Background:

"From the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, large numbers of settlers from the British Isles made their way to the mountainous regions of what is now the southern and southwestern United States, bringing with them many centuries of rich musical traditions that they maintained as cultural links with the Old World. Their dance music included simple rhythmic dances such as the jig, the reel, the polka, the waltz, and various types of round dances. Their vocal music included hymns and folk ballads as well as other types of songs."

Most of their music was played by a fiddle, which is the folk term for a medieval violin. They also had instruments such as the guitar, dulcimer, piano, and later the harmonica. By the end of the thirties, instruments such as the string bass, steel guitar, and the auto harp had also come into common use in Southern folk music. Around the time of the Civil War, blacks in the South developed the banjo from an African instrument. The banjo was previously called the banza.

"How can we describe country music? First, it is rural- oriented, evoking the country. Lyrics are basic--"corny" according to some, but "real" and "honest" to others."

Spread of Country Music:

During the "Great Depression," people were forced to move around looking for work, such as the big migration out west as a result of the "dust bowl".

It was radio that made country music really popular. There were several hundred commercial stations broadcasting by the early 1920's, many of which were in the South; therefore, amateur musicians and balladeers had a chance to take their music to a much larger audience. As I was growing up in the early 1950's I remember my parents going to square dances and watching The Grand Ole Opry on television.

By the mid 1920's country music was being widely broadcast. Many would go to, and listen to the big Barn Dance programs on the radio on Saturday nights. The WSM Barn Dance was first broadcast in 1925, which later changed its name to the Grand Ole Opry, which is still very popular today.

"The years between 1925 and 1935 were the golden years of country music. These early country recordings certainly rank as one of the most extensive blocks of traditional folk music ever collected."

The simple home-style harmonies and the high nasal sound of "The Carter Family"" caught the ear of the South like none before them. Their sound was smoother and more professional than that of any of the groups around at the time. They recorded hundreds of songs between 1927 and their final performance as a group in 1941.

Paralleling the Carter Family's success was Jimmie Rodgers. He came from Mississippi, had no formal training, and played the guitar very badly, and he shifted the spotlight even farther away from the old fiddle bands to that of the new country singing star. His voice had a natural yodel and the high nasal sound of his voice became the trademark of country music. Jimmie Rodgers, known as the "Singing Brakeman," was probably more responsible than anyone for the advancement of early country music. When he died in 1933 from tuberculosis he was termed the "King of Country and Western Music;" however, many say that Bob Wills is still the king! Rodgers only performed for six years, and it was he that was responsible for the adding of the thirteenth bar to country music.

Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family established the basic sounds of country music. Some were calling it "hillbilly" music, though many thought of this term as a derogatory.

Hank Williams' Hey Good Lookin is a traditional country music song. His country accent and high nasal singing are typical, and helps us distinguish this as a country and western music style. Hank Williams shares these country singing traits with others such as Jimmy Rodgers and the Carter Family.

"On the morning of August 11th, 1952, Hank Williams was lying in the back seat of a cadillac outside of WSM, drunk, depressed, and, as of a few hours earlier, out of work. He had just been fired from the Grand Ole Opry, and although another job was waiting at the "Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport, Hank felt all the consolation that a depressed chairman of the board would find in knowing he could still be a head cashier. The opry, in those days, was the top of the country music heap, and Hank had struggled long and hard to get there."

Western Swing:

Hillbilly music was very popular and it developed into many different music styles. In Texas, in response to the popular jazz and swing music of the 1930's and 40's, "Western Swing" originated. This style of music uses the Swing Band format with the horns, trombones, saxophones, etc. To the horn sound they added the fiddle and steel guitar, and unlike any other style in country music, the drums. They also added yodelling. This was a swing-time dance music with a fast dance beat.

Honky-Tonk:

Named after the honky-tonk bars and saloons of Texas, these bars were small, smoke-filled, rowdy places where the noise level was very high. The music in these honky-tonks had to be loud and had to have a steady beat that was easy to dance to. With honky- tonk came the use of the amplified instrument such as the guitar and bass instruments, which has greatly influenced the rock-n- roll of today. I don't like music loud, so I usually don't patronize places like that; however, I have a friend that sings in a country and western band, so I periodically go watch her sing. She's really good, so it's worth it to me to sacrifice the discomfort of loud music.

Cajun Music:

Cajun music has been brought into country music. It is another form of folk music, but has only been discovered within the past ten to fifteen years. The songs were originally sung in French, which helped keep this style isolated until recently.

The instruments used are the accordions, spoons and wash boards.

Down at the Twist and Shout, a recent recording of cajun music sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter, tells about the fa do do (meaning lay down): a room where the wives laid their children down to sleep, so they could get back to the dancing at the barn dances to keep their eyes on their husbands and get back to dancing.

Bluegrass:

Some date the birth of bluegrass as 1939. Bluegrass was a revival of musicians who were very highly trained and skilled. Bill Monroe, the founder of bluegrass, and his band, The Bluegrass Boys, were among the top stars of the day. Many people in the country in the 1940's believed Bill Monroe and his boys played the only "real country music." It wasn't until the early 1950's that people started referring to Bill Monroe's music as Bluegrass--named after his Bluegrass Boys Band.

Bluegrass is played on acoustic instruments such as the fiddle, guitar, string bass, string banjo, dulcimer and sometimes the mandolin.

Bluegrass is played very fast. This primarily instrumental music is played by extremely skilled musicians to produce a very exciting, foot-stomping sound that is still popular and going strong today. Bluegrass musicians will not play electric instruments. Bluegrass is also known as mountain music.

Movie Cowboys:

Many Americans in the armed forces were getting their first dose of country music. Many Americans were going to the movies to temporarily forget their troubles. By the time the war had begun, Texans such as Gene Autry and Tex Ritter were shooting and singing their way into the ranks of Hollywood's highest paid stars. These movies were extremely popular and they produced several country and western music stars such as Roy Rogers and his Sons of the Pioneers Band, Tex Ritter, and Gene Autry.

The Nashville Sound:

"The Nashville sound, if there is such a thing, is a record cut in Nashville that has that relaxed atmosphere."

They started to modernize and smooth out hillbilly music in the early 1950's. They began to use big bands and violins to produce a more polished sound.

They started using professional musicians and back-up singers. This became the more polished, professional tone which people referred to as the Nashville Sound. It all began before the start of the rock-n-roll era and has continued to the present.

Country Rock:

By now, most of us know we wouldn't have rock-n-roll if it were not for country music. Western swing, honky-tonk, and hillbilly boogie all began to merge together.

Hillbilly boogie is a combination of boogie woogie rhythms and country music. Combine the boogie woogie speed with the back beat of country to create a fusion of what is known as rock-a- billy.

The drums used in western swing (the blues influence), the double time of the hillbilly boogie, and the amplification of the honky-tonk style all merged together to become rock-n-roll. All of these rock-a-billy bands broke away from the hillbilly boogie classification to become rock-n-roll bands.

In the early 1960's we had bands such as The Byrds and Credence Clearwater Revival. These bands played in a country style, but was considered rock; thus, we have country rock.

In the late 1960's, we see what is known as the "Southern Rock" style. Bands such as The Allman Brothers, Lynard Skynard, and Marshall Tucker.

Country musicians have picked up on these two styles of music, and as a result the styles stayed in country music and developed into country rock. This is no longer a rock form of music, but is country music and is called "Country Rock."

When we listen to the country music of today, we hear something strangely familiar--it sounds like good old rock-n-roll. Of course, it has a steel guitar, a fiddle, a country accent, and a bit of a nasal sound to remind us it is still really country music.

I remember when I was growing up in the 1950's listening to and collecting the popular rock-n-roll records, I hated country and western music; however, that's all I listen to now. It hasn't ever dawned on me, until this class, that the country and western music of today is almost the same as the rock-n-roll of that earlier time. I thought my taste in music changed, but that isn't the case at all.

Elements of Style:

Melody: The song uses the major scale and blues notes, E flat and B flat

Harmony: The music stays within the 1-3-5-7 of the major scale.

Rhythm: The songs rhythm is the traditional 2/4 classical with the accent on the backbeat; however, the Nashville and country rock is 4/4 with accent on the backbeat.

Tone Color: Basic bars--and we hear the steel guitar, fiddle, piano, bass and drums.

Musical Form: Twelve bar blues.

Size of Group: The size of a country western band can be anywhere from a solo to a full orchestra.

Sounds Used: The song uses edges, which are rough sounds such as growls, bends, slurs, and shades of vibrato. This is the same as the blues, where this all began as a form of expression. Actually, there were mistakes--players weren't very good at it yet. These mistakes were taken and are now used intentionally.

Conclusion:

Out of the blues and out of the hills came country and western music. It has been around for quite a while. Its popularity is still growing more every day; in fact, it is the most popular music in the United States.

"No single person did more to make country music popular all over America than Ralph Peer of RCA Victor. Peer was a New Yorker, but he took portable recording machines to the south and set up studios in hotel rooms. Peer was the first to record Fiddling John Carson, who surprised RCA Victor by selling a lot of records and showing that there was a big audience for country music."

If Jimmie Rodgers were the first big solo singing star in country music, then Hank Williams was the second; however, as the popular saying goes, Bob Wills is still the king!

I like country and western music, and though I enjoy other kinds of music my heart will probably stay with country. I enjoy Hank Williams, but I like the direction country and western music is going.

"But even more obviously, the music of Daniels and the others represents the sound of change--the intertwined preoccupations with roots and with experimentation that have dominated the recent history of country music (just as a profound combination of nostalgia and future shock has dominated the lives of those who listen), some of the musical changes have been highly creative, others strictly commercial. No one knows where the whole thing will lead, chiefly because, if you hang around recording centers such as Nashville for very long at all, you realize that the music is heading in a bunch of weird directions all at one time."

References

Artis, Bob. Bluegrass. New York: Hawthorne, 1975.

Charlton, Katherine. Rock Music Styles: A History. Walnut, CA: Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1990.

Gaillard, Frye. Watermelon Wine: The Spirit of Country Music. New York: St. Martains Press, 1978.

Hemphill, Paul. Nashville Sound: Bright Lights & Country Music. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970.

Price, Steven D. Take Me Home: Rise of Country & Western Music. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974.

Willie Nelson with Bud Shrake. Willie: An Autobiography. New York. Simon and Schuster, 1989.