George Hamilton IV: Ambassador of Country Music
George Hamilton IV: Ambassador of Country Music
Customer Review: International ambassador of country music
International ambassador of country music
George IV has a unique place in country music history that is worth remembering. In his own country, the USA, his track record is good but nothing special. He had a huge pop hit in the fifties (A rose and a Baby Ruth) and a series of country hits in the sixties, the biggest of which was Abilene although Canadian Pacific is arguably the most famous. However, he was nowhere near as successful as Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Buck Owens, Jim Reeves and George Jones, to name a few other country singers of the sixties.
However, George IV got opportunities to sing and promote his music around the world and he made the most of them. Although he did not have any hits in the UK (where there have never been country singles charts - only pop charts), he became a household name via TV and radio appearances, supported by regular concert tours. He also became hugely popular in Canada - he recorded so many Canadian songs that some people actually think he’s a Canadian. He also became popular in other countries around the world and was one of the few American singers of any genre to take his music to Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
This book tells George IV’s story, including plenty about his family and his religion (perhaps too much for me). If you wonder about the IV at the end of his name, you can find the answers here. You not only learn about I, II and III but also about V and (at the end) VI. The amount of name-dropping of all the celebrities he’s met is also a bit excessive.
By doing more to spread country music around the world than any other individual has ever done, George IV has earned his place in country music history. As a book, this is much less exciting than other biographies I have read. George IV fans will want this book anyway, as will anybody (like me) interested in the spread of country music around the world. But if you’re just looking to read a biography of a country singer, there are more exciting stories to read than this one.
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