"This is clearly the most important and best-executed American music reference book to be published in 2004. This volume is indispensable and its usefulness is enhanced because it's clearly laid out and easy to read. ...there are enough tidbits to titillate even the most jaded veteran of discographies. I am profoundly grateful to Tony Russell (and his associates) for compiling Country Music Records: A Discography, 1912-1942 and to Oxford University Press for its publication. It is no surprise that my copy is already showing signs of wear less than six months after its publication. Obviously this book is unreservedly recommended and will no doubt recieve high praise and will win numerous awards--accolades that it richly deserves." --American Music
"This volume has turned out to be mightily impressive, beyond even what aficionados could possibly have hoped for. The American arm of Oxford University Press have served the project in the finest possible manner."--Musical Traditions
"English discographer Tony Russell's magnum opus Country Music Records, is a massive discography of every pre-WWII country music recording ever made. In a work more than two decades in the making, eagerly anticipated by discographers and country music scholars, Russell and the late Bob Pinson make the first comprehensive examination of every commercial country music recording session, 1921-42...Country Music Records is a model of its kind and the most important discography of vernacular American music since Blues & Gospel Records 1890-1943, comp. by Robert Dixon, John Godrich, and Howard Rye (1997)."--Choice
"This monumental work is now finally available and has proved worth the wait. ...beautifully printed on high quality paper and...glorious dust jacket...[Country Music Records] is a list of every country music recording made between 1921 and 1942--issued and unissued but it's the detail provided that makes this indispensable for fans, collectors and researchers. ... This is the book many of us have been waiting for for a long time and can be considered THE publishing even since the beginning of the 21st century."--Roots & Rhythm
"It is a monumental work of American music scholarship, and may well redefine the parameters of future studies in country music. For years, the thousands of commercial recordings which preserved the vital sounds of one of America's most original musics formed a vast, confusing terra incognita; here, after twenty years' work, is a map to those vast riches."--Charles Wolfe, country music historian and author of Classic Country, and A Good Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry
"The publication of Tony Russell's Country Music Records is the best publishing news that I've heard in many years. I only wish that this collection had been available when I began research on my book, Country Music, USA, back in the early 1960s. My work would be greatly improved if the discographical history of country music had been available at that time. Thankfully, future students of American vernacular music will profit tremendously from this fine and meticulously documented study. When one views the results of Russell's labors, we can see why it has taken him so many years to finish. It is a first-class piece of scholarship and, as far as I can tell, every known 'hillbilly' recording has been included. The wait, though long, has been worth it."--BillC. Malone, author of Country Music, U.S.A. and 'Don't Get Above Your Raisin': Country Music and the Southern Working Class
"Tony Russell's Country Music Records is an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and collectors interested in American music. The book offers a richly detailed history of individual artists and their recordings. Russell's love for country music and his knowledge of its recorded history make this volume essential reading for anyone interested in the field."--William Ferris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This discography compiles details of all country music recording sessions through 1942 in a single volume. Based on record company files and session logs as well as the recording archives of the Country Music Foundation, the book documents every commercial country music recording, including unreleased sides. Each entry lists the musicians playing at every session, instrumentation, dates and locations, songwriting credits, and recording master numbers and release numbers. An introduction explains how to use the book, research methodology and editorial policy; summary histories of each key record company are also provided, along with a bibliography. The discography includes alphabetical indexes to all song titles and to musicians listed.
