Size: 5x0x8; 1998 first edition, St. Martin's Press (New York), 5 3/4 x 8 5/8

Size: 5x0x8; 1998 first edition, St. Martin's Press (New York), 5 3/4 x 8 5/8 inches tall black hardcover in publisher's unclipped dust jacket, gilt lettering to spine, illustrated with black-and-white photographs, xiii, 274 pp. Very slight rubbing and edgewear to covers, very slight soiling to page edges and a tiny stain to the title page (see images). Otherwise, a near fine copy in a very good dust jacket which is nicely preserved and displayed in a clear archival Brodart sleeve. ~SP10~ [2.0P] In 1948, Horace 'Hoss' Logan, a young radio producer in Shreveport, Louisiana, started booking talent for a new weekly music show called the Louisiana Hayride. Performed for a live audience and broadcast nationally over the CBS Radio network, the show became known as the 'Cradle of the Stars. ' In this affectionate memoir, Hoss Logan recalls the Hayride's heyday with behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the dozens of musicians he knew and nurtured, including Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Kitty Wells, Slim Whitman, Hank Williams, Faron Young, and many more. As producer, emcee, and friend to the Hayride performers, Logan gives us a personal look into musical history-from Hank Williams's ups and downs to the teenage Elvis's first performance on national radio to the ways the Hayride's many emerging stars expanded our idea about what country music could be. Contents: The shy kid from Memphis; Birth of an entertainment legend; Hank Williams I: A ticket to immortality; Hank Williams II: The loneliest man alive; The legacy and the lawsuits; 'Cradle of the stars'"; The feud with the Opry; The act nobody could follow; Freeing the King to claim his throne; Johnny Horton: Fisherman's lament; Cashing in with the 'Man in Black'; Ringing down the curtain; Hillbillies in Hollywood; Casualties, survivors, and outlaws; It was one helluva ride! ; Artists and bands that appeared on the Louisiana Hayride; Index.