Hillbilly Maidens, Okies, and CowgirlsA PopMatters Best Non Fiction Book of 2020 From the 1930s to the 1960s, the booming popularity of country music threw a spotlight on a new generation of innovative women artists. These individuals blazed trails as singers, musicians, and performers even as the industry hemmed in their potential popularity with labels like woman hillbilly, singing cowgirl, and honky tonk angel. Stephanie Vander Wel looks at the careers of artists like Patsy Montana,