When you listen to your favorite singers like Carrie Underwood or maybe Luke Bryan, you probably aren't thinking about the history of country music. The sepia-toned origins of the genre are most likely far from your mind.
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But the genesis of country music is as dynamic and also fascinating as our nation itself. It has many exciting offshoots, including bluegrass, honky-tonk, rockabilly, western swing, and more.
Country music is the earthy, rugged soundtrack of America. It also reflects our grandeur, pain, challenges, triumphs, loves and losses. Country music is an inherent part of who we are as a people. It is also defined by sweeping, enduring humanity, no matter who the artist is or what songs they perform. It is about those who loved and tended the land, their proud heritage, and the hopes and dreams they cherished and bequeathed like heirlooms to their children.
The Invention of Country Music
Where Did Country Music Come From?
Country music was a blend from a rich tapestry of multi-ethnic and multi-racial sources, according to The Library of Congress. It encompasses "the folksongs, instruments, and musical traditions brought by English, Celtic, and other European immigrants and enslaved Africans in the seventeenth century, [and] indigenous music traditions," plus the tunes of our neighbors to the north (Canada) and south (Mexico.)
On October 12, 1998, Congress named Bristol, Tennessee "the birthplace of country music" because one of the genre's foundational events happened there. Someone from the Victor Talking Machine Company recorded 76 songs performed by 19 artists. They recorded over the course of nearly two weeks in 1927. Those so-called "Bristol Sessions" were, in the opinion of Johnny Cash, "the most important event in the history of country music."
Two years ago, the website LawnStarter researched cities in the US where country music is now thriving most. The authors of this informal study used metrics such as Google search data, how many country music festivals in a particular city, and the presence of country music radio stations.
The top 10 cities in America for country music popularity are, in order of most popular to least, Nashville, New York, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Charleston, Chicago, Austin, Richmond, Eugene, OR, and Denver.
Back in the 1920s, evolving technology spread country music beyond the domestic confines of parlors and front porches. Radio, along with recordings, was among the primary conduits for bringing country music far and wide geographically.
The Americana-type content of some 1920s and 1930s films, with their rough-hewn singing cowboy heroes - think Roy Rogers and Gene Autry - also amplified the early country music phenomenon.
Who Invented Country Music?
Country music flourished during its long-ago heyday because of performers like Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter family. They trailblazed the genre.
A railroad worker by trade, Rodgers has been called "The Father of Country Music," according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He seized upon disparate musical building blocks such as "the traditional folk music of his southern upbringing, early jazz, stage-show yodeling, the work chants of Black railroad section crews and, most importantly, African American blues" and whipped them into something new, meaningful, and unique.
Contemporary superstars like Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash cited Rodgers as a key influence. He is their artistic patriarch.
The Carter family is renowned as "the first family of country music," according to carterfamilyfold.org. Maybelle Carter, Alvin "A.P." Carter, and Sara Carter participated in the historic Bristol Sessions in 1927, "and were credited for inventing the ever-changing genre we now know as 'country.'"
What Makes A Song Country?
Country music has distinct vocal and instrumental features that make it identifiable and distinguish it from other genres of music. The website bandpioneer.com mentions some of the most prominent.
Characteristics of Country Music
These traditional elements include storytelling of a confessional, intimate nature. A country music song might describe a painful failed romance, an experience related to rural community or family life, or something connected with the land itself.
There is a powerful bond forged between the singer and their listeners born of mutual recognition because of the intensely personal quality of the lyrics. A twang-inflected sound also became a trademark of the way country music singers performed their songs.
Country music uses a variety of instruments, such as the banjo, bass, washboard, fiddle, zither, piano, guitar, and harmonica.
Notable Country Artists
Country music has never been as appealing as it is today. A story in Newsweek declared that its "popularity is at an all-time high." That can be attributed, at least in part, to the drawing power of a host of country music artists. Singers like Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, Beyonce, Darius Rucker, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, and a slew of others keep their fans eagerly buying albums and concert tickets year after year.
They humbly wear the mantle of those who went before them as they perpetuate the magic of country music, driving it in refreshing new directions.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton isn't just a country music singer. She's an institution, a conglomerate, a renaissance woman. In the notoriously fickle recording industry, where you can easily be a smash one day and a washed-up has-been the next, Dolly has cleverly retooled herself again and again to stay unrivaled at the top of the country heap. Born in 1946, she rose from a hardscrabble background in Tennessee to unparalleled superstardom.
Dolly had a dream and she dreamed big. Real big. Those fiercely-held aspirations transported her from obscurity to a succession of triumphs that few in the entertainment industry have ever matched. The sleepy rural community of Dolly's youth just couldn't contain her.
Now 78, Dolly has sold a stupefying 100 million albums. She earned scores of awards like the Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress, the National Medal of Arts, a Kennedy Center Honor, and according to her biography from the Country Music Hall of Fame, "She has also won thirteen ACMs, ten Grammys, and nine CMAs as of April 2022." Dolly has performed with greats like Porter Wagoner, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Linda Ronstadt, and others.
She acted in films like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Steel Magnolias. Her Dollywood theme park is a landmark destination in Tennessee, and her Imagination Library distributes millions of free books to deserving youngsters worldwide.
Perhaps one of the most solid indications of Dolly Parton's rank in country music is the fact that other leading female artists have recorded her songs with immense success. "I Will Always Love You," which Dolly wrote in 1973 as a goodbye to her professional partner Porter Wagoner, was covered by Whitney Houston in 1992 and included on the soundtrack of her megahit film, The Bodyguard. Another of Dolly's signature songs, "Jolene," was recorded by Beyonce for her breakout country album Cowboy Carter.
Reba McEntire
"Reba Nell McEntire ranks as the most successful female country performer of her generation...." That statement from Reba's bio on the County Music Hall of Fame website says it all.
At 69, the reigning Queen of Country Music continues to have an incredible career that shattered boundaries and thrills fans all over the world year after year. Reba is one of the most effective, consistent, and revered ambassadors that country music has ever had.
Her aching sincerity and mellow vocals are a surefire combination on hits like "The Heart Won't Lie" and "Consider Me Gone."
When Reba laments being jilted by a lover on "Rumor Has It" or braces for the end of a relationship in "Somebody Should Leave," there is no artifice or guile. This is a woman chewed up by fate, love gone awry, or a scoundrel she has the misfortune to adore. Despite everything, she always stands tall. When Reba sings, we genuinely care about her. "I'm A Survivor" could be her anthem in art and life.
Reba's artistic milestones span recording, TV, and films. She has done over 30 studio albums, won the Country Music Association's Best Female Vocalist four times, and also led the country music charts an astonishing two dozen times, according to Biography.
McEntire coached on the TV singing contest show The Voice, and starred on the six-season sitcom Reba, chalking up a Golden Globe nomination. She also appeared in films such as The Little Rascals (1994) and Tremors (1990). This versatile woman tread the boards on Broadway in 2001, playing Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. Among her lengthy list of achievements are winning three Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and according to Ken Burns' PBS documentary Country Music, having "five gold albums, six platinum albums, and eight multi-platinum albums."
Carrie Underwood
In the nearly twenty years since she won American Idol in 2005, Carrie Underwood has become a superstar by staying with her brand of country music inflected with pop. Her stage presence, dramatic way of presenting a song, and masterful choice of material have all helped her nail it every time she releases an album or single. This singer will be on top for as long as she records and performs.
Carrie knows exactly what works for her and she sticks with that winning formula. When she switches over to gospel music like "Jesus, Take the Wheel" or "How Great Thou Art," the rafters rattle. You feel her intensity in your heart and your gut.
Carrie roared into the recording scene with her freshman album, Some Hearts, in 2005. It went nine times platinum and featured the hit song "Before He Cheats." That was just the beginning for her. According to her website, Carrie has sold more than 85 million records internationally, and she "is the most awarded female country artist for singles in RIAA history and has seven albums that are certified Multi-Platinum or Platinum by the RIAA...."
Her mantel boasts a whopping collection of honors including 16 Academy of Country Music Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and eight Grammys. Carrie has been in the Grand Ole Opry for the past 16 years.
Notable Country Songs
"I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash
Written in 1956, "I Walk the Line" was a monster hit for Johnny Cash and became an emblematic tune for his career. It was also the title of a bio pic about him starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
The song came together almost on a whim when Johnny and his bassist, Marshall Grant, began experimenting with chords and lyrics backstage in Longview, Texas. Johnny must have been absolutely on fire that day. He finished the song in a jiffy. It also went on to landmark greatness. It perched atop the Billboard Hot Country songs chart and made it to Billboard Hot 100's 17th spot.
Even if people aren't familiar with Johnny's career, chances are they know this catchy tune with the rambling, boom-chicka-boom beat Johnny pioneered with Grant and lead guitarist Luther Perkins. It's deservedly one for the ages.
"Crazy" by Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline is the lauded forerunner of all the female vocalists who came after her in country music. Although she died in a plane crash in Tennessee at the tragically young age of 30, she left behind a highly distinctive and also polished body of work. Patsy's gorgeous vocal command and ease are beyond duplication.
Willie Nelson penned the 1961 song "Crazy". It had a rocky road to fruition for Patsy. She reportedly loathed it but her husband, Charlie Dick, clearly felt otherwise. He exhorted her to go for it. And she made recording history with this emotionally piercing ballad of non-stop romantic woe.
"Cline and 'Crazy' defined an entire generation of country stars and also the classic 'Nashville sound.' "It played a large part in solidifying her space in the annals of country history." Many have also considered it one of the greatest country songs ever.
"Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette
Rolling Stone ranked "Stand By Your Man," a 1968 gem, number 8 in their list of the 200 greatest country songs of all time. It also memorably found its way into the political culture in 1992. Hillary Clinton sat on a couch next to her husband, Bill, during a 60 Minutes interview. The couple addressed his alleged straying from his marriage vows.
"You know, I'm not sitting here, some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette," Hillary insisted. Thus the song that Wynette, a four-time divorcee, made famous had a new life when it unexpectedly got injected into the limelight. It's an affirmation of traditional marital values during an era of social tumult. The song is a country music keeper.
