Introduction: the ghost of Tom Watson -- Fire on the mountain: the initial surge of old-time and hillbilly music campaigns -- "Like Orpheus": the nineteenth century encounters the twentieth -- Antisemitism and Henry Ford's old-time music revival -- Sound trucks and radio stars: the arrival of the nonperformers -- Pensions and poll taxes: identifying a style of hillbilly music politics -- Utopian buckaroo: senator Glen Taylor and country music's left tradition -- Dixie-bent and White House-bound: regional culture, national aspirations -- A fiery but fickle faith: the Vanderbilt agrarians, Southern politics, and the country music memoir -- The nonperformers take over: Big Jim, the Little Judge, and the nationalization of country music politics -- Still not ready to make nice: the legacies of the country music campaign.
