Get ready for one of America’s great untold stories: the true saga of the Louvin Brothers, a mid-century Southern gothic Cain and Abel and one of the greatest country duos of all time. The Los Angeles Times called them “the most influential harmony team in the history of country music,” but Emmylou Harris may have hit closer to the heart of the matter, saying “there was something scary and washed in the blood about the sound of the Louvin Brothers.” For readers of Johnny Cash’s irresistible autobiography and Merle Haggard’s My House of Memories, no country music library will be complete without this raw and powerful story of the duo that everyone from Dolly Parton to Gram Parsons described as their favorites: the Louvin Brothers.
"One of the most important and illuminating memoirs ever written by a country singer." — Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal
"I think I’ve already found my favorite book of 2012." — Chris Talbott, Associated Press
"The anecdotes alone offer significance to any person interested in the anthropology of Americana music. Magnanimous without feigning and brusque without malice, Charlie Louvin’s clear-eyed commentary is straightforward and unapologetic." — Oxford American
"Masterful [and] graceful." — Alec Solomita, Wall Street Journal
"Raw honesty, genuine grit, common sense, and smokin’ down-home flavor." — Publishers Weekly
"A real classic of Americana.” — Booklist
"The mix of light and darkness that filled their music was mirrored in their lives." — Ian Crouch, The New Yorker
"[A] chilling portrait of a brilliant musician intent on self-annihilation." — Kirkus Reviews
"Grand themes of life, death, religion, salvation, damnation, human choices and, sometimes, joy." — Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times
"Simple and plain-spoken, yet powerful and resonant." — Daily Journal
"One of the pre-eminent brother acts in country music and an inspiration to several generations of rock musicians." — New York Times, Editor's Choice