Ole Kentucky Wonder: Review of Prof. Taylor Hagood's Stringbean in New City Lit

Patrick Roberts reviews Prof. Taylor Hagood's Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend in New City Lit (June 5th, 2023).

An excerpt of Roberts' review—"Ole Kentucky Wonder: A Review of “Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend” by Taylor Hagood":

Hagood, who writes with an appealingly loose and earnest style, has genuine affection for Stringbean. Perhaps the most moving passages are those in which Hagood reflects on the symbiotic relationship between the man and his trusty Vega No. 9 Tubaphone banjo. It was a relationship as intimate as that between a cowboy and his horse. Watch those early videos of Stringbean and you’ll see his banjo practically ride itself as it gallops through an old-time tune like “Little Liza Jane.” No wonder Stringbean would deadpan in such moments, “I feel so unnecessary.” [ . . . ]