the performers with all their good and bad characteristics in an unbiased manner (He may be a little biased in favor of Shania Twain.). Patty Loveless, Reba McIntire, Bill Monroe, George Strait, and others come across as genuinely nice people whom you would like to know.

I forgot to mention in my initial review...Wood's dedication alone makes you realize that his writing is geniune and from the heart. The dedication to Wood's good friend, Captain, is an emotional tribute to what dedication, honesty, and companionship are all about. These characteristics are reflected throughout the book in Wood's descriptions and stories of the characters in country music.

Gerry Wood's book is a well written and especially entertaining read on country music and primarily the folks who live and breath country music. Mr. Wood is obviously a respected country music reporter who shares with us, the readers, personal stories that allow us to understand the real personalities in country music. Whether its the Judds, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet or one the myriad of other folks from the country music industry (including Elvis), Mr. Wood clearly delivers the message that even the biggest stars are genuine people who live life with passion combined with the creative ability to create and entertain through country music.

This book is better than a backstage pass and an open bar. Wood has been hanging out with country stars since Willie Nelson had short hair and visible signs of ambition. While lesser reporters asked their questions, got their stories and went home, Wood stayed on to ride the buses, drink the whiskey and share the hangovers. Wonder of wonders, he kept notes on everything! Neither a muckraker nor an apologist, Wood views his subjects like an unobtrusive documentary maker. But he displays a wicked sense of humor, a virtue he sorely needed when he found himself trapped on Conway Twitty's grim and rule-bound bus. My favorite story, though, is the one in which he, Jimmy Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker get drunk in New Orleans and ill-advisedly hop a train to Nashville. From then on, it's Hee Haw meets Animal House. Virtually every country star who's emerged during the past 35 years finds a place in these thoroughly absorbing pages.

Gerry has done a great job here, and the book, the stories, and his repspect for the stars explains why he is one of the most respected writers/journalists/executives in the dog-eat-dog music world. The stories (which are supposedly all true!!) are funny, interesting, and never boring because of Gerry's style. I especially liked the story about Jimmy Buffett "borrowing" a pizza from the back seat of some poor guy's car after the car collided with a train.