History of Country Music
Appalachian Area of the USA
Country music began
with immigrants of
Appalachia. Those who
came from the “Old
World” brought only
their most valuable
assets, which included
instruments. The most
commonly used were
The Irish fiddle, the
German derived
dulcimer, the Italian
mandolin, the Spanish
guitar, and the West
African banjo
“Old Time” Music- 1800s
In the South, folk music was a combination
of musical traditions of a variety of ethnic
groups. For example, some instrumental
pieces from British and Irish immigrants
were the basis of folk songs and ballads that
form what is now known as old time music,
from which country music descended
 The interactions among musicians from
different ethnic groups produced music
unique to this region of North America.
 This early country music along with early
recorded country music primarily used the
fiddle, guitar, and banjo.

“Old Time” Music- 1800s
A great deal of style—and of course, the
banjo—came from African Americans.
One of the reasons country music was
created by African Americans, as well as
European Americans, is because blacks
and whites in rural communities in the
south often worked and played together.
 Influential black guitarist Arnold Schultz,
known as the primary source for thumb
style, or Travis picking, played with white
musicians in West-central Kentucky.

And then there’s Texas…

Throughout the 19th century, several
immigrant groups from Europe, most
notably from Ireland, Germany, Spain, and
Italy, moved to Texas. These groups
interacted with Mexican, Native American
and U.S. communities that were already
established in Texas. As a result of this
cohabitation and extended contact, Texas
has developed unique cultural traits that
are rooted in the culture of all of its
founding communities.
Evolution of Country- 1920s

Atlanta's music scene played a major role
in launching country's earliest recording
artists in the early 1920s — many
Appalachian people had come to the city
to work in its cotton mills and brought
their music with them. It would remain a
major recording center for two decades
and a major performance center for four
decades, into the first country music TV
shows on local Atlanta stations in the
1950s.
Evolution of Country- 1920s
Columbia Records began issuing records
with "hillbilly" music as early as 1924.
 Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer
to have a nationwide hit in1924 with "Wreck
of the Old '97
 In April 1924, "Aunt" Samantha Bumgarner
and Eva Davis became the first female
musicians to record and release country
songs.
 The first commercial recordings of Country
music were "Arkansas Traveler" and "Turkey
in the Straw" by fiddlers Henry Gilliland &
A.C. (Eck) Robertson in1925 for Victor
Records.

Jimmie Rodgers and the Carters
Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are widely
considered to be important early country
musicians. Their first recording session was in
1927.
 Rodgers fused hillbilly country, gospel, jazz, blues,
pop, cowboy, and folk; and many of his best songs
were his compositions, including “Blue Yodel”,
which sold over a million records and established
Rodgers as the premier singer of early country
music.
 Beginning in 1927, and for the next 17 years, the
Carters recorded some 300 old-time ballads,
traditional tunes, country songs and gospel hymns,
all representative of America's southeastern
folklore and heritage.

Jimmy Rodgers in
1929
Jimmie Rodgers
1930s-1940s


One effect of the Great Depression was to
reduce the number of records that could be
sold. Radio, and broadcasting, became a
popular source of entertainment, and "barn
dance" shows featuring country music were
started all over the South, as far north as
Chicago, and as far west as California.
The most important was the Grand Ole
Opry, which began airing in 1925 in Nashville
and has continued airing through today.
Country and Western- 1930s&40s


During the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs,
or Western music, were popularized by films
made in Hollywood. Some of the popular
singing cowboys from the era were Gene
Autry and Roy Rogers. Country music &
western music were frequently played
together on the same radio stations, hence
the term country & western music.
Patsy Montana opened the door for female
artists with her history making song "I Want
To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart". This would
begin a movement toward opportunities for
women to have successful solo careers.
Changing the Instruments
Drums were scorned by early country
musicians as being "too loud" and "not
pure," but by 1935 Western swing big
band leader Bob Wills had added drums
to the Texas Playboys. In the mid 1940s,
the Grand Ole Opry did not want the
Playboys’ drummer to appear on stage.
 By the early 1960s, however, it was rare
that a country band didn't have a
drummer

Other Genres of Country
Western Swing
 Hillbilly boogie
 Bluegrass
 Folk
 Gospel
 Honky Tonk

Changing Music 1950s-1960s
Western Music reached its peak in the
early 1950s.
 Musicians began blending Western swing,
country boogie, and honky tonk.
 During the mid-1950s a new style of
country music became popular, eventually
to be referred to as rockabilly.

Rockabilly
1956 was the year of Rockabilly.
 Rockabilly was a mixture of rock-and-roll
and hillbilly music.
 During this period Elvis Presley converted
over to country music. He played a huge
role in the music industry during this
time. The number two, three and four
songs on Billboard's charts for that year
were Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel";
Johnny Cash, "I Walk the Line"; and Carl
Perkins, "Blue Suede Shoes".

I Walk The Line
video from 1959
Johnny Cash
Nashville- 1960s



Reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the
Nashville sound turned country music into a
multimillion-dollar industry centered in
Nashville, Tennessee.
The sound brought country music to a
diverse audience and helped revive country
as it emerged from a commercially fallow
period.
This subgenre was notable for borrowing
from 1950s pop stylings: a prominent and
"smooth" vocal, backed by a string section
and vocal chorus. Instrumental soloing was
de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks".
“Crazy”
Video from 1960s
Patsy Cline
Other Sub-Genres
Countrypolitan- country music even
more heavily influenced by “pop” (Tammy
Wynette)
 Country soul- crossover artists from the
Soul and R&B styles began making
country music (Ray Charles)
 Hard Country- artists that stayed with
the more traditional sound (Loretta Lynn)
 Bakersfield Sound- a mix of hard country,
honky tonk, and Western swing (Buck
Owens)

Country Rock- 1960s


The late 1960s in American music produced
a unique blend as a result of traditionalist
backlash within separate genres. In the
aftermath of the British Invasion, many
desired a return to the "old values" of rock
n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of
enthusiasm in the country sector for
Nashville-produced music. What resulted
was a crossbred genre known as country
rock.
Gram Parsons is known as the father of
country-rock.
Country Rock Artists
Early innovators in this new style of music
in the 60s and 70s included Bob Dylan
who was the first to revert to country
music. He was followed by rock n' roll
icon band The Byrds and its spin-off The
Flying Burrito Brothers, the Grateful
Dead, Neil Young, and The Eagles among
many.
 The Rolling Stones also got into the act
with songs like "Honky Tonk Women" and
"Dead Flowers".

Country Rock’s Influence
Country rock is one of the most longlasting sub-genres of country. It’s
influences created alternative country as
we know it.
 Alternative country artists include Dolly
Parton, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Carrie
Underwood, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn,
Hank Williams Jr., and Garth Brooks.

“Before He Cheats”
video
Carrie Underwood on American Idol
Even more subgenres- 70s-90s
Outlaw country- Derived from the traditional
Western and honky tonk musical styles of the late
1950s and 1960s, and mixed with the anger of an
alienated subculture of the nation during the 70s
(Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings)
 Country Pop- a mix of countrypolitan, folk, and
soft rock, generally included in the 70s a pop
artist that had crossed over (Olivia Newton John,
Marie Osmond)
 Neocountry- In 1980, a style of "neocountry
disco music" was popularized by the film Urban
Cowboy, which also included more traditional
songs such as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
by the Charlie Daniels Band

Even more subgenres- 70s-90s
Truck driving- a fusion of honky tonk,
country-rock and Bakersfield Sound. It has
the tempo of country-rock and the emotion
of honky-tonk, and its lyrics focus on a truck
driver's lifestyle (C.W. McCall)
 Neotraditionalist- During the mid-1980s,
a group of new artists began to emerge who
rejected the more polished country-pop
sound that had been prominent on radio and
the charts, in favor of more, traditional,
"back-to-basics" production (Randy Travis,
George Strait)

The 1990s Explosion




FM radio was expanded in 1980s to include
more channels. In the 90s, country music
began moving from AM radio to FM radio,
reaching a wider audience.
The wider audience led music producers to
produce a cleaner more appealing sounding
country music
Rock music was changing into the alternative
and grunge sound, also changing the sound
of many country artists influenced by the
rock genre
The real explosion of popularity happened
due to two artists- Garth Brooks and Billy
Ray Cyrus
Garth Brooks
The Recording Industry Association of America announced
that Garth Brooks was the best-selling solo artist of the 20th
century in America. This conclusion drew criticism from the
press and many music fans who were convinced that Elvis
Presley had sold more records, but had been short-changed
in the rankings due to faulty RIAA certification methods
during his lifetime. Brooks, while proud of his sales
accomplishments, stated that he too believed that Presley
must have sold more
 The RIAA has since reexamined their methods for counting
certifications. Under their revised methods, Presley became
the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history, making Brooks the
number two solo artist.
 On November 5, 2007, Brooks was again named the best
selling solo artist in US history, surpassing Presley after
audited sales of 123 million were announced.
 In December 2010, several more of Presley's albums received
certifications from the RIAA. As a result, Elvis again surpassed
Brooks. As of June 2012, the RIAA lists Presley's total sales at
134.5 million and Brooks' at 128 million.

2000s and beyond
Notable for the amount of crossover artists from
other genres
 Carrie Underwood made records- first woman to
twice win the Entertainer of the Year award at the
ACMAs, first country artist in 10 years to win
best new artist Grammy, only country artist to
have a #1 song on the Billboard top 100 for
2000-2009
 Taylor Swift- first country artists to have two #1
on the Nielsen charts, has been named one of the
best songwriters of all time, Speak Now broke
records by selling 1,041,000 copies in its first
week
