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Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be
The full and unbridled inside story of the last twenty years of country music through the lens of Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton, and Kacey Musgraves—their peers and inspirations, their paths to stardom, and their battles against a deeply embedded boys’ club, as well as their efforts to transform the genre into a more inclusive place for all (and not just white men in trucker hats), as told by award-winning Nashville journalist Marissa R. Moss.
It was only two decades ago, but, for the women of country music, 1999 seems like an entirely different universe. With Shania Twain, country’s biggest award winner and star, and The Chicks topping every chart, country music was a woman’s world: specifically, country radio and Nashville’s Music Row.
Cut to 2021, when women are only played on country radio 16% of the time, on a good day, and when only men have won Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards for a decade. To a world where artists like Kacey Musgraves sell out arenas but barely score a single second of airplay. But also to a world where these women are infinitely bigger live draws than most male counterparts, having massive pop crossover hits like Maren Morris’s “The Middle,” pushing the industry to confront its deeply embedded racial biases with Mickey Guyton’s “Black Like Me,” winning heaps of Grammy nominations, banding up in supergroups like The Highwomen and taking complete control of their own careers, on their own terms. When the rules stopped working for the women of country music, they threw them out and made their own: and changed the genre forever, and for better.
Her Country is veteran Nashville journalist Marissa R. Moss’s story of how in the past two decades, country’s women fought back against systems designed to keep them down, armed with their art and never willing to just shut up and sing: how women like Kacey, Mickey, Maren, The Chicks, Miranda Lambert, Rissi Palmer, Brandy Clark, LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Carlile, Margo Price and many more have reinvented the rules to find their place in an industry stacked against them, how they’ve ruled the century when it comes to artistic output—and about how women can and do belong in the mainstream of country music, even if their voices aren’t being heard as loudly.
It was only two decades ago, but, for the women of country music, 1999 seems like an entirely different universe. With Shania Twain, country’s biggest award winner and star, and The Chicks topping every chart, country music was a woman’s world: specifically, country radio and Nashville’s Music Row.
Cut to 2021, when women are only played on country radio 16% of the time, on a good day, and when only men have won Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards for a decade. To a world where artists like Kacey Musgraves sell out arenas but barely score a single second of airplay. But also to a world where these women are infinitely bigger live draws than most male counterparts, having massive pop crossover hits like Maren Morris’s “The Middle,” pushing the industry to confront its deeply embedded racial biases with Mickey Guyton’s “Black Like Me,” winning heaps of Grammy nominations, banding up in supergroups like The Highwomen and taking complete control of their own careers, on their own terms. When the rules stopped working for the women of country music, they threw them out and made their own: and changed the genre forever, and for better.
Her Country is veteran Nashville journalist Marissa R. Moss’s story of how in the past two decades, country’s women fought back against systems designed to keep them down, armed with their art and never willing to just shut up and sing: how women like Kacey, Mickey, Maren, The Chicks, Miranda Lambert, Rissi Palmer, Brandy Clark, LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Carlile, Margo Price and many more have reinvented the rules to find their place in an industry stacked against them, how they’ve ruled the century when it comes to artistic output—and about how women can and do belong in the mainstream of country music, even if their voices aren’t being heard as loudly.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 2022
About the author
Marissa R. Moss
1 book39 followersAn award-winning journalist, Marissa R. Moss has written about the topic of gender inequality on the country airwaves for outlets like Rolling Stone, NPR, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, and many more. Moss was the 2018 recipient of the Rolling Stone Chet Flippo Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism, and the 2019 Nashville Scene Best of Nashville Best Music Reporter. She has been a guest on The TODAY Show, Entertainment Tonight, CBS Morning Show, NPR’s Weekend Edition, WPLN, the Pop Literacy Podcast, and more.
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November 21, 2023
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a challenging review to write. Partially because I have so many thoughts about what I read, and partially because most of those thoughts are very critical. As someone who grew up listening to country music and considers Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris to be two of my favorite singers, I wanted to like this book a lot more than I ultimately did. It’s hard to write a negative review when so much of the response is overwhelmingly positive, but I still want to be honest. As the author herself points out time and again, honesty is part of what makes country music great.
But first, the positives. Her Country is at its strongest when it lets its protagonists—mainly Kacey, Maren, and Mickey Guyton—speak for themselves. Most of the women here come across as likable and interesting people when left to their own devices, and I enjoyed learning about their childhoods, career paths, and creative processes. Author Marissa Moss details the sexism and double standards prevalent within the music industry, while also reminding the audience of just how female-forward country music has been in the past. Radio play for female country artists is at a critical low, and I vividly remember a years-long period of time when the only women whose voices you’d hear were Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and occasionally Miranda Lambert. At the same time, country had periods where it was the most feminine genre in the industry, particularly during the 90s, and Moss never fails to recount the many women who found success on the country airwaves for the better part of the 20th Century. She also speaks about the role empathy plays in country music, and why it’s what makes the genre so compelling. The best parts of the book were when the curtain was pulled back on the songwriting process, and we were shown the many partnerships and inspirations behind singles both iconic and overlooked. As a New Yorker, I especially appreciated how Moss took the time to shine a light on the huge yet little-known country music fan base in my state.
There are technical issues in Her Country, especially towards the beginning. Moss spends a lot of time making lists, describing every detail of what concert goers are wearing or what a particular artist listened to growing up. There’s also a great deal of repetition, with many stories being dug up again and again (the blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks, Tomatogate, etc). A lot of the language is crafted to appeal to the Twitter crowd more so than the average reader, such as her use of the word “Latinx” (a term that polling has shown to be overwhelmingly unpopular among Hispanics). I often found myself questioning who this book’s target audience was—certainly not traditional country fans, at the very least. Then I realized that Her Country was probably intended for someone like me: a twenty-something woman from a blue state who loves many of the women profiled here. But as much as I enjoyed learning more about the stars of this book, there were other, more worrisome aspects of Her Country that got in the way of its strengths, and illuminated the cultural divide within this country more than they bridged it.
There are numerous times in this work when details are twisted or omitted to fit a particular narrative. Moss claims that Taylor Swift was eventually demonized as a public figure, which she argues is par for the course in country music, yet she fails to mention that Taylor’s short-lived downfall happened several years after she officially departed country music for pop, and concerned a feud between her, a rapper, and a reality TV star. She points out the double standards in Leann Rimes’ and Jason Aldean’s respective cheating scandals—her career was ruined, his remains untouched—but doesn’t take note of Miranda Lambert’s numerous affairs with married men, which also did little to damage her career. George W. Bush is panned for not supporting gay marriage when he was president, even though most politicians at the time were against it, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Singers like Maren and Taylor are praised for embracing their creativity by going pop, but the unspoken truth that pop music also tends to pay better is just that—unspoken.
The most egregious example is the blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks (now just “The Chicks”), who were met with outrage after they publicly criticized Bush and the Iraq War. There’s no denying that the Chicks were unfairly treated, but in all the pages Moss dedicates to the scandal, there’s no reflection about why their stance garnered so much controversy besides sexism. Moss never considers how the collective trauma of the most brutal attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor stoked the public’s response, or that the enormity of this catastrophe is was prompted such extreme reactions (despite all her remarks about how country singers are told to just “shut up and sing,” none have ever faced this magnitude of backlash when they spoke about other contested issues, which lends credence to the uniqueness of this situation). Nor does she factor in the role of xenophobia—though Moss includes one throwaway line about how “some people” were upset that the Chicks spoke against the president on foreign soil, she does not consider how strong anti-American sentiment was in Europe during the War on Terror (which was profound enough that European scholars have written entire theses about it), thus adding insult to injury. Here, in a book published twenty years after the fact, is the perfect opportunity for this kind of reconsideration. But there’s none of that; instead, it’s simplified as a character assassination by ignorant rednecks.
Which brings us to the second issue: Her County is the ultimate liberal good/conservative bad story. What makes the women of this book exceptional—and therefore worthy of mainstream attention—is their rejection of traditionalism and embrace of what country considers taboo. They’re not like those rednecks, see? They’re good liberals like us, just with a twang! I agree that inclusion and the acceptance of marginalized groups is undoubtedly a good thing, but the sentiment runs deeper than that. By claiming that artists like Kacey and Maren are the “true” artists of country music and the inevitable future of the genre, unlike those bros in trucks or crooners who sing about why they love their hometowns, Moss promotes the belief that conservatism is inherently wrong and that conservatives shouldn’t have any cultural influence or spaces of their own. Bush and Trump are both skewered, while Mickey’s chance to perform for the Obamas and Maren’s fundraising for Biden are considered, respectively, an incredible honor and a sign of integrity. Almost every male country singer mentioned is written off for one perceived flaw or another, with the exception of the very-publicly liberal Jason Isbell, who is showered with praise multiple times throughout the book. This goes without further explanation or justification because Her Country is written with the assumption that the audience already shares these beliefs. Moss even praises Kacey for “evolving” politically, unlike the simpletons who were “unable to.” Conservative singers are corporate, uninteresting, and cheap, while liberal ones are the only hope to save the genre. Country music is one of the few cultural areas where conservatives have any real influence, but even that is too much to permit.
But while Her Country explores the hurdles faced by marginalized groups in the industry and in society at large, it completely overlooks the role of wealth and class. In addition to learning about Kacey, Maren, and Miranda’s childhood talent and ambition, we also learn about their privileged upbringings—all had families that supported their dreams from the time they were old enough to sing and devoted the girls’ formative years to building their careers, booking gigs, and getting them record deals. Moss focuses on how hardworking and determined they are, but not their material advantages. Perhaps no singer emulates this better than Taylor Swift, who is portrayed as a victim when “critics” panned one of her massively successful and critically acclaimed albums (no mention of who these critics were though), and is applauded for having the self-possession as a teenager to turn down a record deal where she wouldn’t be given full control of her music. What Moss doesn’t mention is that Taylor grew up in a mansion and that her father was a shareholder at the record label she eventually signed with.
And herein lies the issue at the heart of Moss’ argument that singers shouldn’t be told to just “shut up and sing.” Country singers make millions of dollars pretending to be poor. They write songs about life on the farm and struggling to make ends meet from penthouses in Nashville and palatial estates in Georgia. People who actually face these predicaments in real life let them do it—and get rich off of their pain—in exchange for entertainment. What they didn’t sign up for is for these same people to practice what journalist Michael Lind calls “celebrity imperialism”: a moralizing from the rich and famous about how the working class should be as ethically pure as them. Maren Morris can sing about defunding the police (and she has), but she does so from her gated community guarded by private security. She’s not one of the tens of millions of people who would suffer from these policies. (If you want to know what crime is like for regular people, well, take a look at New York). Kacey Musgraves can tweet about how racist and awful her fellow Americans are (and she has), but she’s doing it from an iPhone that some of those same people paid for. No, country singers don’t have to shut up and sing. They don’t owe us anything beyond what they sell to consumers. But you can’t begrudge people for not wanting to be preached to by the same people who capitalize on their suffering.*
I love both Maren and Kacey’s work and hope they continue to put out great music. I hope Mickey’s career takes off. Maybe Her Country will bring in some new fans who are currently unfamiliar with these talented women, but I doubt it will do much to win over fans of mainstream country music. Her Country simply misses the mark too many times.
*In fairness to Maren, she recently put out an album/song called “Humble Quest” which seems to indicate that she’s aware of this dynamic.
This is a challenging review to write. Partially because I have so many thoughts about what I read, and partially because most of those thoughts are very critical. As someone who grew up listening to country music and considers Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris to be two of my favorite singers, I wanted to like this book a lot more than I ultimately did. It’s hard to write a negative review when so much of the response is overwhelmingly positive, but I still want to be honest. As the author herself points out time and again, honesty is part of what makes country music great.
But first, the positives. Her Country is at its strongest when it lets its protagonists—mainly Kacey, Maren, and Mickey Guyton—speak for themselves. Most of the women here come across as likable and interesting people when left to their own devices, and I enjoyed learning about their childhoods, career paths, and creative processes. Author Marissa Moss details the sexism and double standards prevalent within the music industry, while also reminding the audience of just how female-forward country music has been in the past. Radio play for female country artists is at a critical low, and I vividly remember a years-long period of time when the only women whose voices you’d hear were Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and occasionally Miranda Lambert. At the same time, country had periods where it was the most feminine genre in the industry, particularly during the 90s, and Moss never fails to recount the many women who found success on the country airwaves for the better part of the 20th Century. She also speaks about the role empathy plays in country music, and why it’s what makes the genre so compelling. The best parts of the book were when the curtain was pulled back on the songwriting process, and we were shown the many partnerships and inspirations behind singles both iconic and overlooked. As a New Yorker, I especially appreciated how Moss took the time to shine a light on the huge yet little-known country music fan base in my state.
There are technical issues in Her Country, especially towards the beginning. Moss spends a lot of time making lists, describing every detail of what concert goers are wearing or what a particular artist listened to growing up. There’s also a great deal of repetition, with many stories being dug up again and again (the blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks, Tomatogate, etc). A lot of the language is crafted to appeal to the Twitter crowd more so than the average reader, such as her use of the word “Latinx” (a term that polling has shown to be overwhelmingly unpopular among Hispanics). I often found myself questioning who this book’s target audience was—certainly not traditional country fans, at the very least. Then I realized that Her Country was probably intended for someone like me: a twenty-something woman from a blue state who loves many of the women profiled here. But as much as I enjoyed learning more about the stars of this book, there were other, more worrisome aspects of Her Country that got in the way of its strengths, and illuminated the cultural divide within this country more than they bridged it.
There are numerous times in this work when details are twisted or omitted to fit a particular narrative. Moss claims that Taylor Swift was eventually demonized as a public figure, which she argues is par for the course in country music, yet she fails to mention that Taylor’s short-lived downfall happened several years after she officially departed country music for pop, and concerned a feud between her, a rapper, and a reality TV star. She points out the double standards in Leann Rimes’ and Jason Aldean’s respective cheating scandals—her career was ruined, his remains untouched—but doesn’t take note of Miranda Lambert’s numerous affairs with married men, which also did little to damage her career. George W. Bush is panned for not supporting gay marriage when he was president, even though most politicians at the time were against it, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Singers like Maren and Taylor are praised for embracing their creativity by going pop, but the unspoken truth that pop music also tends to pay better is just that—unspoken.
The most egregious example is the blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks (now just “The Chicks”), who were met with outrage after they publicly criticized Bush and the Iraq War. There’s no denying that the Chicks were unfairly treated, but in all the pages Moss dedicates to the scandal, there’s no reflection about why their stance garnered so much controversy besides sexism. Moss never considers how the collective trauma of the most brutal attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor stoked the public’s response, or that the enormity of this catastrophe is was prompted such extreme reactions (despite all her remarks about how country singers are told to just “shut up and sing,” none have ever faced this magnitude of backlash when they spoke about other contested issues, which lends credence to the uniqueness of this situation). Nor does she factor in the role of xenophobia—though Moss includes one throwaway line about how “some people” were upset that the Chicks spoke against the president on foreign soil, she does not consider how strong anti-American sentiment was in Europe during the War on Terror (which was profound enough that European scholars have written entire theses about it), thus adding insult to injury. Here, in a book published twenty years after the fact, is the perfect opportunity for this kind of reconsideration. But there’s none of that; instead, it’s simplified as a character assassination by ignorant rednecks.
Which brings us to the second issue: Her County is the ultimate liberal good/conservative bad story. What makes the women of this book exceptional—and therefore worthy of mainstream attention—is their rejection of traditionalism and embrace of what country considers taboo. They’re not like those rednecks, see? They’re good liberals like us, just with a twang! I agree that inclusion and the acceptance of marginalized groups is undoubtedly a good thing, but the sentiment runs deeper than that. By claiming that artists like Kacey and Maren are the “true” artists of country music and the inevitable future of the genre, unlike those bros in trucks or crooners who sing about why they love their hometowns, Moss promotes the belief that conservatism is inherently wrong and that conservatives shouldn’t have any cultural influence or spaces of their own. Bush and Trump are both skewered, while Mickey’s chance to perform for the Obamas and Maren’s fundraising for Biden are considered, respectively, an incredible honor and a sign of integrity. Almost every male country singer mentioned is written off for one perceived flaw or another, with the exception of the very-publicly liberal Jason Isbell, who is showered with praise multiple times throughout the book. This goes without further explanation or justification because Her Country is written with the assumption that the audience already shares these beliefs. Moss even praises Kacey for “evolving” politically, unlike the simpletons who were “unable to.” Conservative singers are corporate, uninteresting, and cheap, while liberal ones are the only hope to save the genre. Country music is one of the few cultural areas where conservatives have any real influence, but even that is too much to permit.
But while Her Country explores the hurdles faced by marginalized groups in the industry and in society at large, it completely overlooks the role of wealth and class. In addition to learning about Kacey, Maren, and Miranda’s childhood talent and ambition, we also learn about their privileged upbringings—all had families that supported their dreams from the time they were old enough to sing and devoted the girls’ formative years to building their careers, booking gigs, and getting them record deals. Moss focuses on how hardworking and determined they are, but not their material advantages. Perhaps no singer emulates this better than Taylor Swift, who is portrayed as a victim when “critics” panned one of her massively successful and critically acclaimed albums (no mention of who these critics were though), and is applauded for having the self-possession as a teenager to turn down a record deal where she wouldn’t be given full control of her music. What Moss doesn’t mention is that Taylor grew up in a mansion and that her father was a shareholder at the record label she eventually signed with.
And herein lies the issue at the heart of Moss’ argument that singers shouldn’t be told to just “shut up and sing.” Country singers make millions of dollars pretending to be poor. They write songs about life on the farm and struggling to make ends meet from penthouses in Nashville and palatial estates in Georgia. People who actually face these predicaments in real life let them do it—and get rich off of their pain—in exchange for entertainment. What they didn’t sign up for is for these same people to practice what journalist Michael Lind calls “celebrity imperialism”: a moralizing from the rich and famous about how the working class should be as ethically pure as them. Maren Morris can sing about defunding the police (and she has), but she does so from her gated community guarded by private security. She’s not one of the tens of millions of people who would suffer from these policies. (If you want to know what crime is like for regular people, well, take a look at New York). Kacey Musgraves can tweet about how racist and awful her fellow Americans are (and she has), but she’s doing it from an iPhone that some of those same people paid for. No, country singers don’t have to shut up and sing. They don’t owe us anything beyond what they sell to consumers. But you can’t begrudge people for not wanting to be preached to by the same people who capitalize on their suffering.*
I love both Maren and Kacey’s work and hope they continue to put out great music. I hope Mickey’s career takes off. Maybe Her Country will bring in some new fans who are currently unfamiliar with these talented women, but I doubt it will do much to win over fans of mainstream country music. Her Country simply misses the mark too many times.
*In fairness to Maren, she recently put out an album/song called “Humble Quest” which seems to indicate that she’s aware of this dynamic.
July 14, 2022
Several years back, I became a country music fan. I must have been in my 50's at the time. This country music was different than the country music of my childhood - it was less twangy, a bit leaning towards pop, and at least the women artists were singing songs that I could relate to. (Although there were still plenty of songs about cheating, beer, etc.) I grew to like the music of the Dixie Chicks, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, and so many others, including the legendary singers who had come before. Not to overlook the male stars, I also listened to Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Toby Keith, etc. After a lifetime of listening to folk, rock and pop music, I couldn't have been more surprised by my new interest. My husband and I even traveled to Nashville to take in all of the sights and sounds of Music City, U.S.A.
A few years back, my interest in country music waned. Recently I spied this book in the library and checked it out. In reading, I saw that there are now exciting new female stars I'm unaware of. Soon I was watching videos of them on Youtube. I was re-acquainting myself about artists I had forgotten about.
The book itself looks at the difficulties female country musicians have had in pursuing their careers in a male dominated industry. As an example, women are played on country radio only 10 % of the time. The book also looks at the special challenges that female LGBTQ artists and artists of color have with achieving commercial success.
3.5 stars
Here are some of the music videos that I've discovered and enjoyed.
Brandi Carlile, who is married to a woman, sings about being a mother. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLNr9...
Kacey Musgraves singing her signature song, "Follow Your Arrow". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYsll...
A duet with Kacey and pop star Katy Perry singing "Merry-Go-Round". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTZod...
Not really a country song "If I Aint Got You", but beautifully sung by country artist Maren Morris in a duet with pop star Alicia Keyes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeFaT...
A few years back, my interest in country music waned. Recently I spied this book in the library and checked it out. In reading, I saw that there are now exciting new female stars I'm unaware of. Soon I was watching videos of them on Youtube. I was re-acquainting myself about artists I had forgotten about.
The book itself looks at the difficulties female country musicians have had in pursuing their careers in a male dominated industry. As an example, women are played on country radio only 10 % of the time. The book also looks at the special challenges that female LGBTQ artists and artists of color have with achieving commercial success.
3.5 stars
Here are some of the music videos that I've discovered and enjoyed.
Brandi Carlile, who is married to a woman, sings about being a mother. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLNr9...
Kacey Musgraves singing her signature song, "Follow Your Arrow". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYsll...
A duet with Kacey and pop star Katy Perry singing "Merry-Go-Round". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTZod...
Not really a country song "If I Aint Got You", but beautifully sung by country artist Maren Morris in a duet with pop star Alicia Keyes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeFaT...
April 27, 2022
I absolutely loved this book. I’m not really someone who likes country music, but I love reading about different genres and the music industry. So this book being focused on how women went from being some of the biggest stars in country music in the 90s to barely getting played on modern country radio was super fascinating. Her Country focuses on three women (Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, and Mickey Guyton) and how they’re making music that is critically acclaimed yet still isn’t embraced by the powers that be in the country mainstream.
I appreciated how this book pointed out different artists who fall outside of the white or straight mold that is most prevalent in country artists. Getting a history of different people and seeing artists who are coming out now during the midst of their careers was great to see. This is one of those books that will probably frustrate you because of the misogynistic practices it talks about. Like record companies being like “well we already have one girl, we don’t need another” or radio stations refusing to play music from women back to back.
If this book sounds interesting to you then I definitely recommend checking it out. I was so engrossed by it that I ended up listening to the whole audiobook in one day. I think that even if you aren’t a fan of country music it’s a great read about sexism and racism in the music industry and artists who are trying to forge their own path outside of what was traditionally seen as the way to do things in the genre.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I appreciated how this book pointed out different artists who fall outside of the white or straight mold that is most prevalent in country artists. Getting a history of different people and seeing artists who are coming out now during the midst of their careers was great to see. This is one of those books that will probably frustrate you because of the misogynistic practices it talks about. Like record companies being like “well we already have one girl, we don’t need another” or radio stations refusing to play music from women back to back.
If this book sounds interesting to you then I definitely recommend checking it out. I was so engrossed by it that I ended up listening to the whole audiobook in one day. I think that even if you aren’t a fan of country music it’s a great read about sexism and racism in the music industry and artists who are trying to forge their own path outside of what was traditionally seen as the way to do things in the genre.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 12, 2022
Taylor Swift has the most awarded country album of all time, she changed the country industry and she's not even mentioned once? I'm suing
June 1, 2022
I want to love this! Great interviews with amazing artists I admire but I felt that it was a bit overwritten and the chapters weren’t cohesive.
June 24, 2022
4.5 rounded up!
If you’re a country music lover, this is for you. But not specifically a country music lover, a fan of the women of country music.
Depending on when you started to listen to country music, you’ve probably noticed men dominate the airwaves. This book not only does a deep dive into the reasons why, but Moss goes deeper into the gender issues of country music. And yes, this absolutely runs parallel with every other aspects of life, not just the music industry.
As a country lover and someone from Texas, I vividly remember The Chicks being disowned by country music. This was the most monumental moment of change based on social media, TV, radio, etc. (There were plenty of women before them who made similar statements, but I mean this based on ability of outreach due to the excessive amount of platforms). I was young enough to remember this moment, but not old enough to truly understand the reasons why. Truth be told, this happening began the political conversations in my household to where I was learning more about the world (I was 11, mind you).
It was truly fascinating learning how much these ladies were connected to not only changing the ways of country music, but the people and places around them.
This review could be a whole lot longer, but you’d be better off reading the book!
Big thank you to Henry Holt for the gifted copy and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.
If you’re a country music lover, this is for you. But not specifically a country music lover, a fan of the women of country music.
Depending on when you started to listen to country music, you’ve probably noticed men dominate the airwaves. This book not only does a deep dive into the reasons why, but Moss goes deeper into the gender issues of country music. And yes, this absolutely runs parallel with every other aspects of life, not just the music industry.
As a country lover and someone from Texas, I vividly remember The Chicks being disowned by country music. This was the most monumental moment of change based on social media, TV, radio, etc. (There were plenty of women before them who made similar statements, but I mean this based on ability of outreach due to the excessive amount of platforms). I was young enough to remember this moment, but not old enough to truly understand the reasons why. Truth be told, this happening began the political conversations in my household to where I was learning more about the world (I was 11, mind you).
It was truly fascinating learning how much these ladies were connected to not only changing the ways of country music, but the people and places around them.
This review could be a whole lot longer, but you’d be better off reading the book!
Big thank you to Henry Holt for the gifted copy and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.
December 24, 2022
I’ve been a fan of Marissa’s music writing for years and got to play a very small (but exciting for me) part in researching for this book. But even if I might be a little biased, this book is stellar. It so powerfully encapsulates the things I’ve been thinking about — and probably bringing up way too often at parties — for years as a country music fan living in Nashville. I learned so much from this book, but I equally enjoyed reading about the things I already knew. It’s the perfect love letter to country music and all the people who need to be reminded they have a place in it.
April 9, 2024
I don’t listen to much country due to all the bro country of the 2010s- but time to go check out Kacey, Maren, and Mickey.
September 5, 2022
Full review here: https://dearstrangethings.substack.co...
May 29, 2022
As a longtime country music fan, 'Her Country' was one of my most anticipated books of 2022. I was not disappointed. Clearly writing as someone who loves country music, Moss uses the stories of 3 female contemporary country singers-Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, and Mickey Guyton-to trace the story of women in country music over the last 25 years. While things have never been exactly equal between men and women in country music, it was a lot better in the 90s-we had Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill, The (Dixie) Chicks, and more getting plenty of airplay on the radio. But then, over the past 20 years, women stopped getting played on the air as much, to the point that now country stations won't play two female artists back to back, & their programming software is literally set to play 1 female song to every 9 male songs. What happened? How did we get here?
Moss explains how the conglomeration of radio stations, the jingoist patriotism of the post 9/11 era, and the Nashville music industry has come together to exclude women from being played on the radio, and not just women: people of color and queer people too. For as little space as country radio has for women, women that aren't white or straight have so much less. And
yet, they're still out here, trying. Making music. Selling out stadiums. In Mickey's case, trying for literally decades to break into the industry, before finally getting some recognition for 'Black Like Me' in the
wake of the BLM protests in 2020 (if you haven't heard the song, go listen to it, it's stellar). Moss skillfully weaves together a cultural narrative as well as the
individual narratives of these 3 women, while also talking about so many other artists (famous and less so) that very much should be mentioned. This book is
infuriating, in that it lays bare so much of the sexism, racism, and bigotry of the industry-but it's hopeful too, telling the stories of people who just refuse to quit,
who did it their way, and noting how while slow, change is happening. I loved this book so much, and even if you’re not a huge country music fan, you should definitely read it anyway.
5/5 stars.
Moss explains how the conglomeration of radio stations, the jingoist patriotism of the post 9/11 era, and the Nashville music industry has come together to exclude women from being played on the radio, and not just women: people of color and queer people too. For as little space as country radio has for women, women that aren't white or straight have so much less. And
yet, they're still out here, trying. Making music. Selling out stadiums. In Mickey's case, trying for literally decades to break into the industry, before finally getting some recognition for 'Black Like Me' in the
wake of the BLM protests in 2020 (if you haven't heard the song, go listen to it, it's stellar). Moss skillfully weaves together a cultural narrative as well as the
individual narratives of these 3 women, while also talking about so many other artists (famous and less so) that very much should be mentioned. This book is
infuriating, in that it lays bare so much of the sexism, racism, and bigotry of the industry-but it's hopeful too, telling the stories of people who just refuse to quit,
who did it their way, and noting how while slow, change is happening. I loved this book so much, and even if you’re not a huge country music fan, you should definitely read it anyway.
5/5 stars.
Read
February 6, 2023Her Country is a searing look at how Nashville's country music establishment perpetuated, and continues to perpetuate, misogyny and discrimination against extremely talented female singers and songwritrers. Journalist Marissa Moss frames her work by tracing the careers of Kasey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton, and Maren Morris, three musicians who refused to play by Nashville's rules.
A fascinating theme in Her Country is how country radio has made itself irrelevant in today's country music market. When a leading radio consultant advised stations, "If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out," he compared country programming to a salad with male artists as the lettuce and female artists as tomatoes. This led Martina McBride to market red t-shirts emblazoned with "Tomato," and Margo Price to sport a pithier t-shirt saying, "You Say Tomato, I Say Fuck You." Even though country radio balked at playing new music by Kasey Musgraves and Maren Morris, their albums were huge sellers and their concerts played to sold-out arenas. They held their ground against Nashville's ways and creatively found ways to reach audiences. As a Black country artist, Mickey Guyton faced additional challenges, and Marissa Moss shows how Guyton's treatment exposes the entrenched racism in the country music industry where an occasional breakthrough Black artist is the exception that proves the rule.
Although Musgraves, Guyton, and Morris are center stage in Her Country, Moss provides context by thoroughly explaining the roles played by Miranda Lambert, The Chicks, LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Carlile, and Chely Wright in shaking up the country music business. Her Country tells this story with the same tough attitude that its subjects deployed to stay true to their roots and take their talents directly to listeners.
A fascinating theme in Her Country is how country radio has made itself irrelevant in today's country music market. When a leading radio consultant advised stations, "If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out," he compared country programming to a salad with male artists as the lettuce and female artists as tomatoes. This led Martina McBride to market red t-shirts emblazoned with "Tomato," and Margo Price to sport a pithier t-shirt saying, "You Say Tomato, I Say Fuck You." Even though country radio balked at playing new music by Kasey Musgraves and Maren Morris, their albums were huge sellers and their concerts played to sold-out arenas. They held their ground against Nashville's ways and creatively found ways to reach audiences. As a Black country artist, Mickey Guyton faced additional challenges, and Marissa Moss shows how Guyton's treatment exposes the entrenched racism in the country music industry where an occasional breakthrough Black artist is the exception that proves the rule.
Although Musgraves, Guyton, and Morris are center stage in Her Country, Moss provides context by thoroughly explaining the roles played by Miranda Lambert, The Chicks, LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Carlile, and Chely Wright in shaking up the country music business. Her Country tells this story with the same tough attitude that its subjects deployed to stay true to their roots and take their talents directly to listeners.
May 1, 2024
I really wanted to love this book. I really did. Unfortunately the stories, many that feature the rise of famed female country artists, are just way too repetitive, dull, and boring for me to hold interest. I wanted to learn more about the rise of women in country music but the way Moss writes these stories and filters through Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, and Mickey Guyton's stories are just way too repetitive for me to read an entire book on. I got halfway through earlier this year and thought I'd come back to it, but I don't think I see myself going back. There are just other more interesting books I'd rather spend my time with. I think you have to be an ultra fan of these artists and this genre to get more out of it than I did. This most likely should've been a series of short stories or should've been an extended piece on an online music publication to be honest. It's not nearly as fully fleshed out or thought out as I would've hoped.
September 4, 2023
This is an excellent book about the challenges facing female country artists today. It focuses on the experiences of Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Mickey Guyton. I respected them before, but have an enormous amount of admiration for them now that I know what roadblocks they and other female artists in the country world are constantly navigating.
May 1, 2023
I had high hopes for this book when I picked it up, and they were mostly dashed during the first chapter. I am very disappointed with it for three reasons. One of them would be frustrating, but all three make me think that the author has a form of myopia that does not allow her to consider alternate viewpoints about why people aren’t listening to female vocalists in country music as much anymore.
First, the author likes to focus on radio playback as if it is the most important metric for measuring any performers success. The author assumes that these decisions are being made out of discrimination against women by the programmers at the radio stations. However, what she is unlikely to know, and what I don’t know either, is what data the radio stations are using to make those decisions. For example, many radio stations have had Internet streams for 20 years now. What if they notice that every time a female singer comes on, a bunch of people change the stream to something else or press pause? If I were a station programmer and I noticed that certain songs got turned off all the time, I would either quit playing them completely or put them in rotation very occasionally. The same goes with people requesting songs. I would play the songs people request much more than the ones people aren’t requesting. That isn’t discrimination. That is business, and every type of business does this so that they make more sales.
However, i’m not totally sold that the radio issue is the actual problem, though it might be a symptom of one. I know many people, including myself, who no longer even on a radio and definitely don’t listen to country music that way. I use Apple Music, and I make my own playlists. That means I, not a radio programmer, am choosing how often I listen to female performers throughout the day. I know that some people listen to pre-programmed stations through Apple and other services, and I have also seen a lot of female performers being highlighted on those services. I’m not sure why the author puts so much emphasis on what is played on radio if at least a portion of the population is no longer tuned in. I suspect that there are even more people who only hear country radio while they are in their cars but listen to their own playlists for music when they get home or at work if allowed.
I have been looking at my playlists, and I have come to realize that I do have a lot of female artists in my rotation on various playlists, but most of them are not the new artists. I like country music, not pop pretending to be country music. That is my preference, and no one else has to agree with me since it is my playlist for my consumption. I would listen to new female artists more if they sang in a style that I like and about subjects that I like. It’s probably pointing out the obvious, but I take this approach with male stars as well.
The second reason I’m disappointed and frustrated in this book is that the author feels comfortable lecturing the reader on racism and anti-LGBTQ sentiments that are probably the reasons certain performers can’t get ahead. I don’t like to be lectured by anybody. That’s a given. I also have a racially integrated family, and I don’t appreciate her comments about white men at all. That is not cool. She is essentially saying that if I dislike a song or dislike a persons singing style, I am probably rejecting them because I know they are a lesbian. Since I don’t spend any time on Instagram and don’t own a television, I probably don’t know whether or not they are a lesbian and don’t really want to know.
My final reason for being disappointed with this book is that the author doesn’t really seem to own or acknowledge the fact that the sound of country female performers has changed markedly over the last 20 years and that there are people who do not see this as a positive trend. The tone of her words seems to say that if you don’t like what the new crop of performers puts out, you are discriminating against them either for their gender, sexual preference, or race. You’re not allowed to just not like something because you don’t like it. They do not sing in the same way, they sing about different things, And some of them have very odd voices that just don’t sound good to me. It has nothing to do with being female. It has everything to do with the change in country music so that sometimes I have no idea whether a song is supposed to be country or pop. Other people may enjoy that. I do not.
I think I probably should’ve stopped reading this book after a chapter or two so I wouldn’t feel so much like arguing with it. There probably isn’t very much point in that.
First, the author likes to focus on radio playback as if it is the most important metric for measuring any performers success. The author assumes that these decisions are being made out of discrimination against women by the programmers at the radio stations. However, what she is unlikely to know, and what I don’t know either, is what data the radio stations are using to make those decisions. For example, many radio stations have had Internet streams for 20 years now. What if they notice that every time a female singer comes on, a bunch of people change the stream to something else or press pause? If I were a station programmer and I noticed that certain songs got turned off all the time, I would either quit playing them completely or put them in rotation very occasionally. The same goes with people requesting songs. I would play the songs people request much more than the ones people aren’t requesting. That isn’t discrimination. That is business, and every type of business does this so that they make more sales.
However, i’m not totally sold that the radio issue is the actual problem, though it might be a symptom of one. I know many people, including myself, who no longer even on a radio and definitely don’t listen to country music that way. I use Apple Music, and I make my own playlists. That means I, not a radio programmer, am choosing how often I listen to female performers throughout the day. I know that some people listen to pre-programmed stations through Apple and other services, and I have also seen a lot of female performers being highlighted on those services. I’m not sure why the author puts so much emphasis on what is played on radio if at least a portion of the population is no longer tuned in. I suspect that there are even more people who only hear country radio while they are in their cars but listen to their own playlists for music when they get home or at work if allowed.
I have been looking at my playlists, and I have come to realize that I do have a lot of female artists in my rotation on various playlists, but most of them are not the new artists. I like country music, not pop pretending to be country music. That is my preference, and no one else has to agree with me since it is my playlist for my consumption. I would listen to new female artists more if they sang in a style that I like and about subjects that I like. It’s probably pointing out the obvious, but I take this approach with male stars as well.
The second reason I’m disappointed and frustrated in this book is that the author feels comfortable lecturing the reader on racism and anti-LGBTQ sentiments that are probably the reasons certain performers can’t get ahead. I don’t like to be lectured by anybody. That’s a given. I also have a racially integrated family, and I don’t appreciate her comments about white men at all. That is not cool. She is essentially saying that if I dislike a song or dislike a persons singing style, I am probably rejecting them because I know they are a lesbian. Since I don’t spend any time on Instagram and don’t own a television, I probably don’t know whether or not they are a lesbian and don’t really want to know.
My final reason for being disappointed with this book is that the author doesn’t really seem to own or acknowledge the fact that the sound of country female performers has changed markedly over the last 20 years and that there are people who do not see this as a positive trend. The tone of her words seems to say that if you don’t like what the new crop of performers puts out, you are discriminating against them either for their gender, sexual preference, or race. You’re not allowed to just not like something because you don’t like it. They do not sing in the same way, they sing about different things, And some of them have very odd voices that just don’t sound good to me. It has nothing to do with being female. It has everything to do with the change in country music so that sometimes I have no idea whether a song is supposed to be country or pop. Other people may enjoy that. I do not.
I think I probably should’ve stopped reading this book after a chapter or two so I wouldn’t feel so much like arguing with it. There probably isn’t very much point in that.
May 13, 2022
i was honestly surprised how much i enjoyed this.
i've never been a huge fan of country music (i was raised by an "anything but country" mother lol), but sing along to the Iconic Tunes (i.e. Before He Cheats, Jolene, and Man! I Feel Like A Woman) and have enjoyed quite a few country artists over the past few years - particularly Kacey Musgraves, whose album Golden Hour has been one of my favorites for years and whose inclusion in this book was the initial draw for me.
this book is incredibly well-researched and well-interviewed, and provides an amazingly in-depth account of how country radio (and country music as a whole) has treated women since the 1990s. being so disconnected from country, i had only heard of the issues within country radio but hadn't looked into them much. and goodness do i know so much now!! this is a book that will leave you angry and frustrated at the injustices in country radio and how little the Powers That Be are willing to change, but also hopeful for the future with these powerful women paving their own paths forward.
i was captivated throughout the book, fully invested in Kacey, Maren Morris, and Mickey Guyton's stories, and actually found some new tunes in the process! i checked out more music from all three women (and a few others mentioned in the book) and have had Maren's GIRL on repeat all week.
regardless of your feelings on country music, i highly recommend this to anyone interested in the music industry or gender studies and broader issues of sexism, misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
(also this was my first ever ARC and also my first ever giveaway win, so thank you to Henry Holt for sending me this copy!)
i've never been a huge fan of country music (i was raised by an "anything but country" mother lol), but sing along to the Iconic Tunes (i.e. Before He Cheats, Jolene, and Man! I Feel Like A Woman) and have enjoyed quite a few country artists over the past few years - particularly Kacey Musgraves, whose album Golden Hour has been one of my favorites for years and whose inclusion in this book was the initial draw for me.
this book is incredibly well-researched and well-interviewed, and provides an amazingly in-depth account of how country radio (and country music as a whole) has treated women since the 1990s. being so disconnected from country, i had only heard of the issues within country radio but hadn't looked into them much. and goodness do i know so much now!! this is a book that will leave you angry and frustrated at the injustices in country radio and how little the Powers That Be are willing to change, but also hopeful for the future with these powerful women paving their own paths forward.
i was captivated throughout the book, fully invested in Kacey, Maren Morris, and Mickey Guyton's stories, and actually found some new tunes in the process! i checked out more music from all three women (and a few others mentioned in the book) and have had Maren's GIRL on repeat all week.
regardless of your feelings on country music, i highly recommend this to anyone interested in the music industry or gender studies and broader issues of sexism, misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
(also this was my first ever ARC and also my first ever giveaway win, so thank you to Henry Holt for sending me this copy!)
January 14, 2022
GIRL POWER! I’ll admit right up front- I’ve long appreciated the attitudes of the three women featured in this book (Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton, and Kacey Musgraves) without actually listening to their music. But now they, and many others mentioned, have their own playlist that’s getting frequent play in my car.
Even though I wasn’t already familiar with much of the music discussed here, I was still fascinated by the inside look at Nashville and the machine that is the music business there. Moss deftly pulls back the curtain to show the everyday sexism and racism that is embedded into the fabric of the Nashville music business - and vividly portrays the young musicians who have helped begin to change it.
Even though I wasn’t already familiar with much of the music discussed here, I was still fascinated by the inside look at Nashville and the machine that is the music business there. Moss deftly pulls back the curtain to show the everyday sexism and racism that is embedded into the fabric of the Nashville music business - and vividly portrays the young musicians who have helped begin to change it.
July 4, 2022
I’m passionate about women in country music and in theory I love this book. Im so glad it exists but the writing is not cohesive, the organization of the book gets repetitive, and when Moss says “Her” Country, she means Kacey Musgraves. Listen, I love KM, and maybe this should’ve been framed as a book about her instead of a general women in country. Kacey is mentioned nearly every single page and it irked me to see her tweet brought up in support of BLM yet the questionable shit she’s done in the past appropriating other cultures is nowhere mentioned. Also, Fearless is the best selling country album of all time and got ONE LINE IN THE BOOK. Theres so much to be said about tapping into the power of young women in particular there and it was never touched.
January 21, 2024
My dislike of this book is largely on me— I should have realised this was a book only about the last 20 odd years of women in country instead of a proper history of the genre, which was much more what I wanted. I grew up listening to classic country in the car with my parents, and although I’ve always been more of a folkie/roots person, there’s a deep soft spot for classic country and retro Americana in my heart. It’s not this book’s fault that it didn’t give me what I wanted— a look at how women have shaped country as it grew.
It is, however, the author’s fault that the prose is sometimes bad and convoluted to the point of incomprehensible— and I say this as someone whose day job involves reading a lot of academic nonfiction. This isn’t academic. It’s not theory heavy. When it’s not being a tangled mess it reads like radio transcripts. It shouldn’t have such tortured syntax. Speaking of reading like radio transcripts, there’s a sort of talky rambling to this whole thing that makes it feel like a longform NPR piece more than a book. And I love longform NPR reportage! As radio, not as a book. As a book I’m just going “wow, Marissa, you’re repeating yourself a lot.”
Speaking of me calling the author Marissa, this is my feminist academic biases speaking, but it drove me up a goddamn wall that she’s constantly talking about the women she’s writing about by first name and first name only. A petty nitpick, but a complaint nonetheless.
Also, this book’s “feminist evaluation of country” is… weird. This is a genre where the institutional structure is profoundly sexist, but it’s also one that’s had some famous pre-2000s stories of women’s collaboration and of women helping women. And those sort of stories, less known in popular culture, would make an excellent backbone for the story Moss is trying to tell. Instead, they’re curiously absent save for an occasional brief mention, as though women only banded together in the 2000s. It’s kind of a strange choice.
Similarly strange is the way Moss equivocates on what actually “is” country. To some extent I suppose this is because country’s a blurry genre if you’re going past Nashville mainstream stuff. I’m used to “is this person technically country or are they closer to roots/bluegrass/Americana/folk?” But Moss doesn’t seem to want to grapple with this, because she doesn’t seem particularly interested in country-adjacent genres that don’t have a whole lot to do with pop. There’s some mentions of O Brother Where Art Thou’s soundtrack, but not much beyond Man of Constant Sorrow (even though the soundtrack lineup for that film includes some amazing women of roots-bluegrass). When it comes to delineating what is country, folk-rock/country crossover artists like Brandi Carlile aren’t country, until suddenly they kind of have to be because why else would Highwomen exist. Rhiannon Giddens is sometimes referred to as a country singer, even though she’s a musicology-inflected multi-genre, multi-talented roots musician of the kind that you tend to find in groups that get really into a particular subset of American folk music (speaking of which, if you’re reading this review and you haven’t listened to any of Giddens’ work, stop what you’re doing and go listen to Freedom Highway right now. It’s the most incandescent blend of genres, original songwriting, versions of folk songs, incredible vocals, and gorgeous instrumentals). But elsewhere, country seems to only include people who found success in Nashville. It had me going “what even IS country, anyway!?” a whole lot in a way I don’t think it was supposed to.
Finally, if I’d wanted to read a hagiography, I would have gotten back to the hagiographies I’m supposed to be writing about, and not picked up what is essentially a hagiography of Kacey Musgraves. Oh, and it’s abundantly obvious that the author is from NYC, and not in a good way. More a “oh, wow, that’s a fucking weird thing to say about the rural PNW way.”
It is, however, the author’s fault that the prose is sometimes bad and convoluted to the point of incomprehensible— and I say this as someone whose day job involves reading a lot of academic nonfiction. This isn’t academic. It’s not theory heavy. When it’s not being a tangled mess it reads like radio transcripts. It shouldn’t have such tortured syntax. Speaking of reading like radio transcripts, there’s a sort of talky rambling to this whole thing that makes it feel like a longform NPR piece more than a book. And I love longform NPR reportage! As radio, not as a book. As a book I’m just going “wow, Marissa, you’re repeating yourself a lot.”
Speaking of me calling the author Marissa, this is my feminist academic biases speaking, but it drove me up a goddamn wall that she’s constantly talking about the women she’s writing about by first name and first name only. A petty nitpick, but a complaint nonetheless.
Also, this book’s “feminist evaluation of country” is… weird. This is a genre where the institutional structure is profoundly sexist, but it’s also one that’s had some famous pre-2000s stories of women’s collaboration and of women helping women. And those sort of stories, less known in popular culture, would make an excellent backbone for the story Moss is trying to tell. Instead, they’re curiously absent save for an occasional brief mention, as though women only banded together in the 2000s. It’s kind of a strange choice.
Similarly strange is the way Moss equivocates on what actually “is” country. To some extent I suppose this is because country’s a blurry genre if you’re going past Nashville mainstream stuff. I’m used to “is this person technically country or are they closer to roots/bluegrass/Americana/folk?” But Moss doesn’t seem to want to grapple with this, because she doesn’t seem particularly interested in country-adjacent genres that don’t have a whole lot to do with pop. There’s some mentions of O Brother Where Art Thou’s soundtrack, but not much beyond Man of Constant Sorrow (even though the soundtrack lineup for that film includes some amazing women of roots-bluegrass). When it comes to delineating what is country, folk-rock/country crossover artists like Brandi Carlile aren’t country, until suddenly they kind of have to be because why else would Highwomen exist. Rhiannon Giddens is sometimes referred to as a country singer, even though she’s a musicology-inflected multi-genre, multi-talented roots musician of the kind that you tend to find in groups that get really into a particular subset of American folk music (speaking of which, if you’re reading this review and you haven’t listened to any of Giddens’ work, stop what you’re doing and go listen to Freedom Highway right now. It’s the most incandescent blend of genres, original songwriting, versions of folk songs, incredible vocals, and gorgeous instrumentals). But elsewhere, country seems to only include people who found success in Nashville. It had me going “what even IS country, anyway!?” a whole lot in a way I don’t think it was supposed to.
Finally, if I’d wanted to read a hagiography, I would have gotten back to the hagiographies I’m supposed to be writing about, and not picked up what is essentially a hagiography of Kacey Musgraves. Oh, and it’s abundantly obvious that the author is from NYC, and not in a good way. More a “oh, wow, that’s a fucking weird thing to say about the rural PNW way.”
August 15, 2022
I'm a country fan and have seen one of the three artists on whom the book focuses (Kacey Musgraves, other two being Maren Morris and Mickey Guyton) live, so I may be biased, but I think you'd find it to be a good read even if less enamored of the music. Very deep dive on how sexism and racism have served to create substantial barriers to success in this field. Good coverage of the "men are the lettuce, and women are the tomato in the salad" scandal re country radio rules of thumb about not playing too many songs by women in a row.
It's entirely one-sided; author does not really present any serious discussion/interview with a country radio suit to see if they have any plausible defense. But ......... kind of understandable in this instance that such a spokesperson would be hard to find and get on record.
some interesting and/or funny (to me) anecdotes, incl. that Kacey Musgraves was an "International Yodel champion" as a girl, that Maren Morris was singing in pubs in 6th grade, that they all looked up to the Chicks as young singers, etc.
As a non-musician with no involvement in this world except as a fan, i think i've had the naive implicit view that there are a hell of a lot of really good singers and songwriters, and a small % get sort of randomly lifted up and made famous all of a sudden by being on American Idol or being lucky enough to be seen by someone powerful at the right time, etc. No doubt there's some of that, but reading these backstories also makes clear that even those who burst into your consciousness as young adults may have been plugging away at it for a long time already.
Put differently, I never heard of Larry Bird till he was at Indiana State, but that doesn't mean he'd just picked up a ball for the first time, and same goes for singers.
It's entirely one-sided; author does not really present any serious discussion/interview with a country radio suit to see if they have any plausible defense. But ......... kind of understandable in this instance that such a spokesperson would be hard to find and get on record.
some interesting and/or funny (to me) anecdotes, incl. that Kacey Musgraves was an "International Yodel champion" as a girl, that Maren Morris was singing in pubs in 6th grade, that they all looked up to the Chicks as young singers, etc.
As a non-musician with no involvement in this world except as a fan, i think i've had the naive implicit view that there are a hell of a lot of really good singers and songwriters, and a small % get sort of randomly lifted up and made famous all of a sudden by being on American Idol or being lucky enough to be seen by someone powerful at the right time, etc. No doubt there's some of that, but reading these backstories also makes clear that even those who burst into your consciousness as young adults may have been plugging away at it for a long time already.
Put differently, I never heard of Larry Bird till he was at Indiana State, but that doesn't mean he'd just picked up a ball for the first time, and same goes for singers.
Read
April 24, 2023Having grown up listening to the Chicks, LeAnn Rimes, Shania, Faith, and Martina, I was thrilled to receive a gifted copy of Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be by Marissa R. Moss. It's billed as "veteran Nashville journalist Moss’s story of how in the past two decades, country’s women fought back against systems designed to keep them down, armed with their art and never willing to just shut up and sing."
I think there are some great nuggets here, as well as analysis about who's "country." But this is a book largely comprised of anecdotes, which made it a bit of a rocky read for me -- cultural criticism is mixed in, but weakened by tangents. Some points are paired with evidence to back them up, while other opinions are simply asserted. I also struggled to make sense of the book's overall structure as the narrative bounced around between Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton, and others.
This sort of meandering, conversational style might work for many other readers - it's pretty approachable.
I liked Kelli Tager's narration, though at times it wasn't clear whether someone else was being quoted or whether Tager was reading the author's thoughts. I was glad to have a text copy to refer to and read at times.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free ALC of this title for review, as well as Henry Holt for a free print copy.
I think there are some great nuggets here, as well as analysis about who's "country." But this is a book largely comprised of anecdotes, which made it a bit of a rocky read for me -- cultural criticism is mixed in, but weakened by tangents. Some points are paired with evidence to back them up, while other opinions are simply asserted. I also struggled to make sense of the book's overall structure as the narrative bounced around between Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton, and others.
This sort of meandering, conversational style might work for many other readers - it's pretty approachable.
I liked Kelli Tager's narration, though at times it wasn't clear whether someone else was being quoted or whether Tager was reading the author's thoughts. I was glad to have a text copy to refer to and read at times.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free ALC of this title for review, as well as Henry Holt for a free print copy.
April 25, 2022
Her Country by Marissa R. Moss is a phenomenal look into the "Good Ole' Boys Club" of the Nashville / Country music scene and how the women of today navigate it. The book focuses specifically on Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, and Mickey Guyton but includes their collaborators and friends along the way, too. Being a fan of these artists, and knowing the songs referenced throughout, really personalized the experience of this book for me but at the end of the day is not a pre-req to understanding the key messages shared here. This book expertly navigates how stars like Kacey, Maren, and Mickey took the path less travelled - not because they wanted to but because Country Radio and the Music Industry wouldn't give them a chance otherwise.
I have so much respect for these artists, and all artists in general, but to see the ways in which they, and the women who have come before them, have stuck it to the man and stood up for what they believe is right is really inspiring. I loved the inside peek into this industry and will now double down on my support for all of the female country artists that I love.
The audio version of Her Country is performed by Kelli Tager and is a great way to take in this powerful story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC - Her Country is out 5/10/22. Now I'm off to Listen to Merry Go 'Round on repeat!
I have so much respect for these artists, and all artists in general, but to see the ways in which they, and the women who have come before them, have stuck it to the man and stood up for what they believe is right is really inspiring. I loved the inside peek into this industry and will now double down on my support for all of the female country artists that I love.
The audio version of Her Country is performed by Kelli Tager and is a great way to take in this powerful story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC - Her Country is out 5/10/22. Now I'm off to Listen to Merry Go 'Round on repeat!
February 19, 2023
Got onto this from Rob Harvilla's rad, as he would say, podcast, 60 Songs that Explain the 90s, which is up to episode 90 now and heading for 120, the episode on The Chicks' "Goodbye Earl." The book made me realize how much music I hadn't listened to, and how mired in the mud Nashville was and is. The artists-vs-industry battle I'm used to from punk and indie, but the sheer force and repressiveness of country conventions, especially toward women, people of color, and especially women of color, took me aback in a way I really should have known to expect. Moss gets inside the heads of Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, and Mickey Guyton, with lot of stops to hear from other performers. Also reminds me how much Nashville is a writers' town. Would love to read a business history of the industry to learn when that all started.
April 9, 2022
A must-read for conflicted fans of country music like myself.
This book charts the challenging rise of women in country music post-1990s. While focused on the careers of Kacey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton, and Maren Morris specifically, the author references many other artists who pushed the boundaries of country music both on and off stage. Lots of interesting behind the scenes stories and you'll leave with a new appreciation of all the artists profiled.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for this review.
This book charts the challenging rise of women in country music post-1990s. While focused on the careers of Kacey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton, and Maren Morris specifically, the author references many other artists who pushed the boundaries of country music both on and off stage. Lots of interesting behind the scenes stories and you'll leave with a new appreciation of all the artists profiled.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for this review.
May 18, 2024
I thought I’d breeze through this book since I love the subject matter so much. However, this book took me a while to get through because I thought it was so..confusing? Jumpy? Not linear? The author just adds random artists throughout the book, which is normally fine but then would go back to talking about Mickey, Maren, or Kacey. It got to a point that I just wanted to focus on these 3 experiences vs a million others. The point of the book, everyone’s experience was the same but some more difficult, just felt like it was too packaged in messy disco cowgirl wrapping paper.
September 7, 2022
I grew up listening to country music and am a fan of many contemporary women in the genre (and adjacent ones) so was really excited about this book.
The pros: really strong thesis and deep dive into how post 9/11 jingoism and faux patriotism combined with industry's entrenched sexism and racism gatekept women, silenced the Chicks, and kept country radio homogenized. Tons of insider interviews and insight, plus a good focus on how the scarcity mindset particularly shut out Black women and LGBTQIA+. folks. She knows the subject inside and out, and even as someone somewhat adjacent to this field, I learned a lot.
The cons: The writing got a bit repetitive and the structure was hard to follow in places. I think the rural, traditional country fans vs new city listeners who came on board with Kacey, etc. divide was overdone and exaggerated (and more the perspective of a New Yorker who later moved to the South than a lot of our lived experiences). I grew up liberal in a small town and embraced all kinds of music, and there were people bending genre and sharing unpopular opinions long before the Chicks (the omission of Linda Ronstadt is glaring, but I get you can’t cover everything, and this book is more focused on the late 1990s to the present). As a journalist, I thought it was an odd choice to center Kacey Musgraves in a book when she didn’t get a single unique interview for the project, and this definitely relied a lot of interviews from secondary characters and old newspapers which I didn’t find as impactful.
Overall, a great read and has me revisiting all of my favorite female country artists.
The pros: really strong thesis and deep dive into how post 9/11 jingoism and faux patriotism combined with industry's entrenched sexism and racism gatekept women, silenced the Chicks, and kept country radio homogenized. Tons of insider interviews and insight, plus a good focus on how the scarcity mindset particularly shut out Black women and LGBTQIA+. folks. She knows the subject inside and out, and even as someone somewhat adjacent to this field, I learned a lot.
The cons: The writing got a bit repetitive and the structure was hard to follow in places. I think the rural, traditional country fans vs new city listeners who came on board with Kacey, etc. divide was overdone and exaggerated (and more the perspective of a New Yorker who later moved to the South than a lot of our lived experiences). I grew up liberal in a small town and embraced all kinds of music, and there were people bending genre and sharing unpopular opinions long before the Chicks (the omission of Linda Ronstadt is glaring, but I get you can’t cover everything, and this book is more focused on the late 1990s to the present). As a journalist, I thought it was an odd choice to center Kacey Musgraves in a book when she didn’t get a single unique interview for the project, and this definitely relied a lot of interviews from secondary characters and old newspapers which I didn’t find as impactful.
Overall, a great read and has me revisiting all of my favorite female country artists.
July 21, 2022
Very important read 👏
Marissa did a great job of incorporating females of color, sexuality, and background into this novel. Listening to this book made me want to give country women a listen. I’ve often given this genre the heisman because it’s all bro country pop. These women are all worth celebrating. And the country music industry is deplorable.
Marissa did a great job of incorporating females of color, sexuality, and background into this novel. Listening to this book made me want to give country women a listen. I’ve often given this genre the heisman because it’s all bro country pop. These women are all worth celebrating. And the country music industry is deplorable.
August 23, 2022
Her Country gives a insightful, personal look into the lives of female country singers. Multiple artists are seen in each chapter, rather than each chapter focusing on one different artist. Seeing the disparity between the genders was simultaneously not surprising and eye-opening. Observing the past and present tying together was fun and helps to engage older readers. If you're not a fan of country music, this book can become dull incredibly quickly.
Overall it's a quick read that flows well.
Overall it's a quick read that flows well.
February 16, 2023
Well written overall, but pretty repetitive and with a lot of filler, I think— like they had to stretch a long paper or article into a book. But, very informative, lots of excellent little snippets and inside views and lots of great new songs and artist Recs!
April 14, 2024
You don't have to listen to country to read this. (I haven't listened to it since the late 1990s, and the reasons why were explained to me in this book.) The book is a bit bogged down with name dropping, but if you look past it- Lots of discussions of music industry working, suppression of women, Black and Brown artists, and LGTBQ+. And, inspiring stories of how these same groups support each other.
June 5, 2022
I’ll be adding so many new songs to my playlists because of this book! A smart and angry book with such compelling storytelling!
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