thesis about country music

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• > Volume 10 Issue 2
• > Country Music: A Cultural and Stylistic History. By...

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Country music: a cultural and stylistic history . by jocelyn r. neal. oxford: oxford university press, 2013. - cosmic cowboys and new hicks: the countercultural sounds of austin's progressive country scene . by travis stimeling. oxford: oxford university press, 2011..

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2016

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1 Malone , Bill , Country Music U.S.A.: A Fifty-Year History ( Austin : University of Texas Press for the American Folklore Society , 1968 ) Google Scholar .

2 Hamm , Charles , “ Diamonds in the Rough—Hillbilly and Country-Western Music ,” in Music in the New World ( New York : W. W. Norton , 1983 ), 46 – 97 Google Scholar ; Leppert , Richard and Lipsitz , George , “ Age, the Body and the Experience in the Music of Hank Williams ,” Popular Music 9 , no. 3 ( 1990 ): 259 CrossRef Google Scholar –74; Brackett , David , “ When You're Lookin’ at Hank (You're Lookin’ at Country) ,” in Analyzing Popular Music ( Cambridge : Cambridge University Press , 1995 Google Scholar ; reprint Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 75–107.

3 Neal , Jocelyn R. , The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Legacy in Country Music ( Bloomington : Indiana University Press , 2009 ) Google Scholar ; “The Voice Behind the Song: Faith Hill, Country Music, and Reflexive Identity,” in The Women of Country Music: A Reader , ed. James Akenson and Charles Wolfe (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), 109–30; “Country-Pop Formulae and Craft: Shania Twain's Musical Appeal,” Expression in Pop-Rock Music: Critical and Analytical Essays, 2nd ed., ed. Walter Everett (New York: Routledge, 2008), 285–311; “Dancing Together: The Rhythms of Gender in the Country Dance Hall,” in A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music , ed. Kristine McCusker and Diane Pecknold (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004), 132–54; “Dancing Around the Subject: Race in Country Fan Culture,” The Musical Quarterly 89, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 555–79.

4 Malone , Bill C. and Neal , Jocelyn R. , Country Music U.S.A. , 3rd ed . ( Austin : University of Texas Press , 2010 ) Google Scholar .

5 Hubbs , Nadine , Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music ( Berkeley : University of California Press , 2014 ), 23 CrossRef Google Scholar .

6 Starr , Larry and Waterman , Christopher , American Popular Music , 4th ed . ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2013 ) Google Scholar .

7 Peterson , Richard , Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1997 ) Google Scholar .

8 See Reger , Jo , Everywhere and Nowhere: Contemporary Feminism in the United States ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2012 ), 22 – 24 Google Scholar , for a discussion of the ways in which the historical periodization of distinct feminist waves often overlooks the achievements of working-class women, women of color, and lesbians.

9 Historians have repeatedly pointed to the increased presence of women in the labor market beginning in the 1930s and continuing to after World War II, despite the domestic ideology of the 1950s. See Denning , Michael , The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century ( London : Verso , 1997 ), 30 – 31 Google Scholar ; and May , Elaine , Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era ( New York : Basic Books , 1998 Google Scholar ; reprint, 2008), 67.

10 Wel , Stephanie Vander , “ The Lavender Cowboy and ‘The She Buckeroo’: Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, and Depression-Era Gender Roles ,” Musical Quarterly 95 , nos. 2–3 ( 2012 ): 207 Google Scholar –51.

11 See Fox , Pamela , Natural Acts: Gender, Race, and Rusticity in Country Music ( Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press , 2008 ) Google Scholar , 101–12, for more about Jean Shepard's musical career.

12 Kibler , Alison M. , Rank Ladies: Gender and Cultural Hierarchy in American Vaudeville ( Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press , 1999 ) Google Scholar ; Rodger , Gillian M. , Champagne Charlie and Pretty Jemima: Variety Theater in the Nineteenth Century ( Urbana : University of Illinois Press , 2010 ) Google Scholar ; and Tucker , Sherrie , Swing Shift: “All Girl” Bands of the 1940s ( Durham, NC : Duke University Press , 2000 ) CrossRef Google Scholar .

13 See Mitchell Morris, “Crossing Over with Dolly,” in Morris, Persistence of Sentiment: Display and Feeling in Popular Music of the 1970s (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), 173–208; and Hubbs, Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music .

14 Jan Reid, Redneck Rock (Austin, TX: Heidelberg, 1974).

15 Shank , Barry , Dissonant Identities: The Rock ’n’ Roll Scene in Austin Texas ( Hanover, NH : University of Press of New England for Wesleyan University Press , 1994 ) Google Scholar .

16 Shank, Dissonant Identities , 61–62.

17 See La Chapelle , Peter , Proud to be an Okie: Cultural Politics, Country Music, and Migration to Southern California ( Berkeley : University of California Press , 2007 ), 197 – 207 CrossRef Google Scholar , for a discussion of how country-rock bands turned Haggard's “Okie from Muskogee” into a parody.

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• Volume 10, Issue 2
• Stephanie Vander Wel
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752196316000134

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Collection Dolly Parton and the Roots of Country Music

Country music timeline.

A chronology of the development of Country Music from the seventeenth century through 2002.

17th Century (1621-1700)

European and African immigrants bring with them to North America their folktales, folk songs, favorite instruments, and musical traditions. Indigenous peoples retain their own folkways.

18th Century (1701-1800)

The music of subjugated native peoples and enshackled slaves is pushed into the background. The folkways continue, but in subdued fashion. White European culture dominates. Opera, instrumental, and vocal music are prevalent in the cities. In rural areas, many try to stay up-to-date, but communication with population centers is often slow or non-existent. Only instruments easily transportable are taken west.

19th Century (1801-1900)

The rush to the ever-expanding western frontier and the first signs of the American "melting pot" of heterogeneous cultures begin. Westward migration is fraught with difficulties. The first explorers, primarily men, drive westward, conquering and incorporating cultures as they go. Later, as women and children begin to migrate, so does "polite culture." Newspapers, publishing houses, the telegraph, and the railroad contribute to the distribution of information. America is so large that regional differences begin to appear. This is particularly evident in folk traditions and musical favorites. Waves of immigrants come to America, some involuntarily as slaves, others seeking relief from tyranny or poverty. The immigrants tend to settle in areas that remind them of their former homes. With them they bring the instruments most important to them and most easily transportable. Amid the novelty of their new homes they cling to the cultures of their origins as a means of stability. Ballads and tunes from home blend with the new American stories; morality songs and parables intermingle and new oral traditions are created. Music and stories are handed down from generation to generation orally, but popular music publishing carries on nevertheless. Music schools are rarely seen outside the cities. In the first half of the century, newspapers, song sheets, and songsters print song lyrics, but music notation is usually neglected in favor of the mnemonic cue "sung to the tune of . . . ." Printed music (vocal as well as instrumental) is slower to expand. Music is integral to American life in the 19th century. All aspects of life are celebrated in song. Musicians, especially those who learn by listening and imitating, not by reading from a printed score, subtly incorporate sounds from surrounding cultures. Thus, the true "country music" of America begins.

"Zip Coon," or, as it is better known, "Turkey in the Straw," is published in Baltimore.

William Walker's Southern Harmony is published.

The Virginia Minstrels introduce the popular song "Old Dan Tucker," by Dan Emmett, and "The Blue Tail Fly."

The Sacred Harp is published. Sacred harp, or shape-note singing, which originated in New England in the 1700s, is kept alive in churches and revivals throughout the South.

The Martin Guitar Company opens in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

"Wake Nicodemus," by Henry Clay Work, is published in Chicago.

Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey popularize revival meetings and begin publishing a series of songbooks for use at the revivals. These new gospel hymns gain immediate popularity in emphasizing personal salvation: "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder," "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," and "Amazing Grace."

Vaudeville becomes a popular entertainment.

Learn More: The American Variety Stage - Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment 1870-1920 - a multimedia anthology selected from various Library of Congress holdings. This collection illustrates the vibrant and diverse forms of popular entertainment, especially vaudeville, that thrived from 1870 to 1920.

Jesse Walter Fewkes makes cylinder recordings of the Possamaquoddy Indians. These are considered to be the first ethnographic recordings of Native American music.

Learn More: Information on the The Jesse Walter Fewkes field recordings of the Passamaquoddy Indians - information on this recording as one of the 2002 Registry choices.

"In the Baggage Coach Ahead," by Gussie Davis, is published.

20th Century (1901-2000)

The inventions of the phonograph, radio, television, and other electronic media shape the progress of country music in the 20th century.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers record "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," the first commercially successful spiritual recording.

James D. Vaughan, a music publisher, hires a quartet of singers to tour southern churches to promote his songbooks. A. P. Carter receives his first lessons in close harmony singing.

Folklorist Cecil Sharp publishes his comprehensive study, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians.

The Sears Catalog offers not only songbooks and music, but instruments as well.

The Victor and Okeh recording companies begin recording the first country music artists. Fiddler Eck Robertson records "Arkansas Traveler" and "Sallie Gooden" for Victor Records, becoming the first pure country music artist to make a recording.

WLS Radio in Chicago introduces the National Barn Dance on April 19, 1924.

Cowboy Songs is recorded by Victor Records in August 1925 by Carl T. Sprague. "When the Work's All Done This Fall" becomes a hit.

Ralph Peer of Victor Records begins recording a local family act, The Carter Family, in Bristol, Tennessee. A. P. Carter, his wife, Sara, and sister-in-law Maybelle make more than 250 recordings in the next 14 years. The Singing Brakeman, Jimmie Rodgers, is also discovered at Bristol.

October 19, 1939: the stock market crashes and the Great Depression begins.

Gene Autry, "America's favorite singing cowboy," has his first hit record, "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine."

Wurlitzer introduces its first jukebox.

Decca Records begins recording country music acts. Gene Autry makes his first movie, In Old Santa Fe. Bob Nolan writes "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," which becomes a hit for Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, as well as a signature song for Nolan's group, The Sons of the Pioneers .

John Lomax, honorary consultant and curator for the fledgling Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress, and his wife, Ruby, begin a southern states recording tour. They record hundreds of performances of ballads, blues, cowboy songs, field hollers, spirituals, and work songs in nine southern states. Many ethnomusicologists consider the recordings made on this field trip to be among the most important in this genre.

Learn More: The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip - a multiformat ethnographic field collection that includes nearly 700 sound recordings, as well as fieldnotes, dust jackets, and other manuscripts documenting a three-month, 6,502-mile trip through the southern United States

The Grand Ole Opry makes its first network broadcast on NBC. The first host is Roy Acuff. Acuff records his first hit record, "Great Speckled Bird," this same year.

The Special Service Division of the military introduces hillbilly bands to a wide audience of soldiers in USO shows. Honky tonk, bluegrass, and other country standards spread across the world.

Roy Acuff and Fred Rose found Acuff-Rose Publishing.

Republic Studios declares Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys," producing a film by the same name.

Nashville, Tennessee, becomes the center for country music.

Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys record "Blue Moon of Kentucky," one of the finest examples of the new bluegrass style of country music.

KWKH Radio in Shreveport introduces Louisiana Hayride to the airwaves.

Country music, radio, and movie star Gene Autry moves to television with the introduction of the Gene Autry Show.

Roy Rogers, recording and movie star, follows Autry's lead and moves to television with the Roy Rogers Show.

Elvis Presley changes the face of American music with the Sun Record sessions that introduce the world to rock and roll. Presley includes his version of "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

Rockabilly artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers begin recording hit after hit.

The "New Nashville Sound emerges", blending rockabilly and more traditional styles. Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Ferlin Husky, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, and George Jones embody this sound in their recordings.

Female singers come into their own as star performers. Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline lead the way for Jean Shepard, Skeeter Davis, Dottie West, Connie Smith, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton to rise to the top of the charts.

The Country Music Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose, and Hank Williams.

Willie Nelson writes "Crazy" for Patsy Cline and "Hello Walls" for Faron Young, planting himself squarely at the heart of the country music tradition.

Roy Acuff is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Vocal groups rise to prominence. The Statler Brothers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, the Forrester Sisters, and the Bellamy Brothers all gain popularity.

Charley Pride begins to rise to the top of the charts. He is the first black performer to become a star in the country music field. Pride successfully switches back and forth between the country, pop, and gospel charts.

Dolly Parton joins Porter Wagoner's TV show.

Bob Wills is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Gene Autry is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Bill Monroe and the Original Carter Family are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Bakersfield, California, becomes a center for a west-coast country music style. Ferlin Husky and Buck Owens are early examples of the style. A more contemporary artist is Dwight Yoakum.

Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey is recorded by Thomas Dorsey, Marion Williams, and others. Thomas A. Dorsey is considered the Father of Gospel Music.

Patsy Cline is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Minnie Pearl is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Willie Nelson creates the Outlaw movement (or Austin sound), exemplified in his album Wanted: The Outlaws , with vocals by Willie, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams, Jr., also fit the Outlaw category in their 1970s recordings.

Kitty Wells is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

New Country, or "countrypolitan," emerges, containing elements of western swing and bluegrass. Asleep at the Wheel personifies this sound as do George Strait and Reba McIntire. Ricky Skaggs infuses his New Country with driving bluegrass instrumentals. Randy Travis uses a more traditional "lonesome" vocal style.

Johnny Cash and the Original Sons of the Pioneers are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Bluebird Café opens in Nashville. It becomes one of the most important venues for new talent to be seen and discovered.

The Nashville Network debuts.

MTV Networks creates CMT (Country Music Television) to air country programming, including news and music videos, in a 24-hour format.

Ralph Peer is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Loretta Lynn and Roy Rogers are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Honky tonk, bluegrass, pop, and new country contribute to crossover appeal. Artists move freely from one genre to another. Emmylou Harris, Patsy Loveless, Marty Stuart, Vince Gill, and Kathy Mattea stay close to their traditional roots; Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Lee Ann Rimes, Shania Twain, and the Judds all move closer to a pop/rock sound, but still keep it country. Country singers gain international fame.

Willie Nelson is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Patsy Montana is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Elvis Presley and Tammy Wynette are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Dolly Parton is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Charley Pride is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Waylon Jennings is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Porter Wagoner is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Home > USC Columbia > HONORS_COLLEGE > SENIOR_THESES > 61

Senior Theses

Authenticity in the country music industry.

Alyssa Johnson , University of South Carolina - Columbia

Date of Award

Spring 5-5-2016

Degree Type

School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management

First Reader

Second reader.

Armen Shaomian

When researching the country music industry, it is impossible to avoid certain words—authenticity, sincerity, tradition—as a country music consumer, I have personally noticed these themes appearing frequently. As a consumer, I have been confused by the images that I’ve observed in country music scholarship and journalism based on tradition or authenticity (or, more often, the lack thereof). There is serious reverence for certain people, places, and things in country music. The Grand Ole Opry, the “legends” of the industry, and Nashville itself are treated with the utmost respect because of the roles that they’ve played in the development of country music. I have personally witnessed certain artists either being praised or criticized because of the way they do or do not stick to the status quo that those legends created. I have noticed that artists are perceived among my peers differently based on whether their music fits with the traditional images of country music or leans more toward the stylings of pop music. What is confusing, then, is that sometimes the same artist or work can be argued both ways, and there’s often not a real conclusion made.

As a student, I find this interesting, and wanted to find out more about the ideas of traditionalism and authenticity in the country music industry. Because of this, I chose to research and discuss the idea further in this thesis. The purpose of this study is to explore the background of the country music industry that created this idea of authenticity and to determine the role it plays in the consumption of country music by the average fan.

Throughout my research I found that many scholars have written that authenticity is of the utmost importance for a country artist. I found several factors that have helped to build up the idea that authenticity is key. Those factors were: country music is nostalgic and seeks out a connection with the past, listening to country music is a spiritual experience, country artists are more accessible to their fans than other artists, and there is a certain life story that many country artists generally fit. Through the use of two country artists as main examples— George Strait and Garth Brooks—these artists represent both the traditional and the non-traditional, and I chose to study these artists in particular because of their impressive sales, chart, and award histories. This thesis explores the idea of authenticity and what true value it holds for consumers of country music.

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Alyssa, "Authenticity in the Country Music Industry" (2016). Senior Theses . 61. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/senior_theses/61

© 2016, Alyssa Johnson

Since January 30, 2017

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Home > Honors College > Honors Theses > 2280

Honors Theses

Country is…the portrayal of southern culture in country music.

Allison Ann Worley

Date of Award

Document type.

Undergraduate Thesis

First Advisor

Relational format.

Dissertation/Thesis

This thesis explores the Image of the South and Its culture that Is presented to the public through country music, primarily contemporary, popular country music. The lyrics of several songs were analyzed to determine how they represent the South and its people. Songs were chosen based on their message, with a great deal of consideration being given to the popularity of each song. The thesis argues that country music presents a more positive South than most other media interpretations of the culture. That portrayal is quite complex, with often contradictory Ideas being contained within the various songs. As a whole, the genre depicts Southern culture as a very widely varied one, but usually with a positive tone.

Recommended Citation

Worley, Allison Ann, "Country is…The Portrayal of Southern Culture in Country Music" (2006). Honors Theses . 2280. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2280

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Home > History, Political Science > Faculty Works > 170

History and Political Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The "southernness" of country music.

Patrick Huber , Missouri University of Science and Technology Follow

This chapter presents an overview of Bill C. Malone's "southern thesis," as first articulated in his 1968 study, Country Music, U.S.A.: A Fifty-Year History, and examines the influential role that this regional interpretation has played in shaping country music scholarship. The chapter surveys some of the major trends in the scholarly literature over the past five decades regarding the music's perceived southernness. It explores Malone's problematic presentation of the American South as an exceptional region rooted in a unique rural folk culture, and the resulting historiographical debates. The chapter also identifies some significant topical and interpretative lacunae that now pervade the country music scholarship as a result of Malone's interpretation, and suggests several approaches to rectifying these omissions, including reinterpreting prewar country music as a commercial product of a modern, urban-industrial America and focusing attention on the American regional traditions and musical tributaries that contributed to its creation.

Recommended Citation

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190248178.013.22

Department(s)

History and Political Science

Keywords and Phrases

Country music; Culture; Folk music; Folklore; Musicologist

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-019024817-8

Document Type

Book - Chapter

Document Version

Language(s).

© 2017 Oxford University Press, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jul 2017

Since June 24, 2019

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Study of Networks and Genres through Data

Country Music’s “Geo-cultural” Origins

Country music has historically been defined through a “southern thesis” which suggests that the music emerged from the countryside and mountain hollows of the rural U.S. south. This idea is strongly linked to the first published history of the genre, Bill C. Malone’s Country Music, USA (1968/2018). Recent scholars ( Patrick Huber and Paul L. Tyler ) have challenged this paradigm, critiquing the southern thesis as a narrative that privileges the contributions from white, male, southern USA born artists. Karl Hagstrom Miller ‘s work has shown that the recording industry developed this construct in the 1920s as a way to market records by segregating southern music into distinct musical genres linked to specific racial and class identities. Diane Pecknold argues that this fictive construct, perpetuated by the industry and embedded in the broader country music discourse, serves as a powerful exclusionary tool that has obscured and even erased the contributions of artists born outside of the U.S. south, persons of colour, and women.

In a period in which racism and gender inequality are at the fore of public, political and scholarly discourse, this project will raise awareness around issues of gender, race, class, and geography as they are shaped by and relate to country music identity and culture. Unlike the more liberal pop and hip-hop genres, whose artists actively participate in public debate, country musicians have (with a few exceptions) remained largely silent on political topics, especially those regarding gender and racial inequality. While some may be fearful of being blacklisted (or worse) by the industry and fans in the same manner as the Chicks were in 2003 , this silence is often interpreted as implicit agreement with Republican political ideologies . As such, it serves to reinforce the southern thesis that keeps women, African Americans, and non-southern artists from participating in country music. The proposed project will deconstruct the southern thesis, re-contextualize the discussion surrounding country music’s geo-cultural identity, and explore the ways in which it has dictated industry practices.

Funded by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, this three-year project adopts methods for Big Data research in the humanities in order to undertake data-driven analysis of country music’s geo-cultural identity. In going beyond basic questions about the regions that have produced the most country performers, it will interrogate the role that artists outside of the white, southern, male construct have played in shaping country music’s geo-cultural identity and breakdown the southern thesis that underpins this nearly century-long narrative construct.

Opinion pieces

Watson, Jada. 2023. “ Country Music Almanac 2023: In the Loop .”  Nashville Scene  (19 December).

Watson, Jada. 2021. “ Grammys 2021 performer Mickey Guyton makes history – without country radio’s support. ”  NBC News Think,  14 March.

Publications

“The Market.” In  Sound Judgment: The Science and Practice of Valuing Music Performance , edited by George Waddell and Aaron Williamon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. in preparation

2022. “A Double-Edged Sword: Industry Data and the Construction of Country Music Narratives.” In  Whose Country Music? Genre, Identity, and Belonging in Twenty-first Century Country Music , edited by Paula J. Bishop and Jada Watson (55-72). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bishop, Paula J. and Jada Watson. 2022. “‘She Went to Nashville to Sing Country Music’: Gatekeeping and the Country Music Industry.” In  Whose Country Music? Genre, Identity, and Belonging in Twenty-first Century Country Music , edited by Paula J. Bishop and Jada Watson (1-12). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2022. “Reproducing Inheritance: How the Country Music Association’s Award Criteria Reinforce Industry White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy.”  American Music Perspectives.  Special Issue on Women, Gender, and Music in the Contemporary Media Landscape 1, no. 2: 136-50.

Collections

Bishop, Paula J., and Jada Watson, eds. 2022. Whose Country Music? Genre, Identity, and Belonging in 21st Century Country Music Culture . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2021. “ Redlining in Country Music: Representation in the Country Music Industry (2000-2020). ” SongData Reports; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 12 March.

Conference Presentations

“Charting Culture: Industry Data and the Curation of Institutional Memory.” Paper accepted for the 16 th annual conference of Feminist Theory & Music; Guelph, ON; July 2021.

“Reproducing Inheritance: Country Music and the Myth of Southern Whiteness.” Paper to be presented at Social Justice in the Life and Music of Johnny Cash at the 2021 Virtual Johnny Cash Heritage Festival; October 15-16, 2021.

“Listening for the Lost Archive.” Paper to be presented at the Radio Preservation and Task Force’s conference ‘Century of Broadcasting: Preservation and Renewal’; Washington, D.C, October 2020. [postponed to October 2023 due to Covid-19]

“Voix d’exception : Les métadonnées discographiques comme outil de recherche pour étudier la culture de la musique country (1944-2016).” Article présenté à la conférence annuelle de Muscan; juin 2021. 

“Overlooked Voices: Race and Gender on Billboard  Hot Country Songs Chart (1994-2016).” Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Country Music Conference; Nashville, TN, May 2021.

“Discographic Metadata as a Research Resource for Studying Popular Music Cultures.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Music Library Association; Richmond, Virginia, February 2020.

This research is supported by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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country music

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• Texas State Historical Association - Handbook of Texas - Country Music
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• Library of Congress - Dolly Parton and the Roots of Country Music - Country Music Timeline
• Oklahoma Historical Society - The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - COUNTRY MUSIC.
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country music , style of American popular music that originated in rural areas of the South and West in the early 20th century. The term country and western music (later shortened to country music ) was adopted by the recording industry in 1949 to replace the derogatory label hillbilly music .

Ultimately, country music’s roots lie in the ballads, folk songs, and popular songs of the English, Scots, and Irish settlers of the Appalachians and other parts of the South. In the early 1920s the traditional string-band music of the Southern mountain regions began to be commercially recorded, with Fiddlin’ John Carson garnering the genre’s first hit record in 1923. 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 1920s, and many devoted part of their airtime to live or recorded music suited to white rural audiences. Two regular programs of great influence were the “National Barn Dance” from Chicago , begun in 1924, and the “Grand Ole Opry” from Nashville , begun in 1925. 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 .

With the migration of many Southern rural whites to industrial cities during the Great Depression and World War II , country music was carried into new areas and exposed to new influences, such as blues and gospel music . 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.

During the 1930s a number of “singing cowboy” film stars, of whom Gene Autry was the best known, took country music and with suitably altered lyrics made it into a synthetic and adventitious “western” music. A second and more substantive variant of country music arose in the 1930s 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 1940s with such figures as Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams . Honky-tonk’s fiddle–steel-guitar combination and its bitter, maudlin lyrics about rural whites adrift in the big city were widely adopted by other country musicians.

The same period saw a concerted effort to recover some of country music’s root values. 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. Their music, with its driving, syncopated rhythms and instrumental virtuosity, took the name “ bluegrass ” from Monroe’s band.

But commercialization proved a much stronger influence as country music became popular in all sections of the United States after World War II. In 1942 Roy Acuff , one of the most important country singers, co-organized in Nashville the first publishing house for country music. Hank Williams’ meteoric rise to fame in the late 1940s helped establish Nashville as the undisputed centre of country music, with large recording studios and the Grand Ole Opry as its chief performing venue . In the 1950s and ’60s country music became a huge commercial enterprise , with such leading performers as Tex Ritter , Johnny Cash , Tammy Wynette , Buck Owens , Merle Haggard , Patsy Cline , Loretta Lynn , and Charley Pride . Popular singers often recorded songs in a Nashville style, while many country music recordings employed lush orchestral backgrounds.

The 1970s saw the growth of the “ outlaw ” music of prominent Nashville expatriates Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. 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. Country retained its vitality into the late 20th century with such diverse performers as Dolly Parton , Randy Travis , Garth Brooks , Reba McEntire , Emmylou Harris , and Lyle Lovett . Its popularity continued unabated into the 21st century, exemplified by performers Kenny Chesney , Brad Paisley , Alan Jackson , Blake Shelton , Carrie Underwood , Miranda Lambert , the Zac Brown Band, and Chris Stapleton, among others. Despite its embrace of other popular styles, country music retained an unmistakable character as one of the few truly indigenous American musical styles.

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7 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Post Malone, Luke Combs, Wyatt Flores, The Castellows & More

This week's column also includes music from Jordan Davis, Tigirlily Gold and Jeannie Seely.

By Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson

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Jordan Davis

Post malone, trending on billboard, old dominion talks riding into the battle for listeners with 'coming home'.

Post Malone feat. Luke Combs, “Guy For That”

Wyatt Flores and The Castellows, “Sober Sundays”

Two of country music’s brightest new upstarts team up for this gorgeous, piano and mandolin-inflected track. “I’ll steady your hands/ Even when they shake,” they sing, as this song centers around offering a supportive, non-judgmental refuge as a friend navigates a journey toward sobriety. Wyatt Flores has steadily been establishing his reputation as a formidable singer-songwriter with a slate of open-hearted, relatable songs such as those on his EP Half Life , while sibling trio The Castellows, with their winsome vocal blending and roots-driven arrangements, are providing a fresh, down-home, Americana-influenced sound for a new generation. Flores wrote the song with The Castellows’ Powell, Eleanor and Lily Balkcom.

Jordan Davis, “I Ain’t Sayin'”

Greylan James, “Who Broke Up With You”

Knoxville, Tennessee native James has steadily ascended the ranks as one of Music City’s top tunecrafters, penning songs recorded by artists including Kenny Chesney, Cole Swindell, Darius Rucker, Chris Janson and more, as well as his work as a co-writer on the Jordan Davis hit “Next Thing You Know,” which also earned James his first CMA nomination for song of the year. But James also possesses a voice capable of translating his songs in his own relatable, laid-back vocal. He previously released his debut single, “Young Man,” and follows it with this uptempo track that centers around someone who meets a potential lover on the dance floor and is bewildered that anyone would break up with her. “I’d hate to be him when he comes to his senses and he figures it out,” he sings over a latticework of electric guitars and relentless percussion, proving that he can not only craft hits — he can sing them just fine, too.

Tigirlily Gold , Blonde

This sister duo was raised in North Dakota and spent years playing all-nighters, honing their sound in Nashville’s downtown bar scene. Now, they celebrate their first full-fledged album, Blonde . Scattered across the album’s 10 polished, contemporary country tracks are sassy romantic kiss-offs (“Leroy,” “Stupid Prizes”), breakup anthems (“I Tried a Ring On”), rowdy night-on-the-town soundtracks (“Shoot Tequila”) and even an ode to both Marilyn Monroe and Dolly Parton (“Blonde”). Threading all of them together is an energetic confidence and buoyant charm, while the album is underpinned by a stout adherence to heart-on-the-sleeve, slice of life songwriting.

Nashville native Ryan Follese teamed with North Carolina native Rory John Zak to create their debut, six-song EP, on which Follese co-wrote every song, five of those with his parents and fellow hit songcrafters, Keith and Adrienne Follese. Meanwhile, Zak further elevated these song constructions with his instrumental contributions, layered with swirling production and the duo’s warm, effervescent harmonies. Among the standouts on the project is “This Town,” packed with feelings of young love and wanderlust, and a desire to flee their overly-familiar hometown to “Get way on out where the lost get found.” A promising effort from this new duo.

Jeannie Seely, “Suffertime”

Seely had a full-circle moment in recording “Suffertime” in tribute to her late friend and fellow artist, Dottie West, at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B; she had her first recording session at the same studio, nearly six decades ago. At 84, Seely still retains much of the “country soul” style of singing; on this harmonica-laced track, she turns in a raw, forlorn vocal rendering of someone who returns to the same old places that she frequented with a one-time lover. Backed by a slate of ace musicians, she makes this 1966 West classic sound simultaneously intimate, fresh and timeless.

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Who is Luke Combs? Country music superstar headlining 2 shows in Cincinnati

Grammy-nominated country artist Luke Combs is treating Cincinnati to  two shows .

The Asheville, North Carolina, native will grace the Paycor Stadium stage Aug. 2-3. Combs makes his Cincinnati visit on the heels of the June 14 release of his fifth studio album "Fathers & Sons" and as part of his Growin' Up and Gettin' Old Tour.

Here's everything to know about the country singer.

Who is Luke Combs?

Combs is a singer and songwriter who's been working in the country music industry for a decade. Born in Huntersville, North Carolina, Combs attended Appalachian State University before dropping out to pursue his music career. He released his debut EP "The Way She Rides" in 2014.

The artist released several other EPs before stepping out with his major label debut album "This One's For You" in 2017, which garnered acclaim on the Billboard charts. He released his second album "What You See Is What You Get" in 2019 – the same year the Grand Ole Opry invited him to become a member. The album went on to earn Album of the Year at both the 2020 Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association awards.

Luke Combs, Tracy Chapman's viral 'Fast Car' Grammys performance

Combs struck viral fame with his cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," which he featured on his fourth album, released in March 2023, "Gettin' Old." The cover shot up the Billboard charts and earned him a 2024 Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Solo Performance.

Combs performed the cover as a duet alongside Chapman at the Grammy Awards – a moment that went viral with the two artists representing different genres and generations of music.

The duet was also a moment of deeper significance for Combs, who  first heard Chapman's "Fast Car" in his father's truck  on a cassette tape  when he was growing up  in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Grammys performance was particularly striking considering the intensely private Chapman has tapered off public appearances since her most recent tour in 2009.

Who is on tour with Luke Combs?

On Combs' Friday, Aug. 2, show at Paycor Stadium, he'll welcome special guests  Cody Jinks, Charles Wesley Godwin, Hailey Whitters  and  The Wilder Blue .

Combs' Saturday, Aug. 3, show will feature  Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Parker and Colby Acuff.

His opening acts vary slightly among different tour stops. Check out his full list of tour stops here .

Luke Combs' age

Born in 1990, Combs is 34 years old.

Luke Combs' net worth

Combs' net worth is estimated to be $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth . However, that number isn't 100% confirmed.

Is Luke Combs married?

Yes, Combs is married to 31-year-old Nicole Hocking.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by NICOLE COMBS (@nicolejcombs)

Who is Luke Combs' wife?

Hocking, a recruiting coordinator at Broadcast Music Inc., started dating Combs in 2016 after reportedly meeting through mutual friends in the music industry. The couple got engaged in November 2018 and married in Florida in August 2020.

They had their first son, Tex Lawrence Combs, in June 2022. In August 2023, their second son, Beau Lee Combs, was born.

Country music star pauses concert to find chair for cancer patient

• Updated: Aug. 02, 2024, 11:59 a.m.
• | Published: Aug. 02, 2024, 11:49 a.m.

A country star paused their show to find a chair for a cancer patient in crowd Courtesy of Canva

• EmilyAnn Jackman | [email protected]

Jelly Roll recently stopped a performance to help a fan in need.

During his show at the Tailgate N’ Tallboys festival at the Midland County Fairgrounds in Michigan on July 27, the country singer was captured in a video clip uploaded to TikTok , where he turned to address the crowd.

Stories by EmilyAnn Jackman

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Morgan Wallen rocks No. 7 Chiefs jersey; joined by Mahomes, Kelce

Josh sanchez | 7 hours ago.

• Kansas City Chiefs

Morgan Wallen rocked the stage in Kansas City on Friday night, entertaining a raucous crowd at Arrowhead Stadium.

Wallen brought out the stars for his show, surprising the crowd with performances by Lainey Wilson and Brooks & Dunn, but nothing got the fans on their feet like bringing out some Super Bowl champions.

The country music star walked to the stage with Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones, all while rocking a No. 7 jersey, the number of controversial kicker Harrison Butker.

MORE: Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull join country music star onstage, belt out hit song

People praised Wallen for standing up for Butker, who has received backlash online for various comments, but it wasn't quite what it seemed.

Morgan Wallen rolled out in a Harrison Butker jersey tonight with the Chiefs stars. So awesome. Love that he did it. pic.twitter.com/Ceq9WCzL5V — Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 3, 2024

While many fans claimed Wallen was wearing a "Butker jersey," it was a customized jersey with "Wallen" written across the back.

Wallen often wears custom No. 7 jerseys at his concerts, because it was his baseball number from his high school playing days at Gibbs High School in Tennessee.

I’m going to hold your hand when I say this … Morgan Wallen played baseball in high school at Gibbs High School in TN. His jersey was #7 He has custom jerseys made for concerts. 1st pic was tonight. It Says WALLEN. Now go to bed. Good grief!! pic.twitter.com/Ti3YSRbJ8n — 🤎 Brown_Eyed_Girl ⸆⸉ ོ 🤎 (@jamiec5193) August 3, 2024

Regardless, the crowd went wild and Wallen put on a show.

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Concert Barbie:  Angel Reese surprises Megan Thee Stallion onstage at Lollapalooza

Concert Cait:  Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull join country music star onstage, belt out hit song

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JOSH SANCHEZ

Managing Editor: Cowboys on SI - Contributor: The Athlete Lifestyle on SI, and Sporting News MMA - Contact: [email protected]

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