Akron Public Library

Every song tells a story. She's a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her. She's also on the run. Find a future, lose a past. Nashville is where she's come to claim her destiny. It's also where the darkness she's fled might find her. And destroy her. Run, Rose, Run is a novel glittering with danger and desire--a story that only America's #1 beloved entertainer and its #1 bestselling author could have created.

"For the first time ever, legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton brings you behind the lyrics of 175 of her songs to reveal the personal stories and vibrant memories that have inspired sixty years of songwriting. Lushly illustrated and told in Dolly's inimitable voice, this rich collection offers an intimate, exclusive look at the colorful life, prolific career, and rags-to-rhinestones journey of one of the most revered entertainers of our time"--...

When his family becomes a successful country music group and makes him a featured singer, eleven-year-old James has to deal with big changes in all aspects of his life, even his name.

"French bulldog Billy the Kid was born with an ear for music. And not just any music. He loves barking to the beat of country music! So Billy sets out to Nashville to sing his heart out. But when he meets some big bullies at the Battle of the Bow-wows, Billy worries he's barking up the wrong tree. He'll need his favorite songs ('Jowlene' and 'I Will Pawlways Love You, ' of course), a group of scrappy new friends, and his favorite country music star...

A lively girl from a fiddle playing family marries a preacher's boy named Moses. Tragedy stalks them for generations to come. By the time they gather at the Opryland Hotel to cut an album, they have come full circle to the traditional tunes.

A history of country music which discusses its roots, influences, and various types, including bluegrass, honky tonk, cowboy music, western swing, and rockabilly.

Wheeler is an aspiring musician from Kaufman, Texas who travels to Nashville with the lifelong dream of trying his hand at country music. The line between reality and fiction blurs as Wheeler chases his dream in this touching tribute to old school country legends.

For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved music in America and around the world. In that time, he has become a living legend by combining everything from R&B to country and gospel to folk in his unique voice to create a sound that's both wholly original and instantly recognizable. Now, in his first-ever memoir, Kenny details his lifelong journey to becoming one of American music's elder statesmen--a...

For the first time ever, and to help celebrate his 90th birthday in 2023, American icon Willie Nelson provides the stories behind the lyrics of 160 of his favorite songs, along with a dynamic assortment of never-before-seen photos and ephemera. From his earliest work in the 1950s to today, Willie looks back at the songs that have defined his career, from his days of earning $50 each to his biggest hits, from his less well-known songs (but incredibly...

Cline Alden's grandmother says that music is in the family's blood, but Cline's mother is dead-set against her daughter's dreams of becoming a country music singer; Cline is determined to find the money to attend a Young Singer-Songwriter Workshop in Lexington (not too far from her Paris, Kentucky home), so now she has a lot on her mind--she is hiding things from her mother, she is losing her beloved grandmother to Alzheimer's, and she has begun to...