quiz 1 Flashcards
What are traditional Country Music Styles?
Fiddling, Ballads, Country Songs
What are important music instruments in the style?
accordion, autoharp, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar
What is the genre defined by?
commercial, artist, fan-base
What makes country music authentic?
construction/awareness, multi-generational appeal, music conservation/preservation, instruments/sound “twang”, traditional vs. originality, biography, image
Definition of Country Music
“A commercial genre that claims a lineage from early 20th century, rural, while mostly southern, working class popular music” OR “country music is any music the artist means to be country”
Otherness: Cultural Cringe
Rural vs. Urban, colonial inferiority complex around Northern vs Southern divide (hillbilly),
Otherness: (All)
Cultural cringe, religious fervor/fundamentalism, sentimentality, Popularity (traditional vs pop, lack of originality), Access and Opportunity,
Why did the earliest disseminations have broad appeal?
Because of rural to town migration and because soldiers from WWI and WWII from different places shared their music with each other
During what major event did the earliest disseminations of country music take place?
During the Great Depression
What aspects of community did the earliest disseminations of country music represent?
southern/working class identity, activity, politics, and gender roles.
When were the phonograph and gramophone invented?
Phonograph (1877) Gramophone (1887)
How did record labels affect country music?
more opportunities, cataloguing the genre (separating it from blues), “Dime store” labels (ABC records), contracts
What year did early country music sales peak?
1922
What were the nature of pre-vinyl records?
Wax cylinder, 3 per side, 1 song per side (A side/ B side)
When was the electronic microphone invented?
1925
Who made the talking machine
Victrola
Who made the “first country recording” when and what are some things about him?
Fiddlin’ John Carson-
1923
Born Georgia moved to Atlanta
Factory worker
celebrity fiddler in KKK competitions
What was Fiddlin’ John Carson’s commercial enterprise?
USB radio (welcome south brother)
Okeh records (ralph peer)
Who was Deford Bailey?
Black Hillbilly from Nashville
“Harmonica Wizard”
was in original cast of players for WSM barn dance at the Grand Ol’ OPry
Left in 1941 cause of racism
Who was Heddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter?
Country, Blues, folk, musician from Louisiana
Discovered in prison
400 songs recorded only 50 released (ARC)
What was the cause of “Country’s Big Bang”? 1927
Recording sessions of primarily singers (19 acts) in Bristol Tennessee known as the Bristol Sessions which produced the first country hits
Who was the Carter Family?
They were the “First Family of Country”
Discovered at Bristol Sessions
from clinch mountain Virginia
Sang wholesome country
a lot of songs were stolen and changed to evade copyright laws
Who was Jimmie Rogers?
Tragic troubadour from Mississippi but became an “Adopted Texan”
Sincere, 1st person narrative, yodeling
played with very diverse range of ensembles
died young
Who was Roy Acuff?
(next gen of country)
Opry star from Tennessee who was a hillbilly who wouldn’t “clean up his act”, not the best singer or fiddler but most sincere. Elder statesman at opry.
Started Rose-Acuff publishing (1942)
made songbooks
first publishing company to not take advantage of artists.
Made
Who were two big stars of 30-40s country themed comedy acts?
Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones
How did the depression affect country music?
Country got a “smoother sound” because people were spending less on entertainment and creating a less regionally specific sound created broader appeal. More of a push for wholesome family acts as well.
How was Western Swing different than Country music?
Western swing didn’t start until the 1930’s-1950’s and took place mostly on the west coast and in the southeast. More of a musical melting pot with less cultural consideration (Blues, Swing, pop, non-regional dialect)
Who was Bob Wills?
A Texan Western Swing star who started out playing fiddle for Pappy O’Daniel in the “dough boys”
Played at the Opry in 44 and convinced them to let him use drums
later become a cowboy western star and had the first pop crossover hit
Why was the construction of the Singing Cowboy made?
In Hollywood they wanted a less rough around the edges representation of country culture and the cowboy was a hero instead of a hillbilly. During the depression there was a theme of wrapping things up into neatly packaged aesthetics as a form of escapism.
Who were some Singing Cowboy stars?
Ken Maynard, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Patsy Montana, Tex Ritter
Fiddlin’ John Carson: “The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane”
Style: Early Hillbilly
1923
A cover of an old minstrel song about a slave who is nostalgic for being in the fields. (john carson was in the kkk)
Lead Belly: “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”
1944
about a man’s wife cheating and then he gets killed
Carter Family: “Can the Circle Be Unbroken”
style: hillbilly gospel
(cover of a gospel song)
dime store ARC label
1935
Jimmie Rodgers: “Muleskinner Blues”
1931
hillbilly/country blues
Roy Acuff: “The Great Speckled Bird”
ARC 1959
strophic form
hillbilly
classic 1930s sounding country song
learned song from gospel group
used this song to get a record deal and later play at the Opry
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys: “New San Antonio Rose”
AABA
western swing
1940
no audible connection to hillbilly
uses sound from mariachi
lyrics were re worked to be cowboy themed
Patsy Montana: “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”
1935
strophic with refrain
singing cowboy style
first song by a woman to sell 1 million copies
ARC
Gene Autry: “Back in the Saddle Again”
1939
Verse Chorus
Singing Cowboy Style
for a movie called Border G-Man
represents success of connection between film and music
