Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia)  Emery, Walter Ralph, 1933-2022, American country music broadcaster, b. McEwen, Tn. Commonly recognized as the "Dick Clark" of country radio, Emery helped legitimatize and popularize the genre over ...

(Encyclopedia) Hawran or Hauran houränˈ [key] [Heb.,=hollow or cavernous land], region, SW Syria. It is a largely treeless area marked by conical volcanic peaks, barren lava fields, and rich lava soil. In the nort...

(Encyclopedia) Pride, Charley (Charley Frank Pride), 1934–2020, American country singer, the first African-American country-music superstar, b. Sledge, Miss. He init...

(Encyclopedia) Lynn, Loretta, 1932–2022, American country singer and songwriter, b. Butcher Hollow, Ky. One of the most successful singers in modern country music, s...

(Encyclopedia) Parton, Dolly, 1946–, country singer, songwriter, and actress, b. Sevier County, Tenn. Among the most popular country singers of the 1970s and 80s, Parton is known for her Nashville-style flamboyanc...

(Encyclopedia) manor house, dwelling house of the feudal lord of a manor, occupied by him only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built specifically for fortification as castles were, many man...

(Encyclopedia) reprisal, in international law, the forcible taking, in time of peace, by one country of the property or territory belonging to another country or to the citizens of the other country, to be held as a...

(Encyclopedia) Rodgers, Jimmie (James Charles Rodgers), 1897–1933, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter often called “the father of country music,” b. Meri...

(Encyclopedia) Arafat, Yasir or Yasser yäsērˈ ärˈäfät; –sər [key], 1929–2004, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the coordinating body for Palestinian organizations, and head of Al Fa...

(Encyclopedia)  Brooks, Garth , 1962- , American country singer/songwriter, b. Luba, OK, Oklahoma State Univ. (B.A., 1984). Brooks's mother was a country singer who pe...