Father and daughter team up on a book about music and spirituality. Whenever Little Richard’s hollering and piano-playing grew too boogie-woogie rowdy for the church services of his Macon upbringing, some choir matron would swat him with her pocketbook. Those righteous blows, intended to enforce the old “play for the devil or play for the Lord” dictate,...

“We’re going to be the biggest-selling country act of all time.” That’s a pretty audacious claim, considering the setting. I’m at Orphan Studios, which may be the smallest free-standing building in downtown Decatur, Ga., with a trio of local singer/songwriters who’ve just started a country band. Though all three are music veterans, they’re unlikely...