Red Dirt

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Red Dirt

Development phase: circa 1980
Place of origin: Stillwater , Oklahoma
Stylistic precursors
Texas Country • Honky Tonk • Western Swing • Bluegrass • Country Rock • Southern Rock • Tulsa Sound
Instruments typical of the genre
Guitar • Fiddle • Pedal Steel Guitar • Dobro • Harmonica • Bass • Drums • Mandolin • Banjo
Pioneers
Bob Childers • Jimmy LaFave • The Great Divide • Randy Crouch • Tom Skinner • Red Dirt Rangers

Red Dirt (English for Red dirt is) a subgenre of the country music selected from Oklahoma originates.

Style and definition

The genre owes its name to Oklahoma's red soil.
Bob Childers , the "Godfather of Red Dirt"
Jimmy LaFave , one of the pioneers of the red dirt scene

The name Red Dirt comes from the red soil that exists in Oklahoma. It is the result of the high iron oxide content in the US state.

The red dirt scene originated in the small town of Stillwater , Oklahoma. A new form of country music developed there in the early 1980s. At the same time, a genre has emerged in the neighboring state of Texas that has many similarities to Red Dirt and is known as Texas Country . In recent years, the two scenes have come closer together.

Stylistically, the music moves between many sub-genres of country music. The scene is clearly differentiated from the Nashville mainstream . Many Red Dirt musicians see Nashville as the epitome of commerce and focus on the artistic side of their profession as opposed to the financial one. The classic country music is mixed with newer varieties, especially from the field of rock music . Furthermore, the music is influenced by bluegrass , Americana , western swing and blues . Some older musicians also incorporate elements from folk music . The performers cite classic country musicians like Willie Nelson and George Jones , rock bands like the Eagles and Led Zeppelin , and folk musicians like Bob Dylan and, above all, Woody Guthrie as role models .

It is sometimes criticized that the different bands differ too much in their sound to be able to speak of an independent subgenre. Musician Tom Skinner said he saw Red Dirt more as a community of musicians than as a style. As a reason he gave the differences between the different bands. For these reasons, the artists are classified by critics as alternative country musicians.

Story and performers

After Woody Guthrie's death in 1967, he became a legend in Oklahoma. Many folk musicians declared him their role model and covered his songs. The term red dirt was first used in a musical context in the early 1970s when it appeared in the title of a blues song in 1972. At the same time, the Red Dirt Records label was founded by guitarist Steve Ripley and his band Moses. The term appeared in the following years in publications by other artists such as Jimmy LaFave .

Another event blamed for creating the scene is the anti-nuclear movement in Oklahoma. This peaked in 1973 when the protesters succeeded in preventing the planned construction of a nuclear power plant in Rogers County . Activists also included artists such as Randy Crouch , Bob Childers and Chuck Dunlap .

The scene began in 1979 when artists such as LaFave, Childers and the Red Dirt Rangers met on the “farm”. This first group of musicians served as inspiration for the later generation. In the farm - a building away from Stillwater - the musicians could celebrate and make music undisturbed. John Cooper of the Red Dirt Rangers underscored their importance by calling them the "Red Dirt Music School". The farm, which was subsequently rented by different people, was the meeting place for the artists and the center of the scene for more than two decades. It existed until 2003 when it finally burned down.

During the 1990s, new bands formed and the style continued to change; for example, brought more elements from rock music. In addition, the music was able to gain popularity through the first small commercial successes. The band The Great Divide, founded in 1992, was primarily responsible for this . In August 1997, they were the first group on the scene to sign a contract with a major label and were subsequently also the first to reach the Billboard country charts with a release. During the 2000s, other bands were added that enjoyed regular chart successes: Cross Canadian Ragweed , Jason Boland & the Stragglers , Stoney LaRue and The Departed, among others .

In the last few years, Red Dirt and Texas Country have come closer and closer together. The geographical proximity has meant that some bands do not want to commit themselves to which of the two scenes they belong. These artists are often summarized under the term Texas Country / Red Dirt , which no longer makes a distinction. In addition, the Red Dirt artists are no longer exclusively based in Oklahoma, because the genre has also become known in other regions of the world in recent years; so there are now bands in Europe who assign themselves to this style.

Movies

  • North of Austin, West of Nashville: Red Dirt Music (documentary, USA 2007)
  • Red Dirt: Songs From The Dust (documentary, USA 2009)

literature

Web links

Commons : Red Dirt  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Georg Thanscheidt: The bands of the Neuhauser Musiknacht: Bo Jack Lumus . Abendzeitung-muenchen.de , October 8, 2013, accessed on May 23, 2017.
  2. ↑ Red Dirt breeds music. news9.com, May 16, 2008, accessed May 23, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b Joe Hadsall: Red dirt pioneer Mike McClure to perform in Miami . The Joplin Globe, January 3, 2014, accessed May 23, 2017.
  4. ↑ a b Rick Moore: Red Dirt's Tom Skinner Reflects On His Career So Far . American Songwriter, December 10, 2012, accessed May 23, 2017.
  5. ^ State - The official magazine of Oklahoma State University, 69.
  6. ^ Aaron M. Moore: Playing in the Dirt: Stillwater and the Emergence of Red Dirt Music . 1998, p. 50 .
  7. ↑ Thomas Conner: Getting Along: Woody Guthrie and Oklahoma's Red Dirt Musicians . In: Alternative Oklahoma: Contrarian Views of the Sooner State . 2007, p. 98 .
  8. ↑ Down on The Farm in Stillwater . visitstillwater.org, accessed January 10, 2014.
  9. ↑ Mark Elswick: Texas Red Dirt with 503 lane . Texas Music Times, accessed May 23, 2017.