Peter La Chapelle – författare

Long before the United States had presidents from the world of movies and reality TV, we had scores of politicians with connections to country music. In I’d Fight the World, Peter La Chapelle traces the deep bonds between country music and politics, from the nineteenth-century rise of fiddler-politicians to more recent figures like Pappy O’Daniel, Roy Acuff, and Rob Quist. These performers and politicians both rode and resisted cultural waves: some advocated for the poor and dispossessed, and others voiced religious and racial anger, but they all walked the line between exploiting their celebrity and righteously taking on the world. La Chapelle vividly shows how country music campaigners have profoundly influenced the American political landscape.

Celebrity has long been tied to political aspirations in American history. Decades before the United States had a president from the realm of reality TV or the movies, we had scores of politicians with strong connections to the world of country music. Performers of so-called old-time, hillbilly, and country music not only used their popularity to attract votes, but also became major supporters of nonmusical politicians. Tracing the long intertwining histories of country music and US politics gives us more than a sideways history of American populism and conservatism; it gives us a new view of the complexities of the American political character.​In I’d Fight the World Peter La Chapelle traces the bonds between country music and politics from the rise of amateur fiddler-politicians—such as populist firebrand Tom Watson and Tennessee governors Bob and Alf Taylor in the nineteenth century—to twentieth-century figures like Pappy O’Daniel, Roy Acuff, George C. Wallace, Al Gore, Sr., and Richard Nixon, who all played or harnessed music for electoral success. La Chapelle brings the story to the present with examinations of the campaigns of musician-candidates like Kinky Friedman and Rob Quist, as well as recent political endorsements from figures like Hank Williams, Jr., Ralph Stanley, and Willie Nelson. The performers and politicians in I’d Fight the World both ride with and push against the prevailing cultural winds, with some acting as advocates for the rural poor and dispossessed and others giving voice to religious and racially-based anger. La Chapelle convincingly argues that country music campaigning has not only helped elect more celebrities than any other sector of entertainment but has profoundly influenced the American political landscape itself. These musicians and politicians walked the line between exploiting their celebrity and righteously taking on the world.

"Proud to Be an Okie" brings to life the influential country music scene that flourished in and around Los Angeles from the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s to the early 1970s. The first work to fully illuminate the political and cultural aspects of this intriguing story, the book takes us from Woody Guthrie's radical hillbilly show on Depression-era radio to Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee" in the late 1960s. It explores how these migrant musicians and their audiences came to gain a sense of identity through music and mass media, to embrace the New Deal, and to celebrate African American and Mexican American musical influences before turning toward a more conservative outlook. What emerges is a clear picture of how important Southern California was to country music and how country music helped shape the politics and culture of Southern California and of the nation.