Lone Stars and Legends

Like most things to come out of Texas, its legends are
larger than life.

I had been covering Texas music for about a decade when a book editor asked me, “If you were going to write a book about Texas music, what would it be?” That simple question became my first book.

I had spent enough time covering music to become fascinated with its evolution. And so my answer to that editor was that I’d leave the current music scene alone and step back in time to cover the roots of all styles of music. I would look at how all the different influences came together and then splintered to form the variety of sounds that has given way to everything from boogie-woogie and the blues to rock and electronica.

That’s exactly what I was charged to do in Lone Stars and Legends: The Story of Texas Music. The book retraces the diverse paths of the legends who lived for the music and laid the foundation for the sound we call “Texas Music.” Each chapter follows a different genre of music from its infancy – beginning with the Spanish folk music imported across the Mexican border by soldiers and settlers in the 1500s – and continues to the birth of rock ‘n’ roll with such legends as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Pat Boone.

"Paula Felps is a creative and witty writer who makes the words come alive, and has her facts straight. If you consider yourself a music buff, you've got to read this book. In short, if you like music and want an interesting read, you need this book." - Amazon.com, 5-star review

"Unlike many other historical tomes, Lone Stars and Legends is written in such a way that it actually holds your interest, making it as hard to put down as it is easy to soak up the information. In addition to providing a truckload of facts, Felps interjects these history lessons with humorous asides and investigations into not just the output but also the people behind the guitars, accordions, fiddles, pianos and trumpets - the people whose contributions provided the framework for Texas and American music as we know it today." - Amazon.com, 5-star review

"[Felps'] colorful style allows the reader to navigate through an incredible amount of information. Each chapter treats the full development of many overlapping genres, be it boogie-woogie giving rise to jazz, the links between cowboy songs and country music, or how western swing evolved to honky-tonk." - Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, North Texas Daily News

"I was impressed because [the book] pulls in these great Texas artists - it was more than I expected. It's fun and interesting; her style is just easy to read." - Mike Bogle, Director of Jazz Studies, University of Texas-Arlington

"A worthy addition to the Texas music fan's library! - Alan Burton, The Herald Democrat