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Country music history
Country music effects on society
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Country music has deep roots and tradition. It has had a significant influence on the history of music. I believe that Country music is the one genre that has truly had an effect on many other music genres that were to follow, but Country music itself has also been influenced by many different cultures through the years. Country music got its start in the Appalachian region in the South. Country music’s previous influences included Anglo-American Folk music. Folk music and ballads dating clear back to the colonization period from the Europeans and even the slaves (Scaruffi, 2007). Settling in the Appalachians, the sounds compiled were a mixture of music passed from generation to generation (Scaruffi, 2007). Around the 1920’s, Fiddln’ …show more content…
With the rise of radio, country music began spreading to the Midwest, Southwest and even the west coast. Coast to coast country music could be heard. Country music sounded a little different in each area of the country but it was the same in the fact that it was all tied to its deep traditions and past (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). The music progressed with the addition of new performers and different instruments, such as violins, banjos, mandolins and guitars. The music soon evolved to something called Bluegrass and Hillbilly music. In 1939, Bill Monroe made music that was a mixture of country, gospel and blues (Reno and Harrell, n.d.). Then, it was called mountain Hillbilly music, but today it would be considered Bluegrass. Some may say that mountain Hillbilly music is the music of white people, but Bluegrass has had the influences of Blues and Jazz music. An early black musician, DeFord Bailey, performed his music on barn shows and the Grand Ole Opry in the late 1920’s and 30’s (Chicago Tribune, 1998). He often performed with a harmonica and made incredible sounds with it. The African-American music and people have had a great influence on country music. White performer, Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, were known for their fusion of a Country string section with a Jazz horn section. It was through Jazz and Rhythm …show more content…
Rock and Roll had its influence on Country and Western and Country and Western also had its influence on Rock and Roll. The 1960’s brought the two together in something called Rockabilly. Popular Rockabilly artists included Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. These artists had deep southern roots of Country music’s tradition mixed with Gospel and Blues and a little bit of Rock and Roll. The 60’s also brought collaborations of Country mixed with Soul music, made popular by Ray
The “king of Western swing,” Bob Wills, was a prominent figure from the 1930s through 1950s. At at a young age he learned to play the fiddle and he and his father performed at dances and other social gatherings. He was exposed to other genres of music as a young boy such a blues, conjunto and mariachi, but it was the new sounds of jazz that inspired him to experiment with traditional country music. In 1929 Wills moved to Fort Worth, Texas, were he formed a band, the Wills Fiddle Band, which would soon change to Light Crust Doughboys. Their music was played was played on the Fort Worth radio station, KFJZ radio, and their unique sound quickly spread which is what the radio advertisers needed during the economic downfall. However, in 1933 Wills left the band and formed a new one called Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and they toured together over the next forty years. In 1945 Wills appeared at the Grand Ole Opry and insisted that there be a horn and drum section on stage. The audience was surprisingly pleased with this unwanted change by the directors. Despite his somewhat strained relationship with Nashville, the local country music establishment formally recognized Wills and his important overall impact on country music when the Country Music Association Hall of Fame inducted him in 1968 (Hartman, 146). Bob Wills died in 1975, but was still a major influence in up and coming young country artists like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, George Strait and Lee Ann Womack.
What do Clint Black, Bob Dylan, Toad the, Wet Sprocket, and Tina Turner have in common? Their music has its roots in not only the old murder ballads and the raw dance of poor southern whites, but also the blues, the hollers, and the sung of poor blacks. Black rhythm and blues and white country-western merged in such figure as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry in 1950s. Rock and roll was created by blacks and whites together as a new music filled with power and mystery.
Times have changed, and along with the times so has country music. American country music lovers have went from Loretta Lynn and Waylon Jennings, just two of the many classic oldies, to Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan, two very appealing country music artists. However, it is not only the tune of the music that has changed, it is the image, the appeal, and overall the type of icons the media is portraying these modern music stars as. Icons such as Lynn and Jennings had identifiable features within their music as well as their appearance that spoke sweet southern belle and rugged twang. Whereas Underwood’s and Bryan’s appeal now is much more sexualized than it was during the oldies. These changes affect the way modern day singers are marketed compared to former country music stars, instead of focusing on talent it is now looks.
Many would argue that country music isn't country anymore; straying too far from the older generation of fiddles, violins and guitars by incorporating a "pop" feel and focusing more on the beat than the content. Pop music is typically viewed as up-beat and differs from the sad, lonesome sounds of country from the past. I would agree that today's country has a very different sound than previous years, however, still incorporates the down-to-earth feel many of us can relate
People were imagining and seeking a way out of the chaos. From this, came the singing cowboy idea into Hillbilly music. Fans adored the idea of the singing cowboy: the free feeling, being one’s own boss, no worries, and the vast country-side absent from the rest of the chaotic world. People saw that these cowboy artists had beautiful women, loved singing, played the guitar and were quickly becoming famous. The cowboy/western trend quickly spread across Hillbilly music. In Nashville, the industrial center for Southern music, the Grand Ole Opry was formed. The Opry’s vast broadcasting helped to disperse Hillbilly music to the nation. It stands as a monument to the original upbringing and tradition of country music still today. The Opry began using this cowboy/western trend to show fans that Hillbilly music was about the working-class family. They used hay bells, overalls, flannel clothing and boots in most of the performances. This gave fans, still mostly Southerners, a sense of pride and acceptance of who they were and what they stood for in society. They no longer had to feel any less than their Northern brothers and sisters. The Southern, lower-class people took on the role of certain pastimes and traditions that would last throughout American
Howard, John Tasker, and George Kent Bellows. A Short History of Music in America. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957. 342-3. Print.
Country music originated in the Appalachian mountains of the Southern United States and has traditional folk roots that date from the early 20th century. The commercial history of country music began in the Southern United States in the 1920’s, during a ‘period of intense modernization’ (Ellison, 1995). It wasn’t until this time that country was considered a viable music genre. It was first identified as ‘hillbilly’ music in 1925 and later became known officially as ‘country’ by its designation on the Billboard Music charts (Shmoop, 2014). Widely considered the ‘Mother Church’ of country, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville became the home of many emerging and already established artists (Tichi, 1994:21). Coupled with the rise of radio and barn dance programs, country’s popularity increased greatly. Ellison (1995) describes country’s evolution from ‘rustic radio programs’ to a genre with an ‘extensive national network of fans unparalled in other forms of popular music’. During the 1930’s, the Great Depression assisted in the spread of country music throughout the US, with many poor unemployed Southerners migrating north, t...
Art Menius said, “The African-American music of the rural south provided the source for gospel, jazz, and blues, while the often ignored black contribution to country music and hillbilly music went far beyond providing the banjo and Charley Pride.” In 1928, A.P. Carter, the patriarch of the legendary Carter Family, the first family of country music, met a blues guitarist by the name of Lesley “Esley” Riddle. Lesley Riddle had created a unique picking and sliding technique on the guitar while he was recovering from an accident on the job. The Carter Family was looking for a new sound of music, and they were so overwhelmed by the sound that Lesley produced, they wanted him to teach them how to play that way. Lesley Riddle influenced Maybelle Carter’s style of guitar playing called the “Carter Scratch,” which became legendary. According to birthplaceofcountrymusic.org, Riddle’s influe...
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
In conclusion, Appalachian music can be defined as old time music, Appalachian folk music, country music, back woods country music and American Folk Music, but this type of music is and has been a staple in our society and has survived decades and with the beauty of the music it will hopefully continue for all time.
Since Bill was a native of Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, he decided to call his band "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys," and this band sound birthed a new form of country music. "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys" first appeared on the "Grand Ole Opry" in 1939 and soon became one of the most popular touring bands out of Nashville's WSM studios. Bill's new band was different from other traditional country music bands of the time because of its hard driving and powerful sound, utilizing traditional acoustic instruments and featuring highly distinctive vocal harmonies. This music incorporates songs and rhythms from string band, gospel (black and white), work songs and "shouts" from black laborers, country and blues music repertoires. Vocal selections included duet, trio, and quartet harmony singing in addition to Bill's powerful "high lonesome" solo lead singing.
Since most people lived in remote areas, the songs reflected life on the farm or in the hills. The people in the Appalachian Mountains grabbed on to it very fast, Mountain Music and Bluegrass Music came into play. There are a few major subgenres of bluegrass. Traditional bluegrass has musicians playing folk songs, tones with simple traditional chord progressions, and using only acoustic instruments. Later on different groups started practicing rock & roll. Bluegrass Gospel is a big hit in bluegrass music in which they use Christian lyrics. The music now known as bluegrass was used a lot to go with a rural dancing style known as buckdancing, flatfooting or clogging. In 1948, what would come to be known as bluegrass turned into a genre within the post-war country/western-music industry, a period of time characterized now as the golden era or wellspring of traditional bluegrass. Since the beginning, bluegrass has been recorded and performed by professional and amateur musicians. Radio stations dedicated to bluegrass have also proved influential in advancing the evolution of the style into certain subgenres. Bluegrass was initially included in the class of folk music and later changed into hillbilly. In 1948, bluegrass was placed under the country/western heading for radio
Country music has changed since it began. Country and pop can be mixed but you have to do it correctly. Girls that sing country usually sing higher notes and are from the south. Carrie Underwood is a famous country music star. She has taken the world by storm one song at a time. Carrie Underwood, an amazing role model, has been singing for four years.
Country music was brought over by the first European settlers. In medieval times, storytelling was a tradition that allowed history to be recorded when few were able to read and write. When the first British settlers came to America, they brought this tradition with them, along with songs that they had learned in Europe. The people who settled the Appalachian Mountains and the West did not have an easy life and their music gave them an outlet to express their hardships.
Thesis Statement: Originating in the 1920s, country music developed four distinct generations and it reflected American’s lives and values.