Our
Own Sweet Sounds
A Celebration of Popular
Music in Arkansas
Second Edition
Robert
Cochran
New
edition of this primer of Arkansas music
A
rich portrait of the community that is Arkansas manifested
in song, Our Own Sweet Sounds celebrates the diversity
of musical forms and music makers that have graced the state
since territorial times. Beginning with the earliest references
to Quapaw and Caddo music as first reported by seventeenth-century
European explorers and continuing forward to the “bizarrely
named grunge bands” who will be stars tomorrow, Robert
Cochran traces the music and voices that have enriched the
life of the Natural State.
Arkansas,
many are starting to realize, was caught in a cultural crossfire
of music. There were the nearby western swing influence
of Tulsa, the blues of Memphis, the Louisiana Hayride
of Shreveport, and the influence of Ozark music from Missouri.
All of this resulted in the Arkansas cross-culture of blues,
country, folk, and rock music, creating a broad spectrum
of musical styles and musicians that has left an indelible
impression on the Arkansas cultural scene.
This
new edition includes approximately seventy new artists,
some of whom became famous after 1996, when the first edition
was published, such as Joe Nichols, and some of whom were
left out of the original edition, such as Little Willie
John. The valuable “Featured Performers” section—lengthy
discussions of individual artists with their photographs—is
now one-third larger.
This
new edition, heavily illustrated, is a loving tribute to
the common music that has filled local airwaves, lifted
community gatherings to the level of joyous festivities,
and enlivened the spirit of music lovers everywhere.
“It
all started there in the South, a lot of great talent and
great music. It's wonderful that Bob Cochran is documenting
all that history of music in Arkansas. Unbelievable how
far back it all started. Brings back a lot of memories,
reading about those great cats who were so important in
the development of today's music. Keep Rockin’ Bob!”
—Ronnie
"The Hawk" Hawkins
This
book is supported by The Old State House Museum—whose
exhibit, “Our Own Sweet Sounds,” runs through
June 2005—and the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources
Council.
Hailed
as the state’s leading folklorist by the Arkansas
Times, Robert Cochran
is professor of English, chair of American Studies, and
director of the Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies
at the University of Arkansas. Among his many published
books are A
Photographer of Note: Arkansas Artist Geleve Grice
(Arkansas), Vance Randolph: An Ozark Life, and
Singing
in Zion (Arkansas).
March
2005
124 pages, 75 photographs, 6" x 9"
$19.95 (s) Paper
978-1-55728-793-9 | 1-55728-793-7
