Country music developed in the early 20th century from genres including blues, western, and Appalachian folk music. Country and western genres initially emerged separately in the southeastern and southwestern US, respectively, before combining. Early country recordings from the 1920s were sometimes called hillbilly music. Major early artists included the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. The genre continued developing through the 1930s-1960s with the popularization of the Grand Ole Opry and the emergence of subgenres like rockabilly, the Nashville sound, and country rock. Contemporary country incorporates pop and rock influences and remains a commercially successful genre. Bluegrass also evolved in the 1930s and maintains traditional instrumentation while some artists incorporate new

1. Country and Western

2. Country and Western
● Country: developed in Southeastern US; 1920s; blues
influence
● Western: developed in Southwest; early 20th century;
Mexican influence
● Both share qualities of Appalachian folk genres; Irish,
Scottish, English; Ballads
● These two distinct genres eventually grew together into
one; Hillbilly → Country → Country and Western →
Country

3. Early Country
● Sometimes called
“Hillbilly”
● Atlanta -- cotton mills,
industrious city = jobs
● Appalachia: coming from
rural mountains to city;
bringing culture (music!)
with them
● Earliest country recording
artists in 1920s

4. Early Country Examples
● Turkey In The Straw (Henry Gilliland and A.C.
Robertson, 1922)
● Big Eyed Rabbit (Samantha Bumgarner and Eva Davis,
c. 1924)
● Hobo Bill’s Last Ride (Jimmie Rodgers, 1929)

5. Samantha Bumgarner

6. Jimmie Rodgers

7. The Carter Family
● Recorded from 1927 to
1956; group changes over
time
● Influenced genres
including country,
bluegrass, gospel, pop,
and rock
● Keep On The Sunny Side
● Wildwood Flower (Carter
Sisters, Grand Ole Opry)

8. The Carter Family Over Time
AP, husband; Sara, wife; Maybelle, sister-in-law (AP);
Ezra, Maybelle’s husband, AP’s brother, Sara’s first cousin;
The children: Janette, Helen, June, Anita, Joe

9. The Second Generation (30s and 40s)
● Now becoming Country and Western; popularized
genre(s)
● The singing cowboys: Back in the Saddle Again, Gene
Autry; Don’t Fence Me In, Roy Rogers (by Cole Porter!)
● I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart, Patsy Montana

10. Grand Ole Opry
● A huge factor in the
popularization of Country
artists and Country as a
genre
● Began as radio, 1925;
transitioned to television
● Minnie Pearl -- culture built
around Country
● Still On Air today

11. Drums!? … in Country!?
● Early Country: almost exclusively string bands
○ Instrumentation?
● Addition of drums in 30s/40s; considered “un-country”
and “too loud” by many early Country artists
● In early years, the Grand Ole Opry and similar shows
kept their drummers back stage so they would not be
seen in performance
● 1960s: drums are common in Country bands

12. Third Generation (50s and 60s)
● The blend of genres (country, western, mexican
[tejano], honky tonk, etc) is common in the “Country”
sound
● John Denver, Thank God I’m A Country Boy
○ Folk Revival, crossover into country; challenge
● 1950s: Rockabilly, one of the earliest forms of Rock n’
Roll; influenced by Country, Western, Pop, and Rock
○ Elvis Presley, Good Rockin’ Tonight
○ Elvis as country artist: Wild In The Country

13. ● Nashville becomes the
center of Country music
○ $$$$$$$
● Patsy Cline, Walkin’ After
Midnight
● Tammy Wynette, Stand
By Your Man
○ 1968
○ Song criticised; why?
50s and 60s cont’d -- The Nashville Sound

14. Country Rock (60s and early 70s)
● Difficult to escape the influence of Rock n’ Roll during
the 1960s
● Term usually, but not always, refers to artists who
recorded Rock albums with country themes
○ I Threw It All Way, Bob Dylan
○ Tulsa Queen, Emmylou Harris
○ Take It Easy, Eagles

15. Decline of the Cowboy Persona
● 1960s saw deteriorating interests in the “Western” part
of Country and Western
● Cowboy songs became less popular, sold less music
● Heavier emphasis on rock and pop fusion with country

16. Country Fusion (70s and 80s)
● “Country music isn’t really country anymore; it is a hybrid of nearly
every form of popular music in America.” -- Paul Hemphill, Saturday
Evening Post, 1975
○ Country Pop
■ Nine to Five, Dolly Parton
■ Islands In The Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
■ Always On My Mind, Willie Nelson
○ “Neocountry Disco Music”
■ The Devil Went Down To Georgia, The Charlie Daniels
Band

17. Contemporary Country Artists
● 1980s: Country music on the radio moved from being
primarily AM radio stations, to primarily FM; higher
quality
● Access to an even wider range of audiences; urban,
suburbs, rural
● Alternative rock of the 90s: “noisier” and “less melodic”
○ Changing sound of rock n’ roll; “outdated” rock
musicians sought country sound

18. ● Boot Scootin’ Boogie, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn
● Man! I Feel Like A Woman, Shania Twain
● Travelin’ Soldier, Dixie Chicks
● Inside Your Heaven, Carrie Underwood

19. Bluegrass
● “traditional” instruments
○ free from the influence of pop?
● Origins in the 1930s
○ Blue Moon of Kentucky, Bill Monroe, Father of
Bluegrass
● Influential Artists
○ Earl Scruggs
○ Lester Flatt

20. Contemporary Bluegrass
● The Lucky One, Alison Krauss and Union Station
● I Will Wait, Mumford and Sons
○ Neo Bluegrass?
● Bluegrass Fusion
○ Big Country, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
● Bluegrass in Movies
○ I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow, Soggy Bottom
Boys, from O Brother, Where Art Thou