The companion volume to the four-part prime-time PBS series, American Roots Music difs down deep, past today's pop and rock to uncover the blues, gospel, folk, country & western, and other traditional genres at the heart of the nation's musical heritage. Telling the compelling tales of the pioneers, entrepeneurs, and artists who brough it to the world stage, it profiles the Singing Brakeman Jimmie Rodgers, Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, pardoned convict Lead Belly, Dust Bowl poet laureate Woody Guthrie, electric blues pioneer Muddy Waters, honky-tonker Hank Williams, protester Pete Seeger, and blues-guitar legend B.B. King, among hundreds of colorful personalitites. Including incisive essays, informative sidebars, and first-person narratives from key artists, this book presents both personal and historical perspectives. Portraits, performance shots, and ephemera such as sheet music and record sleeves illustrate the authoritative text.