Big Blog no. 1: Country Music

For starters, I for one was not brought up with most country music. I recently have gotten into it from friends here at Converse College. Along the way, my hometown friends were all kinds of culture. My best friend, Christina, is of mixed race and has ties to African American and Caucasian culture. She has a song that hits every time. To get your ears ready and minds tuned in, here is a snippet of some fun Country music. Presenting "Chattahoochee" by Alan Jackson

History

The history of Country music is originated in the rural South and West; can be referred to as Western. It is a style of popular music in the early 20th century. The term country/western was adopted by recording industries in 1949. This was to spruce up the name and image of the genre from hillbilly music. Country music typically stems from English, Scottish, and Irish settlers of the Appalachians and many other parts of the South. Country music is traditionally filled with vigor and realism. Its lyrics are very impersonal stories of tragedies and made its way far from "Fiddlin'". Country music really made its debut in small broadcast radios. They appeared in larger Southern and Midwestern cities in the 1920s. White rural audiences were the focus groups here. Two famously known programs were the "National Barn Dance" in Chicago and "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville. Famous musicians like the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers influenced later musicians. Migration of Southern whites to industrial cities during Great Depression and WWII, carried country music into new areas and exposed it to new influences such as blues and gospel music. 1930s introduced "singing cowboy" films starring Gene Autry. Works like his took country music and with altered lyrics made it into a synthetic and adventurous "western" music. To piggyback off of the North, in Texas of 1930s, the music of rural whites was exposed to swing jazz of black orchestras. Honky-Tonk style emerged in the 1940s. Honky-tonk's fiddle-steel-guitar combination plus bitter lyrics were widely adopted by other country musicians. The 1940s was a concerted effort to recover some of the country music's root values. This brought back the lead fiddle and high harmony singing. A developed three-finger plucking style, by Earl Scruggs, brought the banjo back into a lead position. Bill Monroe and his string band called the Blue Grass Boys, took the credit to "bluegrass" music because of their driving, syncopated rhythm and instrumentation virtuosity. Commercialization proved a much stronger influence as county music became popular in all sections of the United States after WWII until the 21st Century. 

Instrumentation

Early recordings were ballads and country dance tunes which featured the fiddle and guitar as lead instruments. This also accompanied a rhythmic foundation of guitar or banjo. Other instruments originating from the Appalachians were harmonicas, dulcimers, and mandolins. Towards the 1930s, artist like Bob Wills and others came to feature steel and amplified guitars plus a strong drum dance rhythm. Country music is a special genre that includes a variety of instruments. Here is a website full of instruments (modern and old) that are heard throughout the years of Country music. 

Vocals

Vocals were done either by a single voice or in high close harmony. The lyrics about grinding poverty, bereft lovers, orphaned kids, and lonely workers away from home, held special appeal during a wide-scale population shift. Country music draws on the same themes so often that it's almost a caricature of itself. In an article called "The ten biggest tropes in country music," the author Ashley Rodgers lists the top 10 themes that are in every country song. Nostalgia, Relatability, Relationship struggles, Redneck or blue-collar lifestyle, Reflection on the past, "Sexy times"/Sexual relations, Patriotism, The South, Booze, and Religion. 

My Country Music Experiences

I would have to say that my country music intake came from movies. Specifically movies based on true events from an artist's life. Walk the Line is one of my favorite movies. It features famous country singer Johnny Cash and his life from early days on an Arkansas cotton field to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis. This was one of my earliest introductions into country music. Other movies such as Cadillac Records include many artists who did all genres of music. One particular artist named Chuck Berry also did country music which crossed black mainstream to white audiences. Both were great opportunities to see country music at its different sides. 

The scoop on Country Music

Through the years country music has been defaced and talked down upon due to past events and accusations. The origin of country music is argued as to rather it originated from the African American community or solely created by white Americans. Music always has an influence. The racial standpoint gives country music a stereotype and makes it seem that this type of music isn't for everyone. Music in itself is a way to communicate language and feelings. Every culture has something different about it but overall music is a blended mixture of all. 

Citations

Country Music. www.britannica.com/art/country-music.

“Instruments: Nashville, Tennessee.” Country Music Hall of Fame, Smithsonian , 2018, countrymusichalloffame.org/education/instruments/.

Rogers, Ashley. “The Ten Biggest Tropes in Country Music.” Westword, 23 Jan. 2019, www.westword.com/music/the-ten-biggest-tropes-in-country-music-5694846.