"McCusker's work sheds a welcome light on a musical movement still in living memory for some but forgotten or never known by others."
Library Journal "McCusker delves deep into the changing creations and perceptions of female country performers. . . . Highly recommended."
Choice "In her engaging and exciting book, McCusker brings the women of barn dance radio to life. Lonesome Cowgirls ... Read moreand Honky-Tonk Angels is a fascinating story of how these women constructed their public images to showcase a virtuous, all-American character and support the sale of sponsors' products. The women's lively firsthand accounts are delightful!"
Casey Henry, recording artist ​"Both entertaining and perceptive, this sweeping study skillfully connects barn dance to the central narratives of American popular culture, touching on constructions of race and class in addition to those of gender and placing barn dance in the context of new technologies, new business practices, and the expansion of consumer culture. McCusker's work requires us to reevaluate not just the role of women in the country industry, but the development of that industry as a whole, and will prove invaluable to any student of American cultural history."
Diane Pecknold, author of The Selling Sound: The Rise of the Country Music Industry Show Less