Check Out Our Last-Minute Holiday Gift Ideas!

Posted by amyclark on 08/20/2008

12/18/2007 Stephen L. Betts Maybe it’s just me, but procrastination seems to be right near the top of a long list of treasured holiday traditions! In keeping with the spirit of waiting until the last minute (but still trying desperately to impress!) here are a few can’t-miss gifts you might want to consider for your favorite country music fan. ENTER BELOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THESE GREAT GIFT IDEAS! Sure, the aspiring guitar-slinger on your list will no doubt either already own, or be clamoring for Brad Paisley’s outstanding 5th Gear CD. But if you need a little something extra (and have a little something extra to spend!) try a custom-made paisley guitar from Crook Custom Guitars, just like the ones Brad plays in his live shows. For fans of country music history, two of the very best books published this year both have at the heart of them the venerable Grand Ole Opry. Craig Havighurst’s excellent Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City was inspired in part by the (justifiable) public outcry that ensued when it looked like WSM would pull country music, and the Opry broadcasts, from the air in 2002. The profound and lasting effect WSM radio and the Opry have had on country music (and vice versa) comes alive in an exhaustively researched and beautifully written volume sure to please both scholars and lay people. There’s also the haunting, unforgettable, black-and-white images of Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium 1974, featuring the spectacular photography of Jim McGuire. Capturing a pivotal point in Ryman, Opry, and country-music history, the likes of which would never been seen again, the gorgeous coffee-table book features more than 100 images - many previously unpublished - of some of country’s greatest stars on stage and backstage at the historic Nashville landmark. For more information, check out www.nashvilleportraits.com. And if you want to render the classic country music/Opry fan on your list just plain speechless, gift them with the sublime Opry Video Classics, an 8-disc DVD set featuring nearly every essential country legend imaginable in glorious live performances from vintage Opry television programs of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.  It’s a plethora of polyester, high hairdos, and must-have musical moments. Comes in a nice fancy box too! ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF TIME LIFE'S CLASSIC BLUEGRASS COLLECTION!!   Got a hard-to-please bluegrass fan on your shopping list? Look no further than the Time Life Classic Bluegrass Collection. There are sixty essential bluegrass tracks by the legends (Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley), and the soon-to-be-legends (Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss). And the full-color booklet with vintage photographs of the Stonemans, Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, and some memorable album covers, is a hoot! Speaking of a hoot, the brilliantly wacky Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: Cowboy Jack Clement’s Home Movies has just been released on DVD by the always reliable Shout! Factory (They continue to release so much cool stuff, I'd like to just take up residence in their vault!) He may be an off-the-wall renaissance man, but Cowboy knows who his friends are, and they’re all here: Johnny Cash, Bono, Waylon Jennings, John Prine, and more are featured in a free-wheeling collection of vignettes that is anything but conventional - and must be seen to be believed! And don’t forget the most stylish gift of all: a nifty CountryHound t-shirt!