More Memories

Country music broadcasting legend Emery continues, again with coauthor Carter, the reminiscences he began with his bestselling Memories . He displays a fine eye for detail and a command of his subject that is the product of 40 years on the Nashville scene, most recently as host of Nashville Now , a country music talk show on the Nashville Network (TNN). In language as unabashedly sentimental as the lyrics of a country song, the anecdotes and interviews here cover the entire range of performers, from superstars to talented second-rank personalities and the mostly anonymous studio musicians whose contribution to the genre is immeasurable. Emery contends that country music is today too much of a business and mourns the loss of a sense of community which existed when he first entered the field. Of particular note are his descriptions of the reaction to the deaths of Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves, and his interview with Dick Clark, whom Emery praises as a professional without peer in the broadcast industry. The story of how the Grammys first came to Nashville is a sterling example of the gentle humor and goodnatured style of this affectionate remembrance. Photos not seen by PW . (Oct.)