Bill Anderson is among the most successful songwriters in country music history. He is a Country Music Hall of Famer and a Grand Ole Opry star who has been writing hit songs for 56 years. His songs, including City Lights, Give It Away, Whiskey Lullaby, Still, Po Folks, The Tips Of My Fingers and Mama Sang A Song, helped shape the course of country music. His compositions have been recorded by a diverse group of talents: Ray Price, James Brown, Kitty Wells, Lawrence Welk, Dean Martin, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Louvin Brothers, Aretha Franklin and hundreds of others have sung the words and melodies of Bill Anderson.

A writer-editor at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Peter Cooper is one of the nation's most prominent and respected music journalists. From 2000 through 2014, he wrote about music and musicians for The Tennessean - Nashville's daily newspaper - profiling Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Taylor Swift, Kris Kristofferson and many others. He is also a Grammy-nominated music producer and a senior lecturer in country music history at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music, USA.

Music of the American South Books