1. Country Music
Unit 2

2. Country Music Roots
Country and Western Music is a style of 20th Century music that originated among people in the South and Western United States.
The term “Country and Western Music” (later shortened to “Country Music”) was adopted by the recording industry in 1949 to replace the derogatory label “Hillbilly Music”.

3. Country Music Roots
Ultimately, Country music’s roots lie in the ballads, folk songs, and popular songs of the English, Scots, and Irish settlers of the Appalachian Mountains and other parts of the South.
In the early 1920’s, traditional string band music of the Southern mountain regions began to be commercially recorded.
The first “hit” for country music was Fiddlin’ John Carson in 1923 with “The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane” and “”The Old Hen Cackled And the Rooster’s Going To Crow”.

4. Country Listening List
The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane; Country; John Carson
The Old Hen Cackled And The Rooster’s Going To Crow; Country; John Carson

5. Broadcasting
More important than recordings for the growth of country music was Broadcast Radio.
Small radio stations appeared in the larger Southern and Midwestern cities in the 1920’s.
Many devoted part of their airtime to live or recorded music suited to rural audiences.
Two of the most famous radio stations were the “National Barn Dance” in Chicago and the “Grand Ole Opry” in Nashville.

6. Grand Ole Opry
Began as a simple live radio broadcast in 1925, but is now a live entertainment phenomenon.
When the National Barn Dance in Chicago was started, it impressed the producers at WSM Radio in Nashville, Tennessee, to create their own version of the show for Southern audiences that could not get the Chicago broadcast.

7. How did the Grand Ole Opry get its name?
Originally called the “WSM Barn Dance” after the Chicago broadcast.
In 1927, George Hay, the founder and announcer for the Grand Ole Opry, had a country music show that followed a classical music show.
He joked that the audience had been listening to “Grand Opera”, but from then on would be presenting the “Grand Ole Opry”. The name stuck and has been used ever since.

8. Grand Ole Opry
The show aired on Saturday nights and was a 4.5 hour long program filled with live music.
The music included fiddling, folk music, and the relatively new genre of Country and Western music.
Fun Fact: The producers recognized that americans were growing nostalgic for the rural past, so they would require all of their live performers to dress in hillbilly costumes and adopt old-time names.

9. The Grand Ole Opry Stage
When crowds began to take over the radio station to watch the live broadcasts, the producers knew that they would need to find a larger place to host the Grand Ole Opry.
The National Life and Accident Insurance Company, the current home of the show, built an auditorium to hold 500 fans, however this was still not enough room for the growing popularity.
In 1935, the show moved to the Hillsboro Theatre (now the Belcourt Theatre), and then 2 years later to the Dixie Tabernacle, a religious revival house with wooden benches and sawdust floors that held 3,500 people.

10. The Ryman
The show moved again in 1939 to the War Memorial, however, the capacity was only 2,200.
In 1943, The Opry moved to its most famous former location, the Ryman Auditorium, where it stayed for the next 31 years.

12. The Grand Ole Opry
On March 15, 1974, the Opry made its last broadcast at the Ryman before moving to the custom built Opry House, where the show is currently based today.
The Ryman is now a museum and a landmark in Nashville, but will still occasionally host a show or two a year.

13. Bluegrass Another form of country music. Also known as mountain music
Used a group of string instruments to play fast moving notes.

14. Bluegrass Instruments
Fiddle: same as a violin, but with a flatter bridge. This made it easier for the player to play two or three notes at a time.
Mandolin: a very small instrument about the size of a fiddle, but looks and plays more like a guitar.
Dobro: Resonator Guitar
Banjo: a round instrument with 6 strings that is plays with 2 or 3 fingers.
String Bass or Bass Fiddle: Very large and tall; looks like a giant cello.

15. Bluegrass Instruments

16. Beginnings of Bluegrass
The Monroe Brothers (Charlie and Bill) were very popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
The brothers split up in 1938 and both went on to start their own bands.
Bill, a native of Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, decided to name his band “The Bluegrass Boys”, and started a new style of “traditional Country music.
The Bluegrass Boys first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in 1939 and soon became one of the most popular traveling bands to emerge from Nashville.

17. The Bluegrass Boys The music incorporated songs and rhythms from:
String bands
Gospel
Work songs
Country music
Blues
Vocals were in 2,3, and4 part harmonies with Bill’s powerful solo voice.
Bill experimented with different instrumentation, but later settled on:
Mandolin
Fiddle
Banjo
Guitar
Bass

18. Earl Scruggs
While many believe that the creation of bluegrass was in 1939, some believe that bluegrass really originated in 1945 when Earl Scruggs, and 21-year-old banjo player from North Carolina, joined the band.
Scruggs played an innovative “3-finger” style on banjo which is what gives bluegrass that style we know today.
Earl later left the band and started a band with former Bluegrass Boys guitar player, Lester Flatt.

19. Foggy Mountain Boys Scruggs’ and Flatt’s band.
Decided to add the Dobro into the bluegrass sound.
The Dobro is a guitar with a resonator on it.
The dobro is now used in modern bluegrass bands today.

20. Dobro

21. Bluegrass Today
Bluegrass music is now played and enjoyed around the world.
The International Bluegrass Music Association has members in all 50 states and 30 countries world-wide.
In addition to the style created in 1945, Bluegrass has influenced many other styles of music today, including:
Traditional and Fusion Jazz
Contemporary Country Music
Celtic Music
Rock & Roll
Old TIme Music
Southern Gospel Music

22. Bluegrass Listening List
Will The Circle Be Unbroken; Traditional Country; Monroe Brothers
Bluegrass Breakdown; Bluegrass; The Bluegrass Boys
Old Salty Dog Blues; Bluegrass; The Foggy Mountain Boys
What Can I Say; Modern Bluegrass; The Willis Clan

23. The Nashville Sound
During the 1960s, country music had become a multi-million dollar industry centered on Nashville, Tennessee.
The music began to grow and take aspects of popular music from the 1950s; a prominent and smooth vocal backed by a string section and vocal chorus.
Some of the leading artist of this genre were:
Patsy Cline
Jim Reeves
Tammy Wynette
Charlie Rich

24. Patsy Cline
Country/Pop crossover artist who found fame and success in the early 1960s from the Nashville Sound.
She is considered one of the most influential female vocalists of the 20th Century.
Best known for her full throated, emotionally expressive voice, which differentiated her from other female country singers of her day.
She died in 1963 at the age of thirty when she was involved in a horrific plane crash.
One of her most popular songs was “Crazy”.

25. Tammy Wynette
Another successful artist that was a product of the Nashville Sound.
Her real name was Virginia Wynette Pugh.
She was also known as “The First Lady of Country Music”
Her song “Stand By Your Man” was one of the biggest selling hit singles ever, and became an icon of the female country music genre.

26. Reaction to the Nashville Sound
The supposedly “vanilla”-flavored sounds that were coming out of Nashville led to a reaction from musicians outside of Nashville, who saw that there was more to the genre than “the same old tunes, fiddle, and guitar.”

27. Influencing others through Country Music
Many artists used their country music status to influence and impact the world for the better.
One of the most famous country singers and influences still to this day is Dolly Parton.

28. Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Sevierville, Tennessee.
She was one of 12 children in the Parton family.
Her family, as she described them, were “dirt poor”.
They lived in a rusted, dilapidated, one-bedroom cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains

29. Her Discovery
Dolly began performing as a child on local radio and television programs in East Tennessee.
By age 13, she was already recording with a small record label and was performing at the Grand Ole Opry.
She began as a songwriter, writing hit songs for singers such as Hank Williams Jr. and Skeeter Davis.
Her first single “Dumb Blond” reached No. 24 on the charts in 1967, immediately followed by “Something Fishy” which hit No. 17.

30. Country Music Career
Dolly was later asked to join the weekly television program hosted by Porter Wagoner.
Wagoner convinced his label company to sign Dolly for a recording contract.
With Wagoner’s help, Dolly became one of the most successful country artists to date.
Dolly later decided to break her profession relationship with Wagoner, and pursue a solo career. This helped inspire her to write her song, “I Will Always Love You”.

31. Branching Out
Dolly also went on to become an actress, and still acts some today.
Some of her movies include:
9 to 5 (she wrote the theme song for this movie)
Steel Magnolias
Joyful Noise
She also began recording other styles of songs, including her famous duet with Kenny Rogers, “Islands In The Stream”.

32. Great Smokey Mountains
On top of becoming a huge Country Star, she has used her influence and wealth to help bring her hometown onto the map.
She is the owner of many attractions in The Great Smokey Mountains, including Dollywood, Dolly’s Dixie Stampede, Dolly’s Lumberjack Feud, many more.
She also has a charity that gives children in need a new book each month that they can read to help them be more successful in school.

33. My People Fund
When the Great Smoky Mountains were hit with the massive wildfire in 2016, she created the “My People Fund” which gave $1,000 a month for 6 months to those affected by the fires. She surprised each family with an extra $5,000 on the last month to help with expenses and to show how much she cared

34. Country Music in the 80s and 90s
As new technologies were developing for music, the development of classic rock and new electronic instruments being added, country music began to evolve and take on traits from rock and roll.
New electric guitars were being used over acoustic, concerts were becoming more elaborate with stage lighting and new sound equipment.
Lyrics also started to change from talking about love, to talking about having a good time.
Music Videos were becoming more popular, and beginning to be more like short films, than live recorded performances
In other words, Country music was becoming a rebellious teenager.

35. Performers from this era
Garth Brooks
Fused old style country with the sounds and styles from the 70s to create a new style for a new audience in the 1990s.
One of the first country artists to go multiplatinum
Married to country artist, Trisha Yearwood
Listening Example: The Thunder Rolls
Reba McEntire
Began her career in the late 70s/early 80s.
Is considered one of the “Queens of Country Music”
Began with the simple country style, but later on adopted the “Classic Rock” style.
Also went on to be an actress, starring in her own sitcom, “Reba”.
One song of this style: “Why Haven’t I Heard From You?”

36. Country Groups
Although we had some occasional duets during the early moments of country music, full time music groups were beginning to ermerge and be more prominent in the country genre.
One that emerged in the early 90s, and still very popular today, is Rascal Flatts.

37. Rascal Flatts
3 Members
Gary Levox (Lead Vocals)
Jay DeMarcus (Piano/Bass)
Joe Don Rooney (Guitar)
Known for their smooth harmonies, pop-rock sound, high pitched male vocals, and meticulous vocal runs.
Brought the “90s Boy Band” persona to Country Music
Their songs are very emotional and touching to many people.
Many of their songs are played at graduations, weddings, and other events.
Example: God Bless The Broken Road.
Example: This Everyday Love

38. Country Music Today
Just as country music evolved to satisfy listeners, country music is still evolving today.
Has began losing the “twang” that old country had and is now closer to rock and pop music.
Dropped the country dress style and have gone to a more modern style of dress.
Some artists have even added “rap” to their music in places
Ex. Sam Hunt, “Take Your Time”

39. Modern Country Listening List
Something In The Water; Carrie Underwood
Burning House; Cam