From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music: Serious Fun

From Where I Stand: The Black Experience In Country Music intends to document the presence and influence of black country artists from the 1920s to the present. It achieves that goal and surpasses it. Produced by The Country Music Foundation for Warner Bros. Records, From Where I Stand also compiles recordings of extraordinarily gifted artists as well as revealing the roots of not only country but popular music embraced by black and white alike-blues, folk, R&B, soul music and even rock.-

The three-CD package, including a well documented book of "liner notes," divides the tracks into The Stringband Era, The Soul Country Years and Forward With Pride, in deference to the success of country music's only consistent black hit-maker, Charley Pride. The Stringband Era includes, among other outstanding tracks, harmonica player and early Grand Ole Opry stalwart DeFord Bailey, the legendary Leadbelly, and a great track of "In the Jailhouse Now" by The Memphis Sheiks. The Soul Country Years includes well known artists -- Fats Domino, Al Green, Ivory Joe Hunter, and even Ray Charles, whose seminal album The Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music could not be licensed for this project. The final and most contemporary CD includes many of Pride's hits as well as Aaron Neville, Dobie Gray, the Pointer Sisters, Stoney Edwards and Professor Longhair, again, among many others.

As serious and important as this project is, best of all it's fun -- pure fun. to listen to the Mississippi Mud Steppers "Morning Glory Waltz" or Etta James' "Almost Persuaded" or Aaron Neville's "The Grand Tour." As disparate as these artists appear, listening track-to-track reveals much about the joy and transendence of music -- country or soul, black or white.

To order From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music call the Country Music Foundation at 615-256-1639.