Bakersfield Sound

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bakersfield Sound is a style within country music . Its origins lie in the migratory movements of the 1930s and 1940s, when tens of thousands of poor farm workers moved west from Oklahoma during the Depression and after the Dust Bowl disaster . The so-called Okies were looking for work in the orchards and industrial areas of rich California . One of the main settlement areas was the area around the 150 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles , Bakersfield . A lively music scene developed here, which was shaped by the rural music of the Okies.

Born in Texas, Buck Owens moved to Bakersfield in the 1950s . He had a tough, rock 'n' roll style guitar style. Wynn Stewart played a similar style . The harder and clearer sound and the simple arrangements stood out clearly from the softer Nashville sound that was prevalent at this time .

Bakersfield became a major country music center in the 1960s. Part of the responsibility for this was the rise of Merle Haggard , who was born near Bakersfield. Owens and Haggard made the Bakersfield Sound popular beyond the region, with their guitarists Don Rich and Roy Nichols also making a significant contribution .

Today Bakersfield has lost much of its former importance. The formerly lively club scene has moved to Los Angeles. Nashville is once again the center of country music. The 1985 star Dwight Yoakam is considered the last great representative of the Bakersfield sound.

literature

  • Bob Hover: The Bakersfield Sound: Welcome to the Crystal Palace. In: Blue Suede News, 2011, pp. 21-24.