Women were early and always on the country music scene, and though they were a minority and their roles changed with the shifting times, they consistently provided a counter-balancing perspective to the male-dominated medium. In HILLBILLY MAIDENS, OKIES, AND COWGIRLS, Stephanie Vander Wel has created a serious exploration of country’s female stars that draws attention to the musical milieu and the women who helped shape it --- their upbringing and aspirations, and their unique singing styles.

Country music was first given a national hearing in the early 1920s on the Chicago radio station WLS, a Sears, Roebuck and Company project whose “National Barn Dance” was produced to cater to Midwestern farm families. But those families were also immigrants, not only from Europe but also from the southern U.S. Throughout her rich chronicle, Vander Wel includes segments of letters written to the station from diverse fans scattered throughout the region: “…a fan from Ohio made it clear that he got a ‘kick out of both popular and old-time music.’”

"The genre’s history combined with the sociology and demographics make for a serious but entertaining read, with the nostalgic echo of the melodies and lyrics embedded on every page."

The old-time artists, some of whom got their start in vaudeville, could yodel, assume countrified accents and act out exaggeratedly rubish comedic skits. They crooned sentimental cowboy airs and recreated rhythmic old-world favorites like “Hi Rinkum Inktum Doodle” sung by the legendary Lula Belle in lively, folksy duet style with Red Foley. Honky-tonk was well, some would say best, represented by such hard-hitting females as Rose Maddox, while yearnings to ride the range were voiced by Patsy Montana. Both women, as well as western swing talent Carolina Cotton, were refugees of the Great Depression whose flight from poverty led them to the newly arising California country music scene.

In the 1930s and ’40s, forced first by the Depression and then by the war, women were assuming new roles, almost equal to men when called from the kitchen to work in industry. Their independence can be heard in the strains of uppity songs from the strong voice of Kitty Wells proclaiming “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” to Loretta Lynn’s strict warning, “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ with Lovin’ on Your Mind,” and declaring a young mother’s ultimate sexual freedom with “The Pill.”

In the 1950s, a publicity effort was made to “clean up” the image of such wild women, portraying them in domestic roles (“Kitty is a wonderful mother and housekeeper. Here she prepares breakfast…”) and praising their softer side. But the rebelliousness sold records; by the time Dolly Parton made the scene, country music audiences were primed for her “Backwoods Barbie” (“I may look artificial, but where it counts I’m real”).

Vander Wel, an associate professor of music at the University of Buffalo, delved deep to construct this academically thorough, thoughtful and very human look at the women of country. She displays a special talent in her ability to describe in minute detail the vocal nuances produced by the singers she highlights. In depicting Maddox’s version of “Wild Wild Young Men,” she states that the singer “practically shouts the words ‘stomp’ and ‘bop,’ as if she has lost all vocal composure in her rapturous state.” Such descriptions will doubtless send readers to audio resources to listen, or relisten, to these classics in order to hear what Vander Wel hears and so emotively brings forth in her prose. In spotlighting women, she also gives credit to the men who promoted and performed with them.

The genre’s history combined with the sociology and demographics make for a serious but entertaining read, with the nostalgic echo of the melodies and lyrics embedded on every page.