Marty Stuart

For years the legendary John Seigenthaler hosted A Word on Words on Nashville's public television station, WNPT. During the show’s four-decade run (1972 to 2013), he interviewed some of the most interesting and most impor­tant writers of our time. These in-depth exchanges revealed much about the writers who appeared on his show and gave a glimpse into their creative pro­cesses. Seigenthaler was a deeply engaged reader and a generous interviewer, a true craftsman. Frye Gaillard and Pat Toomay have collected and transcribed some of the iconic interactions from the show. Featuring interviews with: Arna Bontemps • Marshall Chapman • Pat Conroy • Rodney Crowell • John Egerton • Jesse Hill Ford • Charles Fountain • William Price Fox • Kinky Friedman • Frye Gaillard • Nikki Giovanni • Doris Kearns Goodwin • David Halberstam • Waylon Jennings • John Lewis • David Maraniss • William Marshall • Jon Meacham • Ann Patchett • Alice Randall • Dori Sanders • John Seigenthaler Sr. • Marty Stuart • Pat Toomay

Heavily influenced by Bill Monroe, the "Father of Bluegrass" in the 1940s and ’50s, gospel music in the South began to shift into bluegrass gospel, a style that combines both genres. In Bluegrass Gospel: The Music Ministry of Jerry and Tammy Sullivan, anthropologist and journalist Jack Edward Bernhardt explores the lives, music, and ministry of acclaimed father-daughter bluegrass gospel performers and recording artists Jerry (1933–2014) and Tammy Sullivan (1964–2017) of southwest Alabama. Beginning in 1993, Bernhardt lived and traveled with the Sullivans as they took their music and testimony along bumpy back roads to backwoods sanctuaries from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi, Louisiana’s bayous, Texas, Arkansas, and beyond. The author’s compelling narrative combines long-term fieldwork with extensive oral histories, archival research, photography, and tape recordings of the Sullivans’ music and testimonies in secular and sacred contexts. Bernhardt describes in vivid detail the challenges of life on the road through unforeseen circumstances and the financial uncertainty of performing for pass-the-collection-basket "love offerings," while remaining committed to doing the work they felt called to do. In an afterword by Marty Stuart, Jerry’s friend and cowriter of the 1995 Grammy-nominated "At the Feet of God," Stuart recounts his experiences playing mandolin with the Sullivan Family on the "Brush Arbor Trail" as a talented, wide-eyed twelve-year-old. In the penultimate chapter, Bernhardt accompanies Tammy’s widower, Jonathan Causey, and their son, Jon Gideon, to churches along the same gospel trail blazed by Jerry and Tammy. With their own music ministry, the Causeys continue the legacy of song and testimony the Sullivans pursued for thirty-five years. Ultimately, Bernhardt reflects on how his relationship with the Sullivans led to friendship and mutual respect for cultural differences that endure through time. The result is an intimate portrayal of life, faith, and family-based music ministry in the South today as in the past.

Heavily influenced by Bill Monroe, the "Father of Bluegrass" in the 1940s and ’50s, gospel music in the South began to shift into bluegrass gospel, a style that combines both genres. In Bluegrass Gospel: The Music Ministry of Jerry and Tammy Sullivan, anthropologist and journalist Jack Edward Bernhardt explores the lives, music, and ministry of acclaimed father-daughter bluegrass gospel performers and recording artists Jerry (1933–2014) and Tammy Sullivan (1964–2017) of southwest Alabama. Beginning in 1993, Bernhardt lived and traveled with the Sullivans as they took their music and testimony along bumpy back roads to backwoods sanctuaries from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi, Louisiana’s bayous, Texas, Arkansas, and beyond. The author’s compelling narrative combines long-term fieldwork with extensive oral histories, archival research, photography, and tape recordings of the Sullivans’ music and testimonies in secular and sacred contexts. Bernhardt describes in vivid detail the challenges of life on the road through unforeseen circumstances and the financial uncertainty of performing for pass-the-collection-basket "love offerings," while remaining committed to doing the work they felt called to do. In an afterword by Marty Stuart, Jerry’s friend and cowriter of the 1995 Grammy-nominated "At the Feet of God," Stuart recounts his experiences playing mandolin with the Sullivan Family on the "Brush Arbor Trail" as a talented, wide-eyed twelve-year-old. In the penultimate chapter, Bernhardt accompanies Tammy’s widower, Jonathan Causey, and their son, Jon Gideon, to churches along the same gospel trail blazed by Jerry and Tammy. With their own music ministry, the Causeys continue the legacy of song and testimony the Sullivans pursued for thirty-five years. Ultimately, Bernhardt reflects on how his relationship with the Sullivans led to friendship and mutual respect for cultural differences that endure through time. The result is an intimate portrayal of life, faith, and family-based music ministry in the South today as in the past.

Thirty years ago, in February 1994, hoping for a professional comeback, legendary country music singer George Jones recorded an album of duets with country and rock music stars at the renowned studio Bradley’s Barn. Fritz Hoffmann was the exclusive photographer of the eleven-day sessions. His pictures have been stored away, unseen, ever since. This book presents an intimate view of Jones and the other featured artists who’ve long since passed on and the young country stars of the 1990s who now carry the mantle of statesmen and women of the music genre.

Marty Stuart’s tenth studio album, The Pilgrim, was released 1999. The risky and ambitious concept project—based on true events that transpired in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi—was a turning point in Marty’s unique artistry. While not a commercial success at the time, The Pilgrim represents a rediscovery of his roots and a creative rebirth that continues to reverberate today as we celebrate the album’s twentieth anniversary.From the art direction, to the eccentric narrative, to the participation of iconic performers such as Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, and Connie Smith, The Pilgrim somehow managed to connect with the deepest spirit of country music’s rich traditions while also breaking new ground. It’s impossible to understand Marty Stuart without understanding what led to The Pilgrim and how it has shaped who he is today as an uncompromising artist and an unflinching evangelist for pure country music. Presented here is a lushly illustrated coffee table book that's about much more than just one landmark album. It's about art, discovery, artistic integrity, and a vision that set Marty Stuart on a new path. Also included with the book is a CD of the original album and unreleased bonus material.