History of Country Music
The history of country music has its beginnings in the songs and instruments that the early colonists brought with them to the " New World " from England , Ireland and Scotland .
The southern Appalachian Mountains , i.e. the states of Tennessee and Kentucky, are considered the region of origin within North America . In the remote mountain settlements, music was one of the few entertainment options for the hard-working population. Music was made almost exclusively in the family environment; new songs were spread by traveling singers (cf. Minstrel and Vaudeville ) and migrating settlers. The music of the rural population didn't even have a name; sometimes it was referred to as old-time or mountain music.
The fiddle was often the only instrument. It was easy to make, cheap, and easy to transport. Occasionally it was supported by a washboard as a rhythm instrument. From the middle of the 19th century, the banjo was adopted by African-American slaves . Guitar and mandolin did not find their way into the market until the beginning of the 20th century, after the mail order business began offering inexpensive models.
Information on the history of country music in the German-speaking area can be found under Country music in the German-speaking area .
From 1920: First recordings, first radio broadcasts
At the beginning of the twenties, numerous regional styles existed in the southern United States as pre-forms of later country music . Examples are the music of the Appalachian farmers and other folk music styles of the immigrant groups from different regions of Europe. Even the blues of African American plays a not insignificant role. Black and white live alongside and with one another and influenced each other. There are also a few African American musicians who play country, such as DeFord Bailey .
Old-time music is hardly noticed in the big cities . She is considered old-fashioned and backwoods. The newly emerging mass media - radio and vinyl - initially ignored rural music as well.
1922: The first recordings
On July 1, 1922, Fiddler A.C. "Eck" Robertson and Henry Gilliland at RCA Victor in New York City on the first record with the title Sally Gooden / Arkansas Traveler , but it was not released until the spring of 1923.
Producer Ralph Peer made another record on June 14, 1923 with Fiddlin 'John Carson for the small Okeh label . His record, Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane on the A-side and The Old Hen Cackled on the B-side, as well as the record by Robertson and Gilliland, sold unexpectedly well and is considered the first hit of country music.
4th January 1923: First regular barn dance show on the radio
Country musicians appear in the new radio medium for the first time in the early twenties. It is played live, there are hardly any records with old-time music. Playing records was to remain uncommon until the mid-1940s and remained a contentious issue between musicians' unions and radio station operators. The audience reacts enthusiastically to the shows and soon regular programs called barn dance shows will be set up . WBAP , based in Fort Worth, Texas , started on January 4, 1923.
In the same year, the station WSB in Atlanta begins to broadcast regular performances by old-time musicians, later famous musicians such as Clayton McMichen , Riley Puckett , Fate Norris and Lowe Stokes begin their careers here. On April 19, 1924, the Chicago broadcaster WLS followed, broadcasting the National Barn Dance in the 1930s and 1940s, one of the most iconic and popular country shows of these decades.
Early 1925: Ralph Peer coined the term hillbilly music
The new, successful genre still has no name. Ralph Peer takes up a remark from band leader Al Hopkins and describes the rural music as " hillbilly ". Hopkins led the bands Al Hopkins' Buckle Busters and The Hill Billies between 1924 and 1932.
Nov 28, 1925: The Grand Ole Opry goes on air for the first time
The Saturday evening show, broadcast by WSM from Nashville under the direction of George D. Hay , is becoming the most successful and long-lasting US radio show of all time. At first only regionally received, from the beginning of the thirties the entire North American continent was supplied with country music by a stronger station.
From 1925: The first singing cowboys appear
The cowboy songs, like countless stories and legends, date from the time of the great cattle drives after the end of the civil war . The country music of the twenties picks up on the old themes, also to differentiate itself from the negative image of the "hillbilly". The singers, who are rarely real cowboys, often appear in pure fantasy costumes. Bentley Ball made the first commercial recording of such a title in 1919 with Jesse James . In 1925, Carl T. Sprague's When the Work's All Done This Fall was the first big hit of the western music genre , which became particularly popular in the 1930s.
August 1927: Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are discovered
Ralph Peer takes a portable recording studio and two sound engineers to Bristol, Tennessee, and records the performances of a total of 76 musicians in an old warehouse. During this multi-day "Bristol Session" Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are discovered. They come from the Anglo-Irish influenced, still extremely archaic music tradition of the Appalachians . Rodgers, however, already has a lot of show business experience and is a peer who is currently trying to market the comical, peasantry, naive of his artists, at first not “ backwoodsmen ” enough. They then get record deals and become the first big stars of country music. The Bristol Sessions are considered to be the first major milestone in commercial country music. The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers are still cited as role models by country musicians today.
1929: Ken Maynard triggers the singing cowboys boom in film
The former silent film star Ken Maynard was one of the first to use the possibilities of the sound film to incorporate vocals into films, triggering a wave of musical B-Westerns that only ebbed away in the early 1950s. Gene Autry , Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter become national heroes. Hollywood is fulfilling the needs of a broad, rural audience with these undemanding films and their cheesy-seeming songs that romanticise the life of cowboys. Through these films, some of which are also set in the present of the 1930s and 1940s, a nostalgic cowboy cliché is increasingly becoming a symbol of the national identity of the USA.
From 1933: New styles emerge
1934: Bob Wills records first western swing title
Milton Brown and Bob Wills developed western swing in the mid-1930s . Influenced by the big band fashion of swing, they adopt jazz elements in the traditional fiddle music of the American southern states.
Mid-thirties: Honky Tonk is made in Texas
The term " Honky Tonk " (term for rougher pubs) describes a new style of country music that is forming in the pubs and bars around the Texan oil fields. Due to the high volume in these establishments, the guitars have to be amplified electrically.
The name of the new style appears for the first time in 1937 in the Al Dexter song "Honky Tonk Blues".
1938: Roy Acuff makes first appearance in the Grand Ole Opry
Roy Acuff would become the Grand Ole Opry's biggest star for decades. He is one of the most important figures in commercial country history, both in front of and behind the scenes. During the Second World War he also became a figure of national identity.
1940: The bluegrass is born
Bill Monroe almost single-handedly developed the bluegrass , which is still one of the most important styles of country music and is now also a kind of authentic "folk music scene". Although the bluegrass is difficult to play and requires high musical skills from every single band member, other formations quickly emerge, some of which are founded by former members of the band Bill Monroes, the Bluegrass Boys.
December 14, 1941: The BMI is founded and breaks the ASCAP monopoly
The American Society Of Composer, Authors And Publishers ( ASCAP ) had a monopoly on the licensing of pieces of music at this time. Only those who belong to the ASCAP receive royalties for their songs. The ASCAP is sharply opposed to country music. The authors therefore do not receive any money for their pieces played on the radio.
In 1940 the radio stations boycotted ASCAP after a dispute. For ten months only license-free works are played, and these are largely country music pieces, but also blues pieces, which contributed to the development of rockabilly and rock and roll in the early 50s. Most of the country authors join the newly founded Broadcast Music Incorporated ( BMI ) and are no longer disadvantaged from then on.
From 1941: Country music grew in popularity
October 7, 1941: The United States enters World War II
Preparations for war indirectly promote the spread of country music. Southern and northern nationals, urban and rural residents live together in the military units in a very small space. On the home front, southerners move north to work in the armaments factories there. And they bring their music with them. Country music is reaching new sections of the population.
The army also uses country musicians to look after the troops. After the end of the war, the American Forces Network (AFN) ensured that country music was spread almost worldwide.
1942: Roy Acuff and Fred Rose found Acuff Rose Music Publishing in Nashville
This is another step on the way to Nashville becoming the center of commercial country music. The established record companies from New York and Chicago are losing influence. The decision-makers are now sitting in the stronghold of country music.
From 1945: The "golden years" of country music begin
Country music also benefited from the economic upswing after the end of the war. The "golden years" begin. The first recording studios are set up in Nashville. DECCA is a pioneer. The bluegrass created in 1940 becomes popular. Honky Tonk dominates. The most important representatives of this style in those years are Ernest Tubb and superstar Hank Williams .
1947: The Grand Ole Opry makes its first guest appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall , which proves the popularity of country music throughout the country.
June 11, 1949: After proving his talent at the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana , the talent factory and the second most popular national radio show, Hank Williams sings for the first time in the Grand Ole Opry. He's supposed to become one of the biggest stars in country music. On this day he made the breakthrough. His "Lovesick Blues" pulls the audience away to unprecedented storms of enthusiasm, and he has to give six encores.
June 1949: The magazine Billboard (magazine) replaced the term "hillbilly" with "Country & Western".
Usually abbreviated as C&W , this is the counterpart to Rhythm & Blues (R&B). However, the name is also a deliberate demarcation from the term "Folk", which has also been used optionally up to now. This has often been used by musicians on the left and close to communism, from whom one wants to distance oneself in times of McCarthyism .
From 1953: Rock'n'Roll dominates the music scene
January 1, 1953: Hank Williams dies at the age of 29. He finally becomes a legend and icon of country music.
1953: Bill Haley's first rock'n'roll recording - the creation of rockabilly
The new style arises through the inclusion of elements of black rhythm & blues. It is initially played exclusively by white country musicians and is known as rockabilly . Later, and with a national spread of the new fashion, the term rock and roll becomes popular. Leading representatives include Jerry Lee Lewis , Buddy Holly , Eddie Cochran and Carl Perkins .
1954: Elvis records his first single
Elvis Presley records his first records at Sam Phillips Sun Studios in Memphis. Presley was part of the rockabilly scene in the early years of his career, his first records were only in the country charts.
1955: Another later icon and legend of country music celebrates its first successes: Johnny Cash makes his first recordings also at Sun Studios.
Mid to late fifties: The Rock 'n' Roll will trigger the largest ever crisis of country music.
Country music loses almost all of its youthful following practically overnight; the "golden years" are coming to an end. The Nashville Sound is created in response to rock and roll . To regain lost ground, the leading producers are smoothing out country music. The fiddles that had dominated until then are only rarely used. Background choirs are mixed in. The use of session musicians enables a consistently high musical quality, but the individuality is increasingly lost. Music is produced "on the assembly line".
The main protagonists of the Nashville Sound are Chet Atkins , who took over the local RCA record division in 1957, and DECCA producer Owen Bradley . The calculation works out initially. By moving closer to pop music, sales figures can be increased significantly. However, country music is losing its freshness and authenticity. The Nashville Sound defined commercial country music in the late 1950s and early 1960s . One of the biggest stars is Patsy Cline .
From 1960: folk revival and country rock
Country music was enriched by a large number of female performers in the 1960s. Tammy Wynette , Dolly Parton , Dottie West and others step into the spotlight. Trucker songs are becoming popular, pushing the railroad songs into the background. Otherwise the shallow Nashville Sound dominates. Folk music is experiencing a rebirth. However, it is more urban than the original rural folk music. Its protagonists come from a white middle class that is dissatisfied with the current social, cultural and political circumstances. The main stars are Bob Dylan , Pete Seeger and Joan Baez .
1963: Merle Haggard records his first record. One of the biggest stars of the sixties and seventies started his career in Bakersfield .
Late sixties: Country rock was born in California
Bob Dylan gave the direction with his Nashville-produced album John Wesley Harding in 1968 . The Byrds produce under the influence of Gram Parsons Sweetheart of the Rodeo , which is considered the first country rock album in music history. Country rock elements are picked up by numerous bands, including the Rolling Stones . The Band from New York recorded their basement tapes as early as 1967, but for a long time they were only sold as bootlegs .
The new development leads to a refreshment of a less commercially oriented country scene in the USA, since now young, progressively thinking people can identify with the music again. Various new sub-genres emerge from the rediscovery of forgotten styles and merging with other musical genres existing in the USA, e.g. B. Latin American music ( Tex-Mex ).
1968/69 : Johnny Cash gives acclaimed concerts in the Californian prisons Folsom State Prison and San Quentin and becomes popular worldwide with the accompanying live albums.
From 1970: the mainstream dominates
Early 1970s: Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings' outlaw movement begins
In response to the Nashville Sound and the dictates of the producers, who give the singers little artistic freedom, but also stimulated by new musical and social developments, established stars such as Willie Nelson , Waylon Jennings or Tompall Glaser are also leaving Nashville for Austin , Texas. There is already a fresh and lively country music scene here that they are joining. The most prominent outlaw artists are also very successful commercially.
After the initial success, many musicians try to jump on the outlaw train. Quality and identification problems are the result, and so the 1976/77 movement comes to an end.
From 1980: The "New Traditionalists" revive country music, musicians with a punk feel are discovering country
1980: Urban Cowboy
After the John Travolta film Urban Cowboy , country music continues to move towards pop music. The sales figures rise steeply for a few years. Numerous stars made the crossover into the pop market; Dolly Parton , Barbara Mandrell and Kenny Rogers conquered the top spots on the pop hit parades.
From 1980: Punk-influenced musicians discover the country
Musicians influenced by the aesthetics and way of thinking of punk like Alex Chilton are beginning to be interested in rockabilly, but also other authentic forms of country or roots rock . An alternative country revival begins in smaller circles.
Mid 1980s: neo-traditionalism
In 1981/82 a tradition-oriented counter-movement emerged which, led by George Strait , Ricky Skaggs , John Anderson and others, gained the upper hand in the middle of the decade.
From 1990: New Country
A new generation of country singers around Garth Brooks , Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw usher in an approach to pop music, without denying the traditional roots of country music. The classical instruments of rock music are used in careful doses in order to reach a younger audience. Since it is trendy for the mostly male musicians to wear large cowboy hats, one also speaks of "hat acts". Sales figures that have never been seen before are achieved.
From 1990: Alternative Country
At the same time, Alternative Country creates rougher, more uncouth styles of playing, shaped by the spirit of punk and independent, which draw on almost a century of country tradition. But they make use of authentic elements such as bluegrass , the Appalachian folk of the Carter Family, the political proletarian folk tradition especially of the 1930s, but also the honky tonk. Most artists publish on independent labels . Johnny Cash celebrated a furious comeback as a star of alternative country from 1994 with the American Recordings in collaboration with producer Rick Rubin . A brief interest from large major labels in the new trend in the second half of the 1990s is disappointed by the low sales figures.
Individual evidence
- ^ Franz Dobler: Auf den Toten Mannes Kiste , p. 129