My mom’s sister and her husband owned a bar in a tiny little farming town in Ohio where I grew up, south of Toledo. Some of her favorite artists were Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton and my little sister-who’s also a professor down at the University of Alabama-her name is Jolene after the Dolly Parton song. As I mentioned, in my book, Rednecks, Queers and Country Music, my mom was a big country fan. How did I come to study country music? Well, I grew up with it. Nadine Hubbs: I don’t think I ever did fall prey to a simplistic view of the form. Olivia Weeks, Daily Yonder: How did you come to study country music? Did you ever fall prey to a simplistic view of the genre? Enjoy our conversation about the class politics of country music and the limits of the queer visibility movement, below.
This is a lengthy and important interview, so I’m going to keep the preamble short. You might know her from her appearance on Dolly Parton’s America, and this (gay) version of the song “Jolene.” Her 2014 book is called Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music, and she’s currently researching Mexican American country music fans. Nadine Hubbs is a professor of women’s and gender studies and music at the University of Michigan.
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Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, a new email newsletter from the Daily Yonder.