Minkin's Music: All about women

By Jay Minkin

Looking for a good read to take along to the beach, pool or on summer travels?

An excellent book to throw into your purse or Kindle is Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives, a collection of 27 essays from University Press in which women writers describe the way the songs of country music icons from Maybelle Carter to Taylor Swift had an impact on their lives.

Compiled and edited by Holly Gleason, the former Shaker Heights resident and graduate of Laurel School is an admired and successful business woman based in Nashville. Along with her work as an artist development consultant, Gleason’s resume includes freelance music articles published in Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald and The New York Times. Gleason came up with the idea while teaching music criticism at Middle Tennessee State University. She noticed many of her students were unable to articulate why they liked their favorite musicians.

The heart of the collections are deeply personal essays from well-respected female writers or of those working in the music business. The chapters on each artist are heart on the sleeve confessionals on how the music marked and transformed their lives at different ages.

Highlights from those with a Cleveland connection include rockabilly sensation Wanda Jackson by Holly George Warren, the glamour and versatility of Barbara Mandrell by Shelby Morrison, and the explosive power of Tanya Tucker by Gleason. Lady Goodman tells a great story of meeting a young Lucinda Williams and Caroline Randall Williams offers a heartfelt passage of traditions with Rhiannon Giddens. The fostering of friendship with an icon like Dolly Parton is told by Nancy Harrison.

Woman Walk The Line is perfect for people of all ages and genders who are touched by music.

Contact Jay at Blues4Bird@aol.com or post on his Minkin’s Music Facebook page.