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Stephanie Vander Wel

Biography

Stephanie Vander Wel

Stephanie Vander Wel is an associate professor of music at the University at Buffalo.

Stephanie Vander Wel

Books by Stephanie Vander Wel

by Stephanie Vander Wel - Gender Studies, History, Music, Nonfiction

From the 1930s to the 1960s, the booming popularity of country music threw a spotlight on a new generation of innovative female artists. These individuals blazed trails as singers, musicians and performers even as the industry hemmed in their potential popularity with labels like woman hillbilly, singing cowgirl and honky-tonk angel. Stephanie Vander Wel looks at the careers of artists like Patsy Montana, Rose Maddox and Kitty Wells against the backdrop of country music's golden age. Analyzing recordings and appearances on radio, film and television, she connects performances to real and imagined places and examines how the music sparked new ways for women listeners to imagine the open range, the honky-tonk and the home.