Bobby Braddock Shares Stories Behind Country Music’s Greatest Lyrics In New Book

Bobby Braddock is revealing the stories behind the standout lines in more than 80 legendary country songs in his latest book, Country Music’s Greatest Lines: Lyrics, Stories & Sketches from American Classics from Arcadia Publishing & The History Press.

Available July 6, the new book gives the reader a behind-the scenes view of classics from Hank Williams, Bill Anderson, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, Eric Church, and more. Artist Carmen Beecher brings the tales to vivid life with strikingly realistic illustrations of seldom-seen songwriters, superstars, and unforgettable song characters.

“As a decades-long inhabitant of Music Row, I know a lot of the stories behind the songs and have had the privilege and honor of stumbling into more than a few songwriting sessions where music history was being made,” said Braddock. “I often thought that those attention-getting lines that are an important part of country hits would be an interesting topic for a book. I knew just who to approach: an old friend, world-class illustrator Carmen Beecher, who I invited to collaborate with me on this project to help bring these stories to life with pictures of the songs’ characters or writers or singers.”