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Satan Is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers Paperback – January 2, 2013

by Charlie Louvin (Author), Benjamin Whitmer (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 383 ratings
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Get ready for one of America’s great untold stories: the true saga of the Louvin Brothers, a mid-century Southern gothic Cain and Abel and one of the greatest country duos of all time. The Los Angeles Times called them “the most influential harmony team in the history of country music,” but Emmylou Harris may have hit closer to the heart of the matter, saying “there was something scary and washed in the blood about the sound of the Louvin Brothers.” For readers of Johnny Cash’s irresistible autobiography and Merle Haggard’s My House of Memories, no country music library will be complete without this raw and powerful story of the duo that everyone from Dolly Parton to Gram Parsons described as their favorites: the Louvin Brothers.
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  1. Print length
    297 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Igniter
  4. Publication date
    January 2, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0062069047
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062069047
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the most important and illuminating memoirs ever written by a country singer.” — Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal

“I think I’ve already found my favorite book of 2012.” — Chris Talbott, Associated Press

“Satan Is Real has the best-designed book cover of 2012 .” — Paper Magazine

“The anecdotes alone offer significance to any person interested in the anthropology of Americana music. Magnanimous without feigning and brusque without malice, Charlie Louvin’s clear-eyed commentary is straightforward and unapologetic.” — Oxford American

“Masterful [and] graceful.” — Alec Solomita, Wall Street Journal

“Raw honesty, genuine grit, common sense, and smokin’ down-home flavor.” — Publishers Weekly

“A real classic of Americana.” — Booklist

“The mix of light and darkness that filled their music was mirrored in their lives.” — Ian Crouch, The New Yorker

“[A] chilling portrait of a brilliant musician intent on self-annihilation.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Grand themes of life, death, religion, salvation, damnation, human choices and, sometimes, joy.” — Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times

“Simple and plain-spoken, yet powerful and resonant.” — Daily Journal

“There was something scary and washed in the blood about the sound of the Louvin Brothers.” — Emmylou Harris

“Charlie…was a true punk, in the best sense of the word.” — Lucinda Williams

“You can’t find anybody, I don’t think, that was not inspired by them.” — Vince Gill

“They influenced everybody.” — Phil Everly

“The Burritos’ favorite artists.” — Gram Parsons

“The Louvin Brothers were my favorite when I was young and growing up in the business.” — Dolly Parton

“Probably the greatest traditional country duo in history.” — Grove Dictionary of American Music

“The most influential harmony team in the history of country music.” — Los Angeles Times

“One of the pre-eminent brother acts in country music and an inspiration to several generations of rock musicians.” — New York Times

From the Back Cover

The beautiful and tragic saga of the Louvin Brothers—one of the most legendary country duos of all time—is one of America's great untold stories. Charlie Louvin was a good, God-fearing, churchgoing singer, but his brother, Ira, had the devil in him and was known for smashing his mandolin to splinters onstage, cussing out Elvis Presley, and trying to strangle his third wife with a telephone cord.

With a moving foreword by Kris Kristofferson, Satan Is Real is the incredible tale of Charlie Louvin's sixty-five-year career, the timeless murder ballads of the Louvin Brothers, and the epic tale of two brothers bound together by love, hate, alcohol, blood, and music.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Igniter (January 2, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 297 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062069047
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062069047
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 383 ratings

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  1. Benjamin Whitmer

    Benjamin Whitmer

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    Benjamin Whitmer was born and raised on back-to-the-land communes and counterculture enclaves ranging from Southern Ohio to Upstate New York. One of his earliest and happiest memories is of standing by the side of a country road with his mother, hitchhiking to parts unknown. Since then, he’s been a factory grunt, a vacuum salesman, a convalescent, a high-school dropout, a graduate student, a semi-truck loader, an activist, a kitchen-table gunsmith, a squatter, a college professor, a dishwasher, a technical writer, and a petty thief.

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  2. Charlie Louvin

    Charlie Louvin

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
383 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

herb williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Country Music Influentials!
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
This volume is the story of the Louvin Brothers as told by Charlie Louvin and finished just before his passing in 2013.
There were lots of "Brother"groupsand family harmonizing groups in the history of Country Music but The Louvin Brothers ended up leaving quite a following and became influentials.
Charlie tells the story in the first person-raw language and all. He tells it like it was-the good and the bad, the glories and heartaches.
Charlie and Ira were two shy boys who grew up poor in Alabama. Times were rough and one had to become tough to survive.
The famous Roy Acuff was their idol and from an early age could easily memorize the words and deliveries of other brother groupson records. These guys finally got off the farm and paid their dues while trying to establish themselves which was difficult since they were not compatible.--This is the story of their struggle. Originally Gospel Music artist, it was hard to make a living in that genre. When they were righton the verge of loosing it all, they made a successful recording in the secular field. They were very successful in writing songs that others recorded and become known for their ability to harmonize in ways that others could not. They found success with song writing, hit records and membership with the Grand Ole Opry but each step of the way their success was threatened my Ira's drinking and personallity conflicts. The group broke up at their peak--a recording career of about 6 years. But they had a large body of work and many imitators. Ira who was an alcoholic licked his problem only to be killed in a head-on car wreck with a drunk driver in 1963. Charlie had success and remained an Opry member for 50 years.
These two brothers were Influentials with impact in several genres of music. In this book, Charliewill tell of the dreams, hardships and successes as only he can tell it. They have been honored by the State of Alabama, and inclusion in The Country Music Hall of Fame. I have other books pertaining to the careers of the Louvin Brothers but this is my new favorite because it's told first hand. Easy to read and necely done. Nice special effects.
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Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories, tragic tales
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2012
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Of course the stories Charlie Louvin tells are fantastic. The time he and his brother sneaked a listen to Roy Acuff, and later the time Johnny Cash sneaked a listen to them. The shiny hucksters. The small-time radio gigs. Crammed inside a tool shed to try out for the Opry, over and over. Roy Acuff's people calling him a liar. Hank Williams passed out drunk in a Shreveport gutter. Korean War. Walgreen's lunch counter. All of the "success" of his later years.

In addition to the telling great stories and showcasing his devotion for his brother, Charlie Louvin got it right in the way the stories are presented. Louvin and Ben Whitmer have put together a phenomenal book in terms of structure, for one thing. Each story is presented in a few pages -- sometimes three, sometimes five or six. Each one can stand all alone, like a short story, but each story informs the entire narrative, like chapters in a book.

This book is kinda like the quilt your grandmother and her friends had hanging from that frame in the ceiling, the one they worked on every afternoon while you watched tv and drank iced tea and listened to them out of the corner of your ear. Each little square they worked into the quilt had its own narrative, its own reason. And they worked, piecing them together in a tapestry, the whole being so much more than the sum of its parts. Each square a work of art, and the whole quilt a piece of each of them, a memory of warmth, passed down for generations.

Charlie Louvin told great stories, and Benjamin Whitmer  Pike (Switchblade)  has worked them together into an amazing collection.

Whether you're interested in country living or country music, in American history or personal history, SATAN IS REAL is a remarkable achievement and, more importantly, an amazing and rewarding read.
31 people found this helpful
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Stuart Jefferson
4.0 out of 5 stars WORTH READING EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A COUNTRY MUSIC FAN
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2012
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This book has been reviewed by a number of people already, but I thought I'd pass on a tip about this book, if you somehow missed it-it's that good.

Even if you don't like country music (even the original kind-not just the glossy, pop music in a cowboy hat stuff that often passes for country music today-though some of that is good too), you'll find this book worthwhile. Admittedly I'm a fan of the Louvin Brothers early stuff, but this book is so much more than about music. It's about a lifestyle all but gone in America. In the short (2-4 pages or so) chapters you'll begin to see a way of life none of us (thankfully) will ever know. But Charlie Louvin lived it, and he's laid it out in an easy to read format. There's also a number of b&w photographs throughout the body of the book that helps form a better picture of that entire era.

Charlie Louvin was the "good" brother, Ira was the one who always got in trouble-throughout his entire life. The book is, by turns, funny, scary, sad, informative, and revealing. From the brother's early days on the farm picking cotton, to the early days of their singing career, to eventual widespread (and well earned) popularity, to Ira's death, this book is hard to put down. Yes, there's some foul language included in Charlie telling these tales, but sometimes the choice of words just seems to fit and makes the story somehow more compelling. But this isn't a book for young impressionable readers-maybe later.

As I said, I'm writing this, in my own small way, to alert more people to check this great book out. It's a slice of life that's the real deal. And oftentimes you don't always get the real story, but here you have Charlie Louvin's look back at his brother, his family, the brother's career, and their music. It's all laid out and seems to have the ring of truth about it. But even if only half of the stories Charlie tells are even partially true-what a life! Another cool thing is that the hardcover is made up to resemble a cheap (dime) mass paperback book, using a portion of the brother's album cover art and title. Check this out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

B. Loverly
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovin the Louvin Brothers Story
Reviewed in Canada on March 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
Well written and funny at times as the Louvins claw their way to fame in Nashville at the Opry. Charlie dies not hold back.
Hard drinking for years never ends well. Enjoyed every page of this 👌 book.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in Australia on May 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
A must read for all country fans couldnt put it down gave me inspiration to keep playing as I'm only 65
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Tony Byworth
5.0 out of 5 stars Charlie tells it like it is!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2012
Verified Purchase
They were the most acclaimed, and influential, duo in country music but, away from the limelight, the Louvin Brothers' closeness turned into sheer loathing over the years. So tells Charlie Louvin in an autobiography which leaves no family truth hidden.

"Satan Is Real" (named after their 1959 album and, on the book cover, merged into a garish pulp image) reveals a harsh childhood that saw them working longs hours in the cotton fields and an abusive father who would frequently beat them. Music became their only realistic escape route. Starting off as gospel artists, the move over to secular music put them firmly in the public eye with hits like "When I Stop Dreaming", "I Don't Believe you've Met My Baby" and "Cash On The Barrelhead". But as success continued, the brothers began treading different pathways with Charlie looking after business while Ira, an exceptional musician possessing a short and violent temper (often smashing up out-of-tune mandolins on stage), became more and more immersed in a lifestyle of boozing and womanising leading, eventually, to the disintegration of the brothers' relationship, both personally and professionally. While Charlie enjoyed a secure marriage, Ira wed four times, with third wife Faye shooting him six times after a severe argument, then dying in a head-on car crash alongside fourth wife Alice. Charlie Louvin subsequently went to score two dozen solo chart hits, as well as a handful of duets with Melba Montgomery. Then, in his later years, he gained a following with younger rock fans and died in 2011, a few months before the publication of this book.

Written in a personal, off-the-cuff manner, the story is told in short chapters and often enthused with an expletive or two. The book reveals the hardships of their early childhood and the struggles to gain a footing in the music industry. There's many fine anecdotes on such music folks as flamboyant entrepreneur Smilin' Eddie Hill, music publisher Fred Rose, record producer Ken Nelson, songwriter Kris Kristofferson and bluegrass Hall of Famer Bill Monroe, who once offered to loan Ira his mandolin, a gesture never shown to anyone else. There's also the interesting story about how, as kids, the brothers Louvins sneaked in to a Roy Acuff show then, years later, a young Johnny Cash turned up at one of theirs. Towards the end Charlie Louvin reflects the changes in country music - "it ain't country music anymore", he remarks - and the Grand Ole Opry, "the longer you've been at the Opry, the worse they treat you."

The Louvin Brothers legacy is already well preserved but, with "Satan Is Real", it gains a new prospective. A truly fascinating read.
5 people found this helpful
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Geoff
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Reviewed in Australia on February 13, 2018
Verified Purchase
Great insight into the Louvin Brothers and the early days of the Grand Ole Opry - warts and all.
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B. H.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Story
Reviewed in Canada on September 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
I've listened to their music for many years, both as a duo, and their solo recordings. I knew, vaguely, some of the details about their personal lives, such as, Ira had problems with the bottle, had died in the mid-1960's, and that the brothers didn't always get along, but not much more. This book, about the personal lives of country music's greatest family duets,the Louvin brothers, the only one I know of, has helped give me a much better perspective into the lives and hardships that are all too common to those struggling to make it, and survive, in the crazy world of show business, and the toll it takes on them. An interesting thing I noted, while reading, was how many of their songs would come to mind, even the aptly named title.
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