Pressing on: The Roni Stoneman Story (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780252074349)

Roni Stoneman was the youngest daughter of the pioneering country music family and a woman who overcame poverty and abusive husbands to claim the title of "The First Lady of Banjo," a fixture on the Nashville scene, and, as Hee Haw's Ironing Board Lady, a comedienne beloved by millions.

Drawn from more than seventy-five hours of recorded interviews, Pressing On reveals Roni's gifts as a master storyteller. With characteristic spunk and candor, she describes her "pooristic" ("way beyond 'poverty-stricken'") Appalachian childhood, and how her brother Scott taught her to play the challenging and innovative three-finger banjo picking style developed by Earl Scruggs. She also warmly recounts Hee Haw-era adventures with Minnie Pearl, Roy Clark, and Buck Owens; her encounters as a musician with country greats like Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, June Carter, and Patsy Cline; as well as her personal struggles with shiftless and violent husbands, her relationships with her children, and her musical life after Hee Haw.

Author: Roni Stoneman, Ellen Wright
ISBN-10: 0252074343
ISBN-13: 9780252074349
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Language: English
Published: 03/20/2007
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.06lbs
Size: 8.89h x 6.22w x 0.77d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/2007 pg. 95