He is the author of 28 books, most of them related to country music; they include biographies of performers like Eddy Arnold, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard and Gene Autry.

He is a frequent contributor of liner notes for prominent recording artists and has contributed various encyclopedia entries, magazine articles, and book chapters.

In a 1974 newspaper interview, Cusic recounted the difficulties was having at the time, saying "My plans haven't worked out like I thought they would, but at least I've got a foot in the industry and who knows what could happen".

[1] Cusic subsequently wrote biographies of country artists Eddy Arnold,[6] Roger Miller, Elvis Presley, Gene Autry, Riders in the Sky, Randy Travis and Reba McEntire.

In addition to his works about music, Cusic wrote biographies of two African-Americans, James Weldon Johnson: Songwriter[9] and The Trials of Henry Flipper, First Black Graduate of West Point.

He has also written liner notes for Sun Records 60th Anniversary Box Set ; Word Gold: Five Decades of Hits ;[10] and Lift Every Voice: A Historical Collection of James Weldon Johnson Songs.

Cusic's songs have been recorded by Bobby Bare, Jeannie Seely, Chris LeDoux, Ray Stevens, Jim Ed Brown and others.

He produced the Bobby Bare Album, Darker Than Light [11] and a collection of James Weldon Johnson songs performed by Melinda Doolittle.

In this role, Cusic and other country music scholars, working over several days, sat with Burns and viewed the preliminary footage critiquing what should be included and verifying the material.

[17] Previous recipients include Robert Helman (2014) for Johnny Cash: The Life ; and Peter Guarlnick (2016) for Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll.