'Country Boy: The Roots of Johnny Cash' Wins 2023 Ragsdale Award

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Book cover for Country Boy: The Roots of Johnny Cash by Colin Woodward

The University of Arkansas Press is pleased to announce that Country Boy: The Roots of Johnny Cash has won the 2023 Ragsdale Award. The award is presented by the Arkansas Historical Association for the best book-length historical study of any aspect of Arkansas history.

In Country Boy, Colin Woodward combines biography, history and music criticism to illustrate how Cash's experiences in Arkansas shaped his life and work. The grip of the Great Depression on Arkansas' small farmers, the comforts and tragedies of family, and a bedrock of faith all lent his music the power and authenticity that so appealed to millions. Though Cash left Arkansas as an 18-year-old, he often returned to his home state, where he played some of his most memorable and personal concerts. Drawing upon the country legend's songs and writings, as well as the accounts of family, fellow musicians and chroniclers, Woodward reveals how the profound sincerity and empathy so central to Cash's music depended on his maintaining a deep connection to his native Arkansas—a place that never left his soul.

"Country Boy," writes Ruth Hawkins, founding director of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, "is a welcome addition to all things Cash, focusing directly on his home state of Arkansas and the influence it had on shaping his values and nurturing his creativity. Colin Woodward peels away myths and legends, including some perpetuated by Cash himself, and replaces them with facts and absorbing scenarios of how the fictions came about."

The Ragsdale Award will be formally announced and presented at the Arkansas Historical Association's annual conference in Arkadelphia from April 13-15.

Woodward is an archivist who holds a Ph.D. in history from Louisiana State University. He is the author of Marching Masters: Slavery, Race, and the Confederate Army during the Civil War and the host of the American Rambler history and pop-culture podcast.

Country Boy was published by the U of A Press in July 2022 and is available at uapress.com, by calling 1-800-621-2736 or whevever great books are sold.