One of the things I used to like asking my lecturers as a mature age university student many years ago went something like this:

“Can a male be a feminist?” 

The obvious and definite answer was always a resounding “no” but even as a well and truly retired student and teacher, the question has still not been fully answered for me.

I still teach part time and enjoy encouraging girls and young women to learn to play instruments that will hold them in good stead as participants in what I believe is one of the most male dominated industries, ie the music industry.

It is no wonder then that I enjoyed reading Holly Gleason’s recent book Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives.

As the editor, Gleason has assembled more than twenty-five chapters written by individual journalists covering women ranging from Maybelle Carter “who wasn’t hesitant or asking permission to be there, she was there; she wasn’t backing some dude, she was the musician” (Caryn Rose) to Taylor Swift whose “lack of pretence and attention to craft were also high on the list of virtues I had come to cherish in my earliest years as a music lover (Elisa Gardner).

Then there is Loretta Lynn, who Madison Vain suggests is “greatest female singer to ever come out of Nashville” to k.d lang who Kelly McCartney reports “made a bigger impact on my life, with her courage and conviction, artistry and activities, than anyone before or since.”

As an Australian reading Woman Walk the Line, not all artists covered were familiar to me.  For example Patty Griffin, Rhiannon Giddens and Kasey Musgraves fall into that category.  That didn’t detract from the book as a whole. What did detract a little from the book was the women who were not included.  I would have thought Kitty Wells deserved more than the several mentions she received.

As a musician, I was also looking forward to some discussion with regards the influence the actual music had on changing our lives. But to no avail.  It was all about the lyrics. When I listen to music, I listen to the music rather than the lyrics and I am sure I am not the only person who consumes music in that manner.

With those two points aside, I enjoyed the book. Many of the writers wrote with significant passion and for and Australian reading about American music, it was well worth the time invested.

I concur with the judges of the Belmont University Country Music Book of the Year Award who honoured Holly Gleason with the 2018 award.  It was well deserved.