Hawkins meticulously traces the early flowering of America's third most important recording town by spotlighting a handful of entrepreneurs, most already small businessmen, who responded to a plethora of local blues, country, gospel, and dance-band talent and the post-World War II national proliferation of radio stations, jukeboxes, and higher wages. Few of their independent labels lasted beyond 1955, and they launched few stars and hits — Pat Boone and the Oak Ridge Quartet (later Boys) became the most famous of the former, "Near You" and "Ragg Mopp" the biggest of the latter. They waxed a couple of established names — Bob Crosby, Cousin Minnie Pearl, the Fairfield Four — and the program of gospel, R & B, country, and big band on the book's CD complement is tip-of-the-iceberg tantalizing (the last track is "Too Much" — yes, the song Elvis did later). Only deep-dyed, history-minded pop fans will fully appreciate Hawkins' achievement, but the book is so handsome and so full of entrancing period photos that casual readers will find lots of good browsing in it.
A Shot in the Dark
