Biography
Don Cusic grew up in St. Mary’s County, Maryland and attended St. Mary’s College and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated with a degree in Business and Public Administration (1972). After graduation he moved to Tennessee and became actively involved in the music industry the following year. Cusic served as staff writer for the Country Music Association, country and gospel editor for two trade magazines (Record World and Cashbox), head of artist development and international liaison for Monument Records and as an artist manager (with partner Dan Beck) for Riders In The Sky and Dickie Lee.
Cusic has written biographies of country artists Eddy Arnold, Roger Miller, Elvis Presley, Gene Autry, Riders in the Sky, Randy Travis and Reba McEntire and his book Discovering Country Music is a history of the genre as well as an overview of the current industry. He wrote biographical essays and edited books of lyrics on Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. His book, Saved by Song: A History of Gospel and Christian Music, was the first historical overview of contemporary Christian music. He has written two novels, Sharecropper's Son and a Civil War novel, Dressed in Grey & Blue.
As editor of The Western Way, the quarterly publication of the Western Music Association, Cusic has written articles on the leading figures in that field; in addition, he wrote an encyclopedia of cowboys (Cowboys and the Wild West: From the Chisholm Trail to the Silver Screen), The Cowboy in Country Music: An Historical Survey with Artist Profiles, and a biography of Henry Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point.
He has written liner notes on albums by Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Ray Stevens, Bobby Bear, Lulu Belle & Scotty, Eddy Arnold, The Oak Ridge Boys, Sonny James, Gary Paxton, George Beverly Shea, Sheb Wooley, Floyd Cramer, Skeeter Davis, Jeanne Black, Roy Drusky, and Jimmy Long. He has also written liner notes for Sun Records 60th Anniversary Box Set, Word Gold: Five Decades of Hits, and Lift Every Voice: A Historical Collection of James Weldon Johnson Songs.
In addition to his articles, liner notes, and books, Don Cusic has written songs recorded by The Lewis Family, Lynn Morris, Bobby Bare, Peter Noone, Linda Davis, Eve Goldberg, Pam Mark Hall, Carroll Baker, Darrell McCall and Chris LeDoux. He produced the Bobby Bare Album, Darker Than Light and a collection of James Weldon Johnson songs performed by Melinda Doolittle.
He has appeared a number of times on CMT programs, including the "Controversy" series, "Greatest Patriotic Songs," "Waiting in the Wings" and others; he appeared on a number of TNN shows, including "Life and Times of Eddy Arnold" and the A&E Biography Series (on Hank Williams). He also appeared on the BBC series "Lost Highway: The History of Country Music" and “White Gospel.” He has appeared in two films, Country Gold and Wish Me Away, the story of Chely Wright.
Don Cusic is the founding member and Chair of the Belmont Book Award, given each year to the best book on country music during the International Country Music Conference. He earned a Masters (1982) and Doctorate (1988) in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He is Professor of Music Business and holds a professorship, Music City Professor of Music Industry History, within the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
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