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Nashville Chrome Audiobook
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(2.96) - 172 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The fiction of Rick Bass has been honored with O. Henry Awards, Pushcart Prizes, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Nashville Chrome presents Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed Brown, a family act with a hit record sitting atop 1959's country music charts. The world at their feet, lives of success seem to spread out before them like an unending highway. But celebrity has its price, and the times ahead will deliver more than their fair share of bumps in the road.
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"An amazing book about the beginning of rock and roll music, logging (as in forests), Elvis, and the Browns... a singing group made up of 2 sisters and a brother...who helped bring a new musical era to our society. Rick Bass is a wonder with words!! Thanks to my son for his recommendation!"
— Lee (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Darkly engaging...richly written.”
— Washington Post -
“Bass creates a slice of music history from the ground up, from the backwoods and front porches all the way to Elvis.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Splendid...Rick Bass’ best.”
— Dallas Morning News -
“Rick Bass deftly weaves the true and fictional into a wonderful novel of the rise and fall of one of country music’s greatest acts—the Browns. It’s as lyrical, plaintive, and true as the best country music, which is exactly what the Browns made. Nashville Chrome is a great celebration of the Browns, and above all, a terrific read.”
— Thomas Cobb, author of Crazy Heart -
“But Rick Bass’ evocative detailing of the singers’ upbringing, rise to stardom, and heartbreaking fall...sweeps you along just as the real-life Browns’ music once carried away listeners.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“Like the sound Chet Atkins pulls from the Browns in the studio, the narrative has a pitch-perfect chorus of longing and regret, with an undertone that connects and heals.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“An empathic, breath-catching, mythic, and profoundly American tale of creation, destruction, and renewal.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Awards
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A Booklist Editors’ Choice in 2010
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A 2010 ALA Notable Book for Fiction
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A 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction
Nashville Chrome Listener Reviews
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" Great read on the Historic band 'The Browns'. I didn't know who they were, but now I know! "
— Allison, 2/16/2014 -
" Very wordy. "
— Patti, 2/12/2014 -
" Fictionalized account of the Browns of country music group that helped change the face of the music industry. "
— Kitty, 1/27/2014 -
" A novel that should have been a short story about a real 50s era singing trio called the Browns. If you're 50 or so you'll remember their songs--google 'em. The writing isn't bad, but it's just way too repetitive and obviously stretched to make a novel. "
— Trina, 1/20/2014 -
" For the first part of this book, I didn't think the Brown family was real, and I thought, what's the point? Why didn't he just write about the Carter family and call them the Carter family? I still can't quite believe that the Brown's are real. Then I'm not sure why he didn't write this as nonfiction, though I guess the answer is because he wouldn't have been able to do a lot of the things he did in his novel. "
— Robyn, 1/13/2014 -
" My friend read this and enjoyed it. "
— Shaunna, 1/13/2014 -
" Somehow this book just missed with me; Bass seemed to me to use twenty words when he could have used five. "
— Barbara, 11/14/2013 -
" Didn't live up to the hype. Read about halfway through. Might try again another day. "
— Julie, 9/9/2013 -
" Not my favorite Bass! "
— Rosemary, 12/30/2012 -
" Kinda writer-ly take on a true, fascinating story of the Browns. Wonder why it was written as a novel. Lengthy passages add little to the drive of the story, but an interesting tale. "
— Ralph, 3/4/2012 -
" 3 1/2 stars. The writing is wonderful, but Bass' style kept me at arm's length for most of the book. "
— Lyddie, 2/1/2012 -
" It was interesting to read about Elvis and many other classic country bands. It was hard to distinguish what was his fictional portrayl of the Browns' and what was factual. "
— Nicole, 1/28/2012 -
" I am listening to this story of Jim Ed, Maxine, and Bonnie Brown - the Browns - in my sewing room. "
— Vicki, 1/19/2012 -
" An interesting book about the early country music business. The Browns were a real group in the early 50s, but this is purely a book of fiction. "
— Rita, 1/18/2012 -
" I love this author but didn't love this book. I like his nonfiction better. The beginning was great. The middle stalled out and left me frustrated that I never really got to know the main characters well. A distance was maintained between the author and his subjects, due to stylistic choices. "
— Cathy, 1/10/2012 -
" Lyrical, vivid tale of a country trio's rise to almost fame. "
— Andrea, 9/5/2011 -
" I am listening to this story of Jim Ed, Maxine, and Bonnie Brown - the Browns - in my sewing room. I just wish the recorded book would include their songs like "I'm Mister Blue"!! "
— Vicki, 5/23/2011 -
" Glad I researched before I finished this book and learned that it is a real story. Listened to some of their songs on Utube. Had never heard of the Browns. What a sad story. "
— Momruns5, 4/28/2011 -
" Lyrical, vivid tale of a country trio's rise to almost fame. "
— Andrea, 2/6/2011 -
" 3 1/2 stars. The writing is wonderful, but Bass' style kept me at arm's length for most of the book. "
— Lyddie, 2/4/2011 -
" I think the character of Jefferson Eads might've been my favorite. He's a 12 year old boy making a movie of Maxine Brown's life - and he might've stolen the show by the end of the novel. Glad I read this. "
— Josh, 1/30/2011 -
" Didn't live up to the hype. Read about halfway through. Might try again another day. "
— Julie, 1/14/2011 -
" Great read on the Historic band 'The Browns'. I didn't know who they were, but now I know! "
— Allison, 1/9/2011 -
" Somehow this book just missed with me; Bass seemed to me to use twenty words when he could have used five. "
— Barbara, 12/20/2010 -
" Kinda writer-ly take on a true, fascinating story of the Browns. Wonder why it was written as a novel. Lengthy passages add little to the drive of the story, but an interesting tale. "
— Ralph, 12/14/2010
About Rick Bass
Rick Bass is an American author of numerous award-winning works of fiction and nonfiction. His memoir Why I Came West was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His short fiction, which has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Esquire, and the Paris Review, as well as numerous times in Best American Short Stories, has earned him multiple O. Henry Awards and Pushcart Prizes as well as NEA and Guggenheim fellowships. He was born and raised in Texas, worked as a petroleum geologist in Mississippi, and has lived in Montana’s Yaak Valley for almost three decades.