Seemingly, Marshall Chapman knows everyone. And if you ever see her in action you understand why...she seems like an awful lot of fun to be around. Chapman, a songwriter and music journalist, has parlayed those relationships into an enjoyable book of short interviews with songwriters and performers, THEY CAME TO NASHVILLE (Vanderbilt University Press).
With interviews of Kris Kristofferson, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, John Hiatt, Willie Nelson and others, this book is a fast read. You will find yourself devouring inside stories you won't hear anywhere else.
Chapman asks primarily the same questions to each subject, but thankfully allows the answers to veer into other areas of discussion. She and her subjects know one another and this allows an intimacy that you won't get from celebrities when they're being interviewed by the common press.
Along the way, we find out a little more detail about how Kris Kristofferson went from Army officer, to studio custodian, to a prolific songwriter. We hear about Crowell's and Harris' jobs as wait staff before they hit it big. The general feeling is that we have been invited to sit at the table and observe as a couple of friends chat.
If you love Nashville, country music or any of the artists featured, this book will be a fine addition to your reading stack. It would make a terrific Christmas gift for the music lover on your list.
It wouldn't be a proper book review if I didn't share the first line of the book:
"The night I met Billy Joe Shaver, my hair caught on fire."
That opening line isn't hyperbole, it is a true statement. Just another day in the crazy, antic world of Marshall Chapman. And, that my friends, is why you should read this book.
http://www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.org
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