Marty Stuart Releases Pictorial Tribute To Country Masters

Marty Stuart has released his second book of photography titled Country Music: The Masters. The 342-page book is published by Chicago's Source Books, and features rare photos, including Stuart's personal shots of friends like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Ray Charles. Billy Bob Thornton wrote the foreword.

Country Music: The Masters includes an integrated audio CD that features the stories behind selected photos.

The CD also includes "Dark Bird," an unreleased song dedicated to Johnny Cash, written by Stuart after Cash's death.

Thornton writes: "A photograph can just be a piece of paper with an image on it... But when the observer with his finger on the button has the life experience it takes to understand the life he's shooting, the photograph is a story. Marty's photographs live and breathe. If it's a person, you can hear their thoughts, feel their pain or joy, and read at least a part of their story. If it's a building or a landscape, you can feel the presence of those who have walked there or lived there through the years."

By Jennifer Anderson