There’s never been a time when America was without music, but definitions for all the various types of songs and melodies have become blurred over the years. Music critic John Milward seeks to untangle some of the threads in AMERICANALAND. Here, he examines the birth of recorded music, radio and the gradual movement of country music to the city, producing a savory musical stew generally known as Americana.

It could be said that Milward’s story moves from star to star --- from Hank Williams and Maybelle Carter to Elvis; Carl Perkins to Johnny Cash; Chuck Berry to Ray Charles; Merle Haggard to Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris; Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton to Bob Dylan.

"...a long, thorough, fascinating and very welcome tale of the development, refinement, continuation and preservation of the kind of music that, as Emmylou [Harris] declared, 'could only have happened in America.'"

All of these notables were affected and infected musically by one another. Krauss cited Ralph Stanley as an early influence. Willie Nelson hung out with Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan on the set of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, where they all entertained one another. As a kid, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead heard the great Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass, “hundreds of times.” Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis had the same doctor prescribing their uppers and downers. Loretta Lynn, country to the core, brought herself and other artists into the spotlight with her declarative, feminist songwriting.

Before too long, Nashville, which supposedly “hated rock 'n' roll,” began to make a place for groups like The Byrds and The Eagles.

Milward gives brief bios of hundreds of performers who blended sounds to create what eventually got the “official” designation of Americana music, blessed by an organization of the same name that annually hosts musical galas and gives out awards to the best, in what must be lauded as genre eclecticism. But AMERICANALAND does not focus on that or any other organization so much as on personal portraits of men and women who dedicated their lives to music, picking up sounds from any attractive source and amazingly willing to mix, match and change styles with the times. They were a coal miner’s offspring like Loretta to classically schooled violinist Krauss. Dolly, Emmylou and Linda Ronstadt, all “coming from” different backgrounds, joined voices and repertoires from recently written gems to ancient folk tunes.

Milward, who has worked and written for the Chicago Daily News, USA Today, Rolling Stone and other notable publications, has diligently organized this saga, including the evocative pictures of various featured artists by illustrator Margie Greve. It’s a long, thorough, fascinating and very welcome tale of the development, refinement, continuation and preservation of the kind of music that, as Emmylou declared, “could only have happened in America.”