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1 Chapter 1 : U.S. Music - Statistics & Facts Statista Country Music U.S.A. is a solid overview of the history of American folk music in the 20th century, hitting most of the highlights without obscuring any of genres many blemishes. While the book avoids much of the mythologizing common to american folk, it never questions the music's core authenticity and distinctive voice in American culture. Search Country and Western Music When the original colonists from Britain settled in this new land called America, they brought along their music. This included traditional English, Scotch and Irish dance melodies, folk songs and ballads. As the colonies grew, the population diversified, and many other types of music were imported and absorbed into the culture of this new country called the United States of America. Rural Folk Music became "Country Music" In the Isolated rural communities of the Southeastern and Midwestern states, many residents preserved their own local derivations of the Scotch-Irish based music. They called it "folk music", "hillbilly music" or simply "country music". This rustic music was a favorite form of entertainment at rural festivals and local barn dances. Each region independently developed its own unique style. It has always remained exclusively white folks music. Very few Afro-Americans perform or listen to country music. The early twentieth century brought an innovation called radio that radically changed the nature of country music in the USA. Southern radio stations soon learned that their rural audiences preferred listening to local performers playing their own local music. They began broadcasting country music programs. For the first time, rural residents from across the land heard the different styles of folk music popular in various regions of the country. Since the barn dance followed a classical music program named "The Grand Old Opera", country performers began calling their show "the Grand Ole Opry". This show was rebroadcast by radio stations across the country and heard by millions of listeners. It soon became the most popular country music program in the USA. It still holds that title. For over 75 years, the Grand Ole Opry has been on the radio every Saturday night with its programs of country music, country song and country humor. Today, Grand Ole Opry radio and television broadcasts are still the most widely heard and viewed country music entertainment in the world. From until the program was broadcast from Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. It has since moved to a new broadcast studio in Music Valley, a few miles north of the city. Nashville became Music City For many years, country performers flocked to Nashville with their guitars slung across their backs and their fiddles tucked under their arms. They came seeking fame, fortune and a chance to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. Most ended up playing in one of the many honky tonk bars in town. Some of them play on the street corners hoping to snag a few coins from the tourists. This influx of country music talent fueled the creation of the first country music recording studios in Nashville. Today, nearly every major international recording company has a Nashville studio. Singing cowboys were the rage and western music was immensely popular. The movie studios recruited country performers to appear in western films and to sing western songs. The link between country music and western music was firmly established. Now, these two distinct styles of music are often included in the single title of "Country Western Music". Early country music featured many self-taught musicians plucking guitars, banjos, fiddles and rustic homemade instruments. They usually sang in thick southern drawls or the nasal wails of their distinctive backcountry dialects. Their music was often appreciated only by fellow country folk. Today, country music has become highly-polished, commercially-produced entertainment. People all over the world listen to country music. Some purists think that this slick new music lost the heart, the soul and the authenticity of that original country music. It also brought the Carter Family with their simple pure melodies and gospel-like lyrics. Hank Williams senior and Patsy Cline were possibly the most famous of all. That original old hillbilly music of the past has given birth to many new and different styles. Pop country, new country, country rock, rockabilly, blue grass, western swing, honky tonk, Nashville sound, outlaw country, urban cowboy and traditional country all share the title of "country western music". Country western music is still the most popular music of the rural folks in the USA. Modern country music, especially the slick new studio-produced variety, even attracts an audience among sophisticated city dwellers and cosmopolitan professionals. If you want to really experience Country Western music in the USA, you can visit Nashville, Tennessee to attend a performance at the Grand Ole Opry or to hang out in a few of the honky Page 1

2 tonk bars on Broad Street listening to the country stars of tomorrow. You can visit Branson, Missouri where many of the legendary old time country stars perform on a regular basis. You can even see a great country music performance at one of the Las Vegas shows. Mike Leco Top Photo Credit: A country western band plays on stage. Page 2

3 Chapter 2 : The South region, United States racedaydvl.com The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. It is a mixture of music influenced by West African, Irish, Scottish and mainland European cultures among others. The French established their own as well along the Mississippi River. Many settlers were dissenting Christian groups who came seeking religious freedom. Cash crops included tobacco, rice, and wheat. Extraction industries grew up in furs, fishing and lumber. English colonists were supplemented by waves of Scotch-Irish and other groups. As coastal land grew more expensive, freed indentured servants pushed further west. Relatively small Native American populations were eclipsed. Excluding the Native Americans, who were being conquered and displaced, the 13 British colonies had a population of over 2. Despite continuing new arrivals, the rate of natural increase was such that by the s only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. Although the Spanish did not land, natives paddled to the ship to trade furs for abalone shells from California. Violence was not a significant factor in the overall decline among Native Americans, though conflict among themselves and with Europeans affected specific tribes and various colonial settlements. Native Americans were also often at war with neighboring tribes and allied with Europeans in their colonial wars. At the same time, however, many natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers traded for food and animal pelts, natives for guns, ammunition and other European wares. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Native Americans and urged them to adopt European agricultural techniques and lifestyles. He returned to Hawaii to resupply, initially exploring the coasts of Maui and the big island, trading with locals and then making anchor at Kealakekua Bay in January Cook would be killed days later. Americans had developed an ideology of " republicanism " asserting that government rested on the will of the people as expressed in their local legislatures. They demanded their rights as Englishmen and "no taxation without representation". The British insisted on administering the empire through Parliament, and the conflict escalated into war. The fourth day of July is celebrated annually as Independence Day. Nationalists led the Philadelphia Convention of in writing the United States Constitution, ratified in state conventions in The federal government was reorganized into three branches, on the principle of creating salutary checks and balances, in George Washington, who had led the revolutionary army to victory, was the first president elected under the new constitution. The Bill of Rights, forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and guaranteeing a range of legal protections, was adopted in Page 3

4 Chapter 3 : country music Definition, Artists, History, & Facts racedaydvl.com Mix - Best Country Songs NEW Playlist - United States of Country Music - American Country Music YouTube Brett Young - In Case You Didn't Know - Duration: Brett Young,, views. Original sheet music from Triangle Music Pub. Courtesy of Frank Hill. Country music is rooted in the folk music of the British Isles. English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh poetry, folklore, ballads, and sea chanteys form the basis for many of the earliest songs that came to be called country music in the United States. However, modern country music has been profoundly influenced by a variety of other regional and ethnic genres of music over the past few centuries. African Americans, Mexican Americans, German Americans, Polish Americans, French Americans, and several other groups all have had a major impact on the development of country music. The origins of what we think of today as country music can be traced back in large part to the eighteenth-century American South, as large numbers of English-speaking settlers moved into the region. By the early nineteenth century, some of these Anglo pioneers had moved as far west as Texas. As a primarily rural, agrarian society, the South remained somewhat culturally isolated from the increasingly urbanized and industrialized North. Consequently, southerners tended to preserve the traditional folk music of their ancestral homelands. However, even though southern folk songs typically were based on traditional music from the British Isles, they underwent significant transformation according to the particular ethnic and social influences present in different parts of the South. By the mid-nineteenth century, "country" music included a wide variety of styles that differed dramatically from region to region across the South and elsewhere throughout the United States. In Texas, country music developed its own unique characteristics. Many also brought black slaves, who would have a significant impact on the unique development of country music in Texas. Texas won its independence from Mexico in, and, by the time it joined the United States in, the original Native American and Hispanic inhabitants had been joined by an astounding array of other immigrant and ethnic groups, including Anglo, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, African, German, French, Czech, Polish, Jewish, and Italian. Partly because Texas was less strictly segregated than the Deep South, and partly because the rugged environment of the western frontier necessitated cooperation among traditionally disparate groups, people of different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds interacted somewhat more freely in Texas than in other parts of the South, exchanging musical ideas and influences in the process. This blending of a variety of rich musical traditions made Texas a fertile ground for the emergence of several new sub-genres of country music. Willie Nelson performs at the Texas Prison Rodeo, ca. The great cattle drives from Texas up into the Midwest during the late s made the cowboy a key player in the developing Texas economy and secured his status as an almost mythical figure within the folk culture of the Southwest. The music of the cowboys included traditional folksongs that were modified to fit the unique living and working conditions cowboys faced. In some cases, songs widely considered to be traditional cowboy ballads actually were written or modified years after the great cattle drives by songwriters hoping to recapture what they considered to be the romance and adventure of a bygone era. Such is the case with the classic tune "A Home on the Range," which probably originated as an authentic cowboy song, but was later updated and popularized by Texas composer David Guion during the early twentieth century. By the s the increasing availability of radios, phonographs, and moving pictures helped spread country music, which previously had been limited mainly to the South and Southwest, across the nation and even into international markets. The first known commercial recording of country music came in, when Amarillo-based fiddler Eck Robertson, with fiddler Henry C. In Vernon Dalhart from Jefferson, Texas, released the first country record to sell over one million copies. Soon, record companies and Hollywood film producers launched nationwide searches for marketable country singing stars. Rodgers, originally from Meridian, Mississippi, helped blend the Deep South country style of his native state with the western style of the Texas prairies to create the music that would come to be called "country and western. During the Great Depression of the s, Texas continued to contribute to the ongoing evolution of country music. Folksinger Woody Guthrie, who was born in Oklahoma but spent much of his early life in Texas, became an important spokesman for millions of Texans, Oklahomans, and Arkansans displaced by the Page 4

5 great Dust Bowl. Also, during the s, Bob Wills, born in Limestone County, Texas, and Milton Brown, born in Stephenville, Texas, joined with a variety of jazz and country musicians to create western swing, one of the most eclectic, exciting, and enduring forms of American music ever to appear. Western swing blended traditional ballads and country fiddle tunes with blues, jazz, ragtime, polkas, schottisches, waltzes, reels, and instrumental arrangements that reflected the influences of numerous musical styles, from mariachi to big band swing. The great versatility of these western swing groups was due in part to the love that Wills, Brown, and the others had for all types of music, regardless of their ethnic or geographical origins. However, economic considerations also played a part in shaping the diverse repertoire of these bands. In order to keep their jobs on radio during the Depression, entertainers had to be able to perform a broad array of musical styles that would appeal to a large and diverse audience. The end result was a new type of music, known as "Texas Swing" or "Western Swing," which introduced an astounding array of musical influences into mainstream country music. The World War II era brought other important changes to country music. The rapid mobilization of the civilian population for the war effort resulted in a dramatic increase in urbanization and industrialization, as millions of Americans from rural backgrounds moved to the cities to work in factories and office buildings. This rapid transformation from an agrarian to an urban lifestyle was reflected in the emergence of a new type of country music called "honky-tonk. Issues such as alcoholism, infidelity, divorce, and other social problems, which formerly were not discussed openly in public, became common themes in honky-tonk songs. Price, born in Perryville, Texas, helped define the honky-tonk country sound of the s and later enjoyed success with a more sophisticated lush Nashville sound of the s. Some of the most influential honky-tonk musicians of this period came from Texas. By the late s, Texas artists were bridging the gap between country and pop, bringing country music increasingly into mainstream popular culture. In the s, Texas gave birth to yet another sub-genre of country music that forever altered the course of American music. Centered in Austin, the phenomenon known as "progressive country" sprang from an unlikely combination of traditional country music and the hippie counterculture of the late s. Such Austin venues as the Armadillo World Headquarters and Soap Creek Saloon provided an environment in which cowboys, hippies, bikers, and college students could mingle freely and hear a wide variety of music, including blues, country, rock-and-roll, and conjunto. Texas singer-songwriters, such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, helped pioneer the progressive country movement, along with the somewhat edgier "outlaw" country movement. He became a successful songwriter and movie star, recording and performing with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Barbra Streisand. Willie Nelson, born on April 30,, in Abbott, Texas, was raised by his grandparents. As a child, he began composing his own songs and by the s had established a successful songwriting career in Nashville. Thomas, Freddy Fender, Billie Jo Spears, Townes Van Zandt, Don Williams, and transplanted Texan Jerry Jeff Walker, were riding the wave of a new and more eclectic country music market that embraced country, folk, blues, pop, rock, and western swing. Country music legend George Jones of Saratoga, Texas, ca. Courtesy of Dragon Street Records, Inc. The s brought further important developments in country music. While native Texans such as Kenny Rogers, born in Houston in, Barbara Mandrell, born in Houston in, and Larry Gatlin, born in Seminole in, topped the charts with crossover pop-country hits, a group of college friends living in San Marcos was about to turn the country music world on its head. George Strait, born in Poteet, Texas, in and raised in nearby Pearsall, honed his singing skills during a stint in the United States Army and then went on to pursue a degree in agriculture at Southwest Texas State University now Texas State University. By Longview native Miranda Lambert had won numerous awards including Female Vocalist of the Year from the Academy of Country Music a staggering six consecutive times; she won five consecutive awards in that same category from the Country Music Association. These younger musicians appear committed to making sure that Texas will continue to have a profound and lasting impact on country music for many years to come. Richard Bauman and Roger D. University of Texas Press, An Oral History Austin: Texas Tech University Press, Govenar and Jay F. Brakefield, Deep Ellum and Central Track: University of North Texas Press, Malone, Country Music U. A Texas Chronicle Austin: Townsend, San Antonio Rose: University of Illinois Press, Page 5

6 Chapter 4 : 46 Curious Country Music Demographics - racedaydvl.com The 10 you've been waiting for. The 10 states where country music has a firm place in the past and in the future. Pennsylvania Of all the Northeastern States, Pennsylvania definitely has the largest country music appeal. There are lots of live shows and concerts throughout the state. Country. The music of the United States can be characterized by the use of syncopation and asymmetrical rhythms, long, irregular melodies, which are said to "reflect the wide open geography of the American landscape " and the "sense of personal freedom characteristic of American life". Throughout the later part of American history, and into modern times, the relationship between American and European music has been a discussed topic among scholars of American music. Some have urged for the adoption of more purely European techniques and styles, which are sometimes perceived as more refined or elegant, while others have pushed for a sense of musical nationalism that celebrates distinctively American styles. Modern classical music scholar John Warthen Struble has contrasted American and European, concluding that the music of the United States is inherently distinct because the United States has not had centuries of musical evolution as a nation. Instead, the music of the United States is that of dozens or hundreds of indigenous and immigrant groups, all of which developed largely in regional isolation until the American Civil War, when people from across the country were brought together in army units, trading musical styles and practices. Struble deemed the ballads of the Civil War "the first American folk music with discernible features that can be considered unique to America: Amateur musical ensembles of this era can be seen as the birth of American popular music. Music author David Ewen describes these early amateur bands as combining "the depth and drama of the classics with undemanding technique, eschewing complexity in favor of direct expression. If it was vocal music, the words would be in English, despite the snobs who declared English an unsingable language. The entrance of the Grammy Museum at L. Live Music intertwines with aspects of American social and cultural identity, including through social class, race and ethnicity, geography, religion, language, gender, and sexuality. The relationship between music and race is perhaps the most potent determiner of musical meaning in the United States. The development of an African American musical identity, out of disparate sources from Africa and Europe, has been a constant theme in the music history of the United States. Little documentation exists of colonial -era African American music, when styles, songs, and instruments from across West Africa commingled with European styles and instruments in the melting pot of slavery. By the midth century, a distinctly African American folk tradition was well-known and widespread, and African American musical techniques, instruments, and images became a part of mainstream American music through spirituals, minstrel shows, and slave songs. In contrast, country music derives from both African and European, as well as Native American and Hawaiian, traditions and yet has long been perceived as a form of white music. Musical divisions based on class are not absolute, however, and are sometimes as much perceived as actual; [8] popular American country music, for example, is a commercial genre designed to "appeal to a working-class identity, whether or not its listeners are actually working class". Women were also a major part of early popular music performance, though recorded traditions quickly become more dominated by men. Most male-dominated genres of popular music include female performers as well, often in a niche appealing primarily to women; these include gangsta rap and heavy metal. Though aspects of American music can be traced back to specific origins, claiming any particular original culture for a musical element is inherently problematic, due to the constant evolution of American music through transplanting and hybridizing techniques, instruments and genres. Elements of foreign musics arrived in the United States both through the formal sponsorship of educational and outreach events by individuals and groups, and through informal processes, as in the incidental transplantation of West African music through slavery, and Irish music through immigration. The most distinctly American musics are a result of cross-cultural hybridization through close contact. Slavery, for example, mixed persons from numerous tribes in tight living quarters, resulting in a shared musical tradition that was enriched through further hybridizing with elements of indigenous, Latin, and European music. The process of transplanting music between cultures is not without criticism. The issue of Page 6

7 cultural appropriation has also been a major part of racial relations in the United States. The use of African American musical techniques, images, and conceits in popular music largely by and for white Americans has been widespread since at least the midth century songs of Stephen Foster and the rise of minstrel shows. The American music industry has actively attempted to popularize white performers of African American music because they are more palatable to mainstream and middle-class Americans. This process has been related to the rise of stars as varied as Benny Goodman, Eminem, and Elvis Presley, as well as popular styles like blue-eyed soul and rockabilly. American folk music Elvis Presley was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King". The Native American tribes each play their own varieties of folk music, most of it spiritual in nature. African American music includes blues and gospel, descendants of West African music brought to the Americas by slaves and mixed with Western European music. During the colonial era, English, French and Spanish styles and instruments were brought to the Americas. By the early 20th century, the United States had become a major center for folk music from around the world, including polka, Ukrainian and Polish fiddling, Ashkenazi, klezmer, and several kinds of Latin music. The Native Americans played the first folk music in what is now the United States, using a wide variety of styles and techniques. Some commonalities are near universal among Native American traditional music, however, especially the lack of harmony and polyphony, and the use of vocables and descending melodic figures. Traditional instrumentations use the flute and many kinds of percussion instruments, like drums, rattles, and shakers. Modern Native American music may be best known for pow wows, pan-tribal gatherings at which traditionally styled dances and music are performed. Page 7

8 Chapter 5 : The Top 10 States for Country Music The United States is the third largest country in the world with a population of more than million, American music is very diverse with many, many styles, including rhythm and blues, jazz. In the United States, people are loving it much more than they are hating it. As the country music demographics will show, this genre reaches a wide variety of people and households. Country music is the 1 format for adults in the age demographic. In total, the country music audience in the United States is estimated to be just under million people. The percentage of country music listeners who are married: Households that listen to country have an average of 2. People who listen to country music are generally content with their lives. Most would be described as Middle Class homes with a fair amount of income, steady employment, and a desire to stay in touch with the emotions that made them who they are as a person. Country music is about authenticity and as Millennials become the largest active generation in the US, the genre still has major growth potential. Because the country music demographics are so large, their spending power can be very influential. People who love country have attractive economic indicators in many different areas. They are dining out, building homes, and seeing their country and the rest of the world. No one who makes a living through marketing can afford to ignore the power of these demographics. Men in the country music demographics are most influenced by hunting, fishing, and home remodeling. Women in the country music demographics are most influenced by hunting, automotive products, and fishing. Even with the increased popularity of pop music over the airwaves today, the Nielsen ratings in for country music slipped just 0. The percentage of country music fans that say they are active on Facebook on a daily basis: The one place of weakness when it comes to the influence of country music fans is technology. This seems to indicate that people within this demographic want stability, are content with what they have, and ultimately just want to do what is best for their family. The average household which regularly listens to country music has at least 2 cell phones. Country mmusic fans are more likely to text when voting in a contest, download ring tones, download songs, and watch videos online when compared to the general public. The one demographic that does dominate in country music is ethnicity. This may also be why some of the income and employment statistics within this demographic are so high compared to the rest of the general population. Page 8

9 Chapter 6 : UNITED STATES TOP Popular Songs - Shazam Music Charts (Updated Daily) Perhaps the country with the most similarity to the culture of United States country music is Australia. It's a toss-up between Australia and Canada. In Australia, country music sprang up. It has roots in traditional folk music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the s. The term country music began to be used in the s when the earlier term hillbilly music was deemed to be degrading, and the term was widely embraced in the s, while country and Western has declined in use since that time, except in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it is still commonly used in the United States. In the Southwestern United States a different mix of ethnic groups created the music that became the Western music of the term country and Western. Country music has produced two of the top selling solo artists of all time. Contemporary musician Garth Brooks, with million albums sold, is the top-selling solo artist in U. While album sales of most musical genres have declined, country music experienced one of its best years in, when, during the first six months of the year, U. Moreover, country music listening nationwide has remained steady for almost a decade, reaching Immigrants to the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North America brought the music and instruments of the Old World along with them for nearly years. The Irish fiddle, the German derived dulcimer, the Italian mandolin, the Spanish guitar, and the African banjo were the most common musical instruments. The interactions among musicians from different ethnic groups produced music unique to this region of North America. Appalachian string bands of the early twentieth century primarily consisted of the fiddle, guitar, and banjo. This early country music along with early recorded country music is often referred to as Old-time music. As a result of this cohabitation and extended contact, Texas has developed unique cultural traits that are rooted in the culture of all of its founding communities. The music at these halls, brought from Europe, included the waltz and the polka, played on an accordion, an instrument invented in Italy, which was loud enough to fill the entire dance hall. The first commercial recording of what can be considered country music was "Sallie Gooden" by fiddlist A. Eck Robertson in for Victor Records. Columbia Records began issuing records with "hillbilly" music as early as Many "hillbilly" musicians recorded blues songs throughout the decade. The steel guitar entered country music as early as, when Jimmie Tarlton met famed Hawaiian guitarist Frank Ferera on the West Coast. Their songs were first captured at a historic recording session in Bristol on August 1,, where Ralph Peer was the talent scout and sound recordist. One effect of the Great Depression was to reduce the number of records that could be sold. Radio, and broadcasting, became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California. During the s and s Cowboy songs, or "Western music", which had been recorded since the s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood. His mix of "country" and jazz, which started out as dance hall music, would become known as Western Swing. Spade Cooley and Tex Williams also had very popular bands and appeared in films. At the height of its popularity, Western Swing rivaled the popularity of other big band jazz. Country musicians began recording boogie in, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall, when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie". The trickle of what was initially called Hillbilly Boogie, or Okie Boogie later to be renamed Country Boogie, became a flood beginning around late The Hillbilly Boogie period lasted into the s, and remains as one of many sub-genres of country into the twenty first century. Gospel music, too, remained a popular component of country music. Another type of stripped down and raw music with a variety of moods and a basic ensemble of guitar, bass, dobro or steel guitar and later drums became popular, especially among poor white southerners. It became known as Honky Tonk and had its roots in Texas. This music has been described as "a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, a little bit of black and a little bit of white These "honky tonk" songs associated barrooms, were performed by the likes of Ernest Tubb, Ted Daffin, Floyd Tillman, and the Maddox Brothers and Rose, and Hank Williams, would later be called "traditional" country. In this post World War II period "country" music was called "folk" in the trades, and "hillbilly" within the industry. In Billboard replace the term "hillbilly" with "folk songs and blues", and switched to "country" or "country and western" in Moon Mullican played Western Swing, but also recorded songs that can be called rockabilly. Page 9

10 Bill Haley sang cowboy songs, and was at one time a cowboy yodeler. Haley became most famous as an early player of rock n roll. Lefty Frizzell played in honky tonks adapting Jimmie Rodgers -stylings to this environment, thus creating a sound that was very much his own. Between and, country crooner Eddy Arnold placed a total of 8 songs in the top Beginning in the mid s, and reaching its peak during the early s, the "Nashville Sound" turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered on Nashville, Tennessee. Under the direction of producers such as Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley, and later Billy Sherrill, the " Nashville sound " brought country music to a diverse audience and helped revive country as it emerged from a commercially fallow period. This sound was notable for borrowing from s pop stylings: Instrumental soloing was de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks". The "slip note" piano style of session musician Floyd Cramer was an important component of this style. Within a few years many rockabilly musicians returned to a more mainstream style, or had defined their own unique style. Country music gained widespread television exposure through the Ozark Jubilee, a live ABC-TV and radio network program broadcast from â from Springfield, Missouri. Located miles km north north west of Los Angeles, Bakersfield, California gave rise to one of the next genres of country music. This sound grew out of hardcore honky tonk with elements of Western swing, and was influenced by one time West Coast residents Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzell. By it was known as the Bakersfield Sound. The Bakersfield Sound relied on electric instruments and amplification, in particular the Telecaster electric guitar, more than other sub-genres of country of the era, and can be described as having a sharp, hard, driving, no-frills, edgy flavor. Drums were scorned by early country musicians as being "too loud" and "not pure", but by Western Swing big band leader Bob Wills had added drums to the Texas Playboys. Bob Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in For several decades Nashville session players preferred the warm tones of the Gibson and Gretsch archtop electrics, but a "hot" Fender style, utilizing guitars which became available beginning in the early s, eventually prevailed as the signature guitar sound of country. Waylon and I had that outlaw image going, and when it caught on at colleges and we started selling records, we were O. The late s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. At the same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the Country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as Country rock. Subsequent to the initial blending of the two polar opposite genres, other offspring soon resulted, including Southern rock, Heartland Rock and in more recent years Alternative country. Australian Country music developed not as Nashville did. Country Pop or soft pop, with roots in both the country-politan sound and in soft rock, is a sub-genre of country music that first emerged in the s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to adult contemporary. Country pop found its first widespread acceptance during the s. Thomas and Anne Murray having hits on the Country charts. These Pop-oriented singers thought that they could gain higher record sales and a larger audience if they crossed over into the Country world. In the same year, a group of artists, troubled by this trend, formed the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers. The action was taken as a protest against the increasing pop style in country music. In a style of "neo-country disco music" was popularized by the film Urban Cowboy, which also included more traditional songs such as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. As with most sudden trends, however, by sales had dropped below figures. It was during these few years that "country artists" saw their records perform well on the pop charts. Four country songs topped the Billboard Hot in the s: Meanwhile, several rock and pop stars have ventured a little into country music. In, Richard Marx made a brief cross-over with his Days In Avalon album, which features five country songs and several singers and musicians. Other rock stars who featured a county song on their albums were Don Henley and Poison. In the mid s country western music was influenced by the popularity of line dancing. This influence was so great that Chet Atkins was quoted as saying "The music has gotten pretty bad, I think. There are at least four U. The channel was launched in the early s. Country music in Australia has always been popular, especially given the rural nature of the country. Starting in the s with bush balladeers writing songs of their tales of the bush, as well as songs of protest against the tyranny of the government. In the s the legendary Slim Dusty embarked on a country music career that spanned over fifty years and over albums. Smoky Dawson was also a country Page 10

11 music pioneer in Australia, modeling himself very much in the traditional cowboy style, even starring in his own comic books and radio serials. Country HQ showcases new talent on the rise in the country music scene down-under. Australia has one leading 24 hour music channel dedicated to Non-Stop country music in Australia. In Germany, for instance, Rohrbach identifies three general groups that gravitate to the genre: He was the first country musician to perform in the Soviet Union; he also toured in Australia and the Middle East. He was deemed the "International Ambassador of Country Music" for his contributions to the globalization of country music. The Country Music Association undertakes various initiatives to promote country music internationally. The festival features bands from different places of Argentina, as well as international artist from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and the United States. Page 11

12 Chapter 7 : â U.S. music sales by genre Statista Learn about the 50 states and capitals of the united states of America with this fun educational music video for children and parents. Brought to you by Kids Learning Tube. Don't forget to sing along. By far the largest of the three original Anglo-American culture areas, the South is also the most idiosyncratic with respect to national normsâ or slowest to accept them. The South was once so distinct from the non-south in almost every observable or quantifiable featureâ The warm climate of the South affords a period of â frost-free days per year, enabling such profitable crops as tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and cotton to be grown. This climate, coupled with abundant rainfall, offered 17th- and 18th-century European settlers a superb opportunity to raise crops for export if an adequate permanent labour supply could be found. The source proved to be African slaves, made available for purchase through the international slave trade. From this unique situation of supply and demand arose the system of plantation slavery, which above all other factors distinguished the South from other U. By, blacks constituted about one-third of the Southern population and almost the entire workforce on the plantations. At the beginning of the American Civil War, more than four million blacks remained in bondage, though less than one-sixth of the white population actually owned slaves. Library of Congress, Washington, D. Economically, the antebellum and cotton-oriented South looked to the British textile industry for its market and opposed the growing politico-economic power of the industrializing North. The Southern social philosophy, holding to an ideal of rural gentry, presented a sharp contrast to that of the North, for it stressed a genteel, aristocratic lifestyle rather than one based on the earnest accumulation of money. In the period between the American Revolution â 83 and about, the North, spurred by the abolitionists, passed from mild opposition to strong condemnation of slavery. The ensuing Civil War â 65 wrought immense destruction on much of the South, which emerged the loser in the conflict. In many areas cropland was ruined, livestock lost, railroads destroyed, and billions of dollars in slave-related investments wiped out. Recovering slowly from this destruction, much of the South continued to rely largely on a one-crop economyâ cotton, tobacco, or riceâ and to cultivate the crops with the labour of black freedmen. Until the South remained an impoverished and undiversified region. Chronic overproduction of cotton, with its attendant low prices, forced more and more farmers, both black and white, into sharecropping ; between and Southern land tenancy increased from 36 to 55 percent. The Great Depression of the s caused a total bankruptcy of the cotton economy, which was not relieved until federal New Deal legislation intervened to provide payments for reducing cotton acreage and for unemployment relief. Both of these devices encouraged migration to the cities, a trend that was accelerated during World War II by a heavy influx of Southern blacks to Northern industrial centres. The New Deal, however, was ultimately to benefit the South. The cotton acreage quota system led to improvements in productivity and to diversification of the agricultural base. The Tennessee Valley Authority, a vast river-development scheme created in, brought electricity to many rural families, further increased farmland productivity through flood control and improved soil management, and laid the groundwork for new industry. Courtesy of the Tennessee Valley Authority After World War II the South began to experience sustained growth and industrialization, particularly in the lumber, paper, petrochemical, and aerospace industries. By the 21st century, manufacturing was the largest sector of the economy in most Southern states. By the census, Texas had surpassed New York as the second most populous state. As the demographic balance of the country shifted southward, the South consistently gained Congressional representation. A split in the Democratic Party in response to its postwar civil rights platform led to the ascendency of George Wallace and caused many segregationist Southern conservatives to flee to the Republican Party. This split was so exacerbated by the growing civil rights movement of the s that by the s the Democratic monopoly of the South was fully broken. Ever wealthier, the South played an increasing role in national politics beginning in the final quarter of the 20th century. Bush of Texas were elected president, and Southern support became pivotal to successful presidential campaigns. The controversial continued use of the Confederate flag by some Southern states remains a hotly debated political issue. It has also been the crucible of jazz, blues, rock, and country and western music. Learn More in these Page 12

13 related Britannica articles: Page 13

14 Chapter 8 : Music of the United States - Wikipedia The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. See Article History Alternative Titles: The term country and western music later shortened to country music was adopted by the recording industry in to replace the derogatory label hillbilly music. The vigour and realism of the rural songs, many lyrics of which were rather impersonal narratives of tragedies pointing to a stern Calvinist moral, stood in marked contrast to the often mawkish sentimentality of much of the popular music of the day. 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 s, and many devoted part of their airtime to live or recorded music suited to white rural audiences. The immediate popularity of such programs encouraged more recordings and the appearance of talented musicians from the hills at radio and record studios. Among these were the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, whose performances strongly influenced later musicians. These early recordings were of ballads and country dance tunes and featured the fiddle and guitar as lead instruments over a rhythmic foundation of guitar or banjo. Other instruments occasionally used included Appalachian dulcimer, harmonica, and mandolin; vocals were done either by a single voice or in high close harmony. Carter FamilyThe Carter Family from left: The nostalgic bias of country music, with its lyrics about grinding poverty, orphaned children, bereft lovers, and lonely workers far from home, held special appeal during a time of wide-scale population shifts. A second and more substantive variant of country music arose in the s in the Texas-Oklahoma region, where the music of rural whites was exposed to the swing jazz of black orchestras. In response, a Western swing style evolved in the hands of Bob Wills and others and came to feature steel and amplified guitars and a strong dance rhythm. An even more important variant was honky-tonk, a country style that emerged in the s with such figures as Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams. Mandolin-player Bill Monroe and his string band, the Blue Grass Boys, discarded more recently adopted rhythms and instruments and brought back the lead fiddle and high harmony singing. His banjoist, Earl Scruggs, developed a brilliant three-finger picking style that brought the instrument into a lead position. In Roy Acuff, one of the most important country singers, co-organized in Nashville the first publishing house for country music. Popular singers often recorded songs in a Nashville style, while many country music recordings employed lush orchestral backgrounds. Cline, PatsyPatsy Cline, c. The gap between country and the mainstream of pop music continued to narrow in that decade and the next as electric guitars replaced more traditional instruments and country music became more acceptable to a national urban audience. Despite its embrace of other popular styles, country music retained an unmistakable character as one of the few truly indigenous American musical styles. Chapter 9 : United States - Wikipedia Nicknamed "Music City USA," Nashville is the epicenter of country and western music in the United States. The most famous of Nashville's musical legacies is the Grand Ole Opry, a country music and variety radio show that is still recorded live. Page 14