Bill Malone

Bill C. Malone (born August 25, 1934) is an American musician, author and historian specializing in country music and other forms of traditional American music, he is a noted scholar. He is the author of the 1968 book Country Music, U.S.A., the first definitive academic history of country music. Malone is Professor Emeritus of History at Tulane University and now resides in Madison, Wisconsin.

Malone was born on a cotton-growing tenant farm 20 miles west of Tyler, Texas in 1934 and grew up with music as "a constant companion". After studying at community college, he enrolled in the University of Texas in 1956 and became a well-known singer in the Austin area, due in part to his encyclopedic repertoire of "hillbilly" songs he learned growing up. He performed at Threadgill's beer joint in Austin and completed his Master's degree. He was pleased when his faculty advisor suggested he write his doctoral dissertation on something he loved: "hillbilly", i.e., country, music. His 1965 dissertation was published in 1968 as Country Music, U.S.A.

Malone hosts a weekly radio show, "Back to the Country", on WORT–FM community radio in Madison, and performs country music with his wife, Bobbie Malone, playing mandolin and guitar.

Malone was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1984 to assist his research in U.S. history. In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for American Music.

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