MSU historian continues award streak with national recognition for “Cold War Country”

STARKVILLE, Miss.— Mississippi State faculty member Joseph M. Thompson has added another honor to his growing list of accolades with a certificate of merit from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, recognizing his influential research on the intersection of music and military history in his acclaimed book “Cold War Country: How Nashville’s Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism.”

The honor places Thompson among leading scholars in recorded sound research.

The ARSC Awards for Excellence recognize outstanding work in historical recorded sound research and are judged by a national panel of experts across multiple fields. 

Thompson’s book, published in 2024 by the University of North Carolina Press, examines the alliance between the country music industry and the U.S. Department of Defense and its role in shaping modern ideas of American patriotism.

This latest recognition adds to a growing list of accolades for “Cold War Country.” 

Earlier this year, the International Country Music Conference awarded Thompson the Belmont University Curb Music Industry Award for Country Music “Book of the Year.” Thompson also was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the history category, placing him among just five authors nationwide to be recognized in that field.

Thompson said he is grateful for the continued recognition of his work. “My work as a historian of music wouldn’t be possible without archivists who are dedicated to preserving recorded sound,” said Thompson, an associate professor in the history department. “Knowing that ARSC sees the value of my work and my usage of those kinds of archives makes this award especially meaningful.”

For more information about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of History, visit www.cas.msstate.edu or www.history.msstate.edu.

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