Country is old. Country is new. Country is us. Now The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music explores the most durable of genres, following its development through the twentieth century and up to today. Chapters trace the history of country chronologically, from early hillbilly music (Roy Acuff & The Carter Family), "singing cowboys" (Gene Autry & Roy Rogers), bluegrass (Bill Monroe & the Stanley Brothers), honky tonk (Hank Williams & Ernest Tubb), rockabilly (Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee Lewis), and Nashville (Johnny Cash & Patsy Cline), to country rock (the Byrds & the Eagles), outlaws (Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard), mainstream country and pop crossovers (Tammy Wynette & Dolly Parton), and the neo-traditionalists (Garth Brooks & Emmylou Harris), as well as the more recent "alternative country" (Lucinda Williams & Gillian Welch), and the bluegrass revival (Alison Krauss & Bela Fleck). From the earliest days of country to the latest artists, The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music tells the story of a great American genre in words and pictures.

Bob Allen has been a country music journalist, historian, and critic for the past twenty-five years. He is a contributing editor for Country Music magazine and has written for Esquire, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. The author of George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend, he lives in Eldersburg, Maryland.

Tony Byworth has been involved in country music for over 30 years. He edited the monthly magazine Country Music People for six years and was a contributing editor for Billboard, Music Week, and The Stage. In addition, he has written two books on country music and is the recipient of the Country Music Association’s prestigious Wesley Rose (Foreign Media Achievement) Award. He lives in Hertfordshire, England.