Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Legend by Taylor Hagood - Book Review

Almost as soon as I picked up Taylor Hagood's biography of David Akeman (Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Legend) I knew I could put aside my instinct to find fault in order to luxuriate in a well-documented, carefully constructed, combination of biography and true crime story that would introduce me to a musician I had only heard about, who along with his wife Estelle, was murdered in a gruesome plot to steal the money that was supposed to hidden away in his modest farmhouse.

The first several chapters use the few early available published resources and public records to locate David Akeman without ever overstepping what he can actually document. Then Hagood artfully and accurately portrays the environment in Eastern Kentucky, the rise of country and bluegrass music on the radio, and the increasing visibility of Stringbean as he worked with ever more prominent bands, appearing with them on the radio and travelling with them on the southern country music trail. He writes about the influences of Uncle Dave Macon and Grandpa Jones on Akeman's approach to the banjo. By creating an environment and maintaining scholarly demands for citing details, Hagood, a writer of imagination and agility, builds a fully believable environment without ever making leaps of credibility.

As the late fifties and sixties arrived, the influence of folk and rock music showed in Akeman's approach while he was always true to old-time traditions in his music and life, Hagood draws interesting and important distinctions between the emerging folk music craze, changes in country music, and the emergence of rock & roll. He focuses on the seemingly great difference between folk music's rising star, Pete Seegar and Stringbean, pointing out that their approaches to traditional music were quite different, while marveling that, apparently they never met. (pp. 86 - 91)

David Akeman

Stringbean's career, as Hagood clearly points out, spans the period between the late nineteenth century and the mid-twentieth, with his musical background on the banjo reaching back almost to the days of blackface, while lasting long enough for him to have travelled with Bill Monroe, and to be featured on both the Grand Ol' Opry and HeeHaw on television. Hagood is able to draw on television film archives through the sixties, when Stringbean emerged as a national figure as well as later, even more modern material, yet remains respectful of the traditional world of country music. 

As Stringbean matures into middle age, he becomes recognized as a transitional figure from old-time string band music reaching back into the late nineteenth century, while still keeping the respect and love of a new generation of musicians in country music, reflecting a more modern face through television. Just as Akeman had received extensive national attention because of the larger platform he enjoyed, his life was ended at the age of fifty-eight, largely because he had a reputation for storing large amounts of money in his home, because of his distrust of banks, growing out of his experiences during the Depression. The final chapters focus on the search for Akeman's killers and their trial, showing how difficult ferreting out the truth can be. 

Taylor Hagood

Taylor Hagood is a professor of English at Florida Atlantic University with a wide variety of interests in literature, music, and history. He has a busy career as an internationally known, in demand speaker, humorist, and musical performer. 

Stringbean: The Life and Music of a Country Music Legend by Taylor Hagood supplied to me by the University of Illinois Press and available from Amazon as well as other major vendors. I read a review copy sent to me by the publisher. I highly recommend this well-researched and highly readable (the two don't always go together) book.