An insider's view covers 50 years of the fabled center of the country music business How did a medium-sized Southern river town become arguably the most important music center in America? Michael Kosser tells its story with the help of the men and women who made it happen, evoking a sense of "being there." In How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A., his subjects come alive and draw us into the studios, publishing companies, record label head sheds and promotion offices. We learn how a single studio in a tiny duplex house became Music Row, a ten-block area populated by hundreds of talented people whose job is to simply make music. How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A. counters decades of media stereotyping of Nashville as "Hillbilly Heaven." It's where Elvis ushered in the commercial rock 'n' roll explosion by recording "Heartbreak Hotel," Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, and Willie Nelson taught mainstream America to love soulful ballads, and Bob Dylan recorded three of his most important albums. . The full-length CD includes recordings made in the early studios of Music Row, giving listeners a rare chance to hear the demos made by some of Nashville's most talented artists that along with the city's music business pioneers helped shape Music City into what it is today.