Branson, Mo: Las Vegas of the Ozarks

by Henry Horenstein, Alanna Nash

In the first book to capture the magic of the Branson experience, renowned photographer Henry Horenstein documents the stars, theaters, town, and fans (along with their buses!) in glorious color photographs and enlightening text and captions. Branson, Missouri, a tiny town buried deep in the Ozark Mountains, has become the live entertainment capital of the United States. Last year alone, more than 5 million fans flocked to Branson's thirty huge celebrity theaters built by performers such as Andy Williams, Johnny Cash, and Conway Twitty. Second only to Disney World in number of visitors annually, Branson happened because a couple of old guitar pickers like Box Car Willie and Roy Clark got tired of the grind of the road and set up shop in this beautiful but sleepy neck of the woods. Other acts, finding it too expensive to tour (even if the audience was there to support them), followed suit. Like magic, legions of fans in cars, RVs, and tour buses started to appear. An expected 9 million people will pack up Grandma and the kiddies and head to Branson this year for some wholesome entertainment the way many Americans remember it.

109 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Henry Horenstein (b. 1947, Boston) is an American artist photographer. Henry Horenstein has worked as a photographer, teacher and author since the early 1970s. He is the author of over 30 books, including a series of photographic textbooks that have been used by hundreds of thousands of students over the past 30 years. In 2003, Chronicle Books published Honky Tonk, Horenstein's documentary survey of country music during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Honk Tonk was also presented as an exhibition by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2006. His work has been collected by many institutions including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.; the George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Library of Congress; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Henry Horenstein current lives in Boston and teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Reviews

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not ever been to Branson before but it is on my list to go to. It the Las Vegas of the Okarks tucked away in the mountains. Roy Clark and his friends got tired of touring so they set up shop in Branson and others followed them. Now 5 million a year visit there.