Book summary

An in-depth look at the modern country music industry through the widely differing careers of three of its artists, DREAMING OUT LOUD is not so much an expose of lurid scandals as a clear-eyed look at the motivations of artists and the business people who handle them. Garth Books is glimpsed at the apex of his career, tormented by thoughts of its imminent collapse, while Wynonna and Naomi Judd, having relinquished complete control of their business affairs to their manager, find that he has made $20 million from their partnership while the duo have made only $5 million between them. Wade Hayes seems to come out best of the three, perhaps because of his relative newcomer status; though he's in debt to his record label for $350,000, he's earned $75,000, the most money he's ever made, and he's happy. A comprehensive overview of the machinations necessary to keep a country artist on the road and on the radio, seen from both sides of the music business, Bruce S. Feiler's well-researched study ably captures the complex chain of causes and effects that changed modern Nashville from country music's capital into a corporate conglomerate.

Media reviews

"...What he gives us [Bruce Feiler]...are his own insightful musings about where country's been and where it's going--and on topics from race to the nature of reality, a behind-the-curtain look at how Nashville operates, and lessons in the history of country music. It's all framed by cautionary tales from these three musicians' lives."