Highways and Heartaches: How Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, and Children of the New South Saved the Soul of Country Music

In a dim clearing off a county road in Kentucky sits a sagging outdoor stage buried in moss and dead leaves. It used to be the centerpiece of carnival-like Sunday afternoons where local guitarists, fiddlers, and mandolin players hammered out old mountain ballads and legends from the dawn of country music performed their classic hits. Nashville stars Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart survived and were barely teenagers in the early 1970s when they visited this stage in the care of legends Ralph Stanley and Lester Flatt. They were the children, absorbing the wondrous music and strange dramas around them as they became innovators and living symbols of country music.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 17 August 2023
Publisher: Hachette Books

In a secluded clearing off a county road in Kentucky, nestled amidst moss and fallen leaves, lies a weathered outdoor stage, once the focal point of lively carnival-like Sunday afternoons. Here, local guitarists, fiddlers, and mandolin players would captivate audiences with their renditions of old mountain ballads and legends from the early days of country music, while renowned Nashville stars Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart took the stage, performing their iconic hits. While most of the musicians who graced this stage have since passed away, Skaggs and Stuart remain as living symbols of country music's rich heritage. Their journey began in the early 1970s, when they were just teenagers, under the guidance of legends Ralph Stanley and Lester Flatt, respectively. Together, they embarked on a tireless tour of stages throughout Appalachia and further into the American southland, absorbing the wondrous music and strange dramas that surrounded them. As they grew, Skaggs and Stuart became innovators, shaping the sound of country music with their unique blend of mountain soul and African American-influenced rhythm. Over the past fifty years, their music has evolved and influenced the wider American culture, thanks to the contributions of other artists like Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, Keith Whitley, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt, who are featured in this book. Riveting portraits of Johnny Cash, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, and other heartland-born figures also emerge, providing a deeper understanding of the cultural forces that shaped their music. Moulded by post-war southern culture's complexities, including racial conflict, fringe politics, and evangelism, Skaggs and Stuart's music reflects the rich tapestry of their upbringing. Highways and Heartaches takes readers on a journey through the rural circuit they traversed, where an acoustic sound first assembled by masters like Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Mother Maybelle Carter ruled the day. It is a testament to the enduring power of music and the profound impact it has on the lives of those who create it.

Weight: 560g
Dimension: 161 x 237 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780306826108