POPULAR MUSIC IN AMERICA Dr Love professor OCTOBER

POPULAR MUSIC IN AMERICA Dr. Love, professor OCTOBER 2, 2015: UNIT 7: COUNTRY AND FOLK MUSIC COME IN FROM THE OUTSKIRTS

CHAPTER 26 – THE EMERGENCE OF COUNTRY MUSIC • Chapter 26: The Emergence of Country Music • In 1920, there was no difference between country and folk music • By 1960, they are two different styles • Folk music was music from the country—mainly the Appalachians • Origins primarily from the British Isles • Many immigrants from England Scotland settled in the southern Appalachians • • They and their descendants remained fairly isolated until well into the 20 th Century This resulted in a large number of songs from the region that are close to the were heard in the Old Country way they • English folklorist, Cecil Sharp (1859 -1924), traveled throughout England to catalog an almost forgotten repertoire of songs • Sharp then visited the southern Appalachians in the 1910 s and discovered songs that existed in England only in memory • Recordings of the first country musicians and field recordings of folk musicians indicate that music had not changed significantly in centuries • But at the end of the 1920 s, country music was on the air (Grand Ole Opry, etc. ) • Beginning in 1920, the Library of Congress began collecting and archiving folk music

CHAPTER 26 – THE EMERGENCE OF COUNTRY MUSIC • • • The Emergence of Country Music The folk music of white southerners became country music when commercial radio came on the air Powerful AM radio, like WSM in Nashville, 50, 000 -watts The Grand Ole Opry started on WSM (Nashville) in 1928 This helped create a class of professional (or, at least, semi-professional) musicians • Radio forced record companies to seek out niche markets to compensate for the huge drop in record sales when people could listen to radio for free Two by-products: • • Bands or solo acts would perform on radio • RACE records featured black artists • HILLBILLY records were the county counterpart • • The availability of music (via recordings) from different parts of the country allowed others to hear new styles This new technology helped new styles spread across the nation • • • This helped country music evolve Now folk music from the old country split into country and folk–two worlds that were almost mutually exclusive Central tensions of this music were between: • • • They could share their own music and discover other kinds • Commerce and culture • Innovation and preservation • Old and new • Inside and outside • Staying home and roaming far and wide

CHAPTER 26 – THE EMERGENCE OF COUNTRY MUSIC • Ralph Peer and the Business of Country Music • Peer (1892 -1960) was from Missouri and went to work for Columbia Records, • Moved to Okeh Records in 1920 and moved again to Victor in 1925 • He would travel from town to town and set up many portable recording locations and was able to catch a variety of early country and folk music • Peer gave “Hillbilly” music its title • He caught the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers on tape in August, 1927, Bristol, Tennessee • Created Southern Music in 1928 • Was an early member of BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated, a music licensing organization sponsored by the radio industry) • Peer Music was a successful publishing company

CHAPTER 26 – THE EMERGENCE OF COUNTRY MUSIC • Vernon Dalhart and Country Music’s First Big Hit • Vernon Dalhart (1883? -1948) born: Marion Slaughter near Jefferson, TX • Went by many names, Vernon Dalhart was the most used • Also: Bob White, Mack Allen • Recorded many types of music: popular songs, opera, country tunes • Never signed a contract with any company, so he was free to record with many • Probably made more recordings than any other artist in the 1920 s and 30 s • Often recording 3 times a day • He went to New York City in 1912 to sing opera • He made a middling career as a tenor in musical theatre productions and as a singer of minstrel songs on records • He then turned to “old familiar tunes” singing about real events, disasters, etc.

CHAPTER 26 – THE EMERGENCE OF COUNTRY MUSIC • • “The Prisoner’s Song” • Dalhart recorded it in 1924, other side of the record was “The Wreck of the Old 97” • It is a strophic song with simple— 3 chord accompaniment harmony with viola obbligato • Words never clearly tell the story of why the protagonist is in jail • Dalhart claims it’s an old song, but others involved with the recording claimed a share of the song • Estimated 75 million Vernon Dalhart recordings were sold • In spite of all this, he died a hotel clerk in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1948

CHAPTER 26 – THE EMERGENCE OF COUNTRY MUSIC • Success vs. Identity in Country Music • Dalhart’s “The Prisoner’s Song” was a huge success • Perhaps the second most popular selling record in the 1 st half of the century • (behind Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”) • Dalhart would make well over 1000 recordings before the end of his career • This song was a change of direction for him musically • It was away from the opera and pop—back to his southwest country roots • Commercial success could now be seen by blending country with other, more popular, styles • This now brings up one of the ongoing tensions in country music: identity vs. popularity • For instance, country’s singing style and characteristic instruments have to be toned down to broaden its appeal • Staying true to one’s roots brought the approval of country’s core audience • Mainstreaming the style promised greater commercial success, and the fame and fortune that went with it

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • • • The Carter Family One of the most influential groups in country music history A. P. Carter (1891 -1960), wife Sara (1898 -1979) divorced in 1933 Sister-in-law, Maybelle Carter (1909 -1978) All three sang: • Sara played guitar and autoharp • Maybelle played guitar • A. P. played fiddle Some of their big hits: The “Wabash Cannonball, ” Wildwood Flower, ” “Keep on the Sunny Side, ” “Worried Man Blues, ” “Will the Circle be Unbroken”

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • • Big hit “Wildwood Flower” which was originally a parlor song from 1860 (by Maud Irving and J. D. Webster) called “I’ll Twine ‘Mid the Ringlets” • Style was typical of the traditional country sound—nasal, flat, and w/out much inflection • This is traditional country vocal sound • Maybelle’s thumb-brush style of guitar playing was very influential • Plays the melody notes on the lower strings, and brushes the chords on the upper strings between melody notes

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • Jimmie Rodgers • Rodgers (1897 -1933) was the first real star of country music • Called the “Singing Brakeman” his father worked on the railroad and Jimmie went with him frequently after his mother died while he was yet young • It was here he learned the language and culture of the railroad men he later immortalized in song • Was born in Meridian, MS but spent much of his youth around the railroad • Contracted TB which ended his life far too young at age 36 • Spent the last part of his life in TX because of the illness

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • Rodgers also incorporated a steel guitar (played by a real Hawaiian, Joe Kaipo) and recorded with the black Louisville Jug Band • On “Blue Yodel No. 9” he was joined by Louis Armstrong, trumpet, and Lil Armstrong, piano • Rodgers was very influential on the next generation of country artists

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • Rodgers recorded by Peer in Bristol, TN in August, 1927 along with the Carter Family • Then recorded in Camden, NJ at the Victor studios • He was very popular throughout his short career • Moved to Texas for his health but helped the Southwest receive country music due his personal popularity • His music borrowed liberally from all styles of music. In his recordings, there are elements of: • • Tin Pan Alley song • • Blues • • Jazz

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • • “Blue Yodel No. 11” Jimmie Rodgers (1929) [“I’ve Got a Gal”] • • For only voice and two guitars • • A blues in form and style • • Characteristic yodelling at the end of choruses

CHAPTER 27: COUNTRY MUSIC’S SEMINAL ACTS • Country Music: Tradition vs. Innovation • The Carters and Rodgers represent opposing trends in country music • • Carters preserved the past and represented the conservative impulse • They played hymns and traditional songs with traditional instruments • • Rodgers showed the way to the future by drawing on modern trends, and writing his own songs

CHAPTER 28: PUTTING THE “WESTERN” IN COUNTRY MUSIC • With powerful radio broadcasts, country music soon spread beyond the South • 50, 000 watt station, WSM, Nashville, covered most of the country • Grand Ole Opry started in 1928 • 1933, NBC began broadcasting its National Barn Dance • Radio Stations in Mexico would broadcast at even higher wattage— “Border radio” was another potent influence in the type of music heard across the country (and even around the world) • Country music spread because of the hard times experienced during the Depression • As these people went north looking for work, their music went with them • Nashville is still the home base for country music

CHAPTER 28: PUTTING THE “WESTERN” IN COUNTRY MUSIC • Horse Operas • The western was a very popular theme in movie and western musicals were inevitable • The singing cowboy on the big screen was now in vogue • Gene Autry (1907 -1998) was the first • He got a job in radio and had a show in 1929 • Was featured on the Grand Ole Opry and National Barn Dance, he finally made his way to Hollywood in 1934 • Tumbling Tumbleweeds, considered the first musical western film, where the plot depends on an actor’s singing ability • Others followed him in this genre, such as Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter • South of the Border, his most popular western (1939) featured the title track that was a crossover pop hit • Had less twang in his vocals, also had an accordion (which gave it a Mexican flavor) but also had the steel guitar which gave it a country flavour

CHAPTER 28: PUTTING THE “WESTERN” IN COUNTRY MUSIC • Putting the Swing in Country Music • Bob Wills (1905 -1975) grew up in a musical family learning the mandolin and fiddle • Blended country string-band sound with pop, blues, and jazz into a new style: • Western Swing • Steel guitar was a novel instrument at the time, coming in with Hawaiian connections • His band, the Texas Playboys, played a mix of jazz/blues (swing) with a country beat (western) • The steel guitar was fairly new, and when electrified became synonymous with country music (and Hawaiian music as well) • Dobro is also a popular instrument: it has a built-in steel resonator to make it sound louder • Also played on the lap like the steel guitar • They were the most popular band in the Southwest during the late 1930 s and 1940 s with many innovations in the new brand of country music they performed

CHAPTER 28: PUTTING THE “WESTERN” IN COUNTRY MUSIC • • “Steel Guitar Rag” by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, (1936) features Leon Mc. Auliffe on the electric steel guitar • Note the two-beat rhythm, bent notes (as in jazz) and blue notes (as in blues) • Wills left us an enduring legacy of stylistic innovation in country music, being highly receptive to black influences on • He left an imprint on western swing and few did more to update the sound of country music

CHAPTER 28: PUTTING THE “WESTERN” IN COUNTRY MUSIC • The Expansion of Country Music • As country became more popular, it was inevitable that it would have to change • Pressures of the marketplace and creativity of the musicians all but guaranteed it. • The tracks by Wills and Autry illustrate he two important musical features of country music: • • Its dominant evolutionary paths • • Its retention of identity through change • “South of the Border” exemplifies pop-oriented evolutionary direction • “Steel Guitar Rag” illustrated the evolutionary direction influenced by African-American music: especially blues and jazz • Its strong beatkeeping, horn sections, extended solos, and bent notes are from the • African-American influence • A dramatic departure from the traditional vocal and fiddle sounds of an earlier era

CHAPTER 28: PUTTING THE “WESTERN” IN COUNTRY MUSIC • Country still retained and reshaped its identity through a two-part strategy: • 1. Preserving its core features • 2. “Countrifying” the influences that it assimilated • Two enduring musical elements of country music at this time: • • Clear, honest vocal style, often nasal and without vibrato • • Fiddle style that had been popular throughout the South • Country music had also absorbed new elements that country artists performed in their own style • Wills’s western swing is good dance music, but the rhythmic feel is distinctly different than that of the big bands • The steel guitar —not in Hawaiian music or the vaudeville show now—becomes the contemporary signature sound of country music, complementing the fiddle

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • John Lomax was a curator of the Archive of American Folk Song in the Library of Congress • The collection had recordings of folk songs and fiddle music, Native Americans, Hawaiians, ex-slaves, etc. • Lomax continued to record folksingers through the South • He and his son, Alan, recorded all kinds of music during their field trips • “Folk music” now begun to be a commercial music • It had three branches: • 1. Professional performance opportunities for folk performers • 2. Composition of topical songs written and performed in a folk style • 3. Revival of folk songs by musicians who were not part of the culture that was home to the music

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • • • Woody Guthrie and Contemporary Folk Music Guthrie (1912 -1967) grew up a hard life on the plains of OK and TX He left home at age 16 and soon started the Corncob Trio playing country music His music took a different direction and he started writing his own songs Was a champion of the working class and wrote many, many songs Also authored articles (for a Communist party newspaper) and told stories that commented on social injustice He was interested in trying to help out the common man and fight for their rights by way of unions and other organizations Was “discovered” by Alan Lomax in NYC at a “Grapes of Wrath” rally for farm workers Pete Seeger was also in the same liberal/radical circle of Lomax Guthrie and Seeger joined forces (with two others) in 1941 to form the Almanac Singers

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • Woody Guthrie and Contemporary Folk Music • Guthrie (1912 -1967) grew up a hard life on the plains of OK and TX • He left home at age 16 and soon started the Corncob Trio playing country music • His music took a different direction and he started writing his own songs • Was a champion of the working class and wrote many, many songs • Also authored articles (for a Communist party newspaper) and told stories that commented on ocial injustice • He was interested in trying to help out the common man and fight for their rights by way of unions and other organizations • Was “discovered” by Alan Lomax in NYC at a “Grapes of Wrath” rally for farm workers

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • • “Do-Re-Mi” • This song by Woody Guthrie (1937) features not a pretty voice, but honest and forthright • Simple chords and harmony structure—it tells of the rough times of desperate people living a hard existence • Guthrie left country music behind to forge the new folk style • More for the content of the songs: politics and social issues than for the musical style itself • He occasionally fashioned new words to familiar songs-similar to the broadside dating back to 16 th century England • (A broadside was a topical text sung to a well-known tune) • Guthrie’s music stood apart from the prevailing pop music of the 1930 s • Guthrie wrote a novel-like autobiography, Bound for Glory (which would be an influence on Bob Dylan in a few years)

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • Relocating Folk Music • New York would be a magnet for folk musicians • Folk would immigrate to the liberal, urban center of NYC: Greenwich Village • Greenwich Village became the NY destination for artist, musicians, writers, and those who appreciated the arts • As country music moved away from its folk roots Greenwich Village became an unlikely home away from home for traditional music from the

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • Lead Belly, An Authentic Singer • Huddie Ledbetter (1888 -1949), popularly known as Lead Belly • • Grew up in Louisiana and spent time in Dallas working with Blind Lemon Jefferson Spent time in prisons • 1930 he was in Angola Prison in Louisiana, where John Lomax recorded him for the Library of Congress • Lead Belly sang the blues, but was more than that • Within the black community he was known as a songster, a tradition that appeared in the latter part of the 19 th century but was dying out around Lead Belly’s time. • • • blues • ballads • work songs • children’s songs • familiar folk songs • A songster was one who could sing and play many different styles of music: • Famous hits for Lead Belly: • “Skip to My Lou” and “Goodnight, Irene” • “Goodnight, Irene” was a popular hit for other artists as well • Lead Belly performed it without any blues inflections and his guitar accompaniment is with no syncopation • It’s as if Lead Belly assumed a different musical persona when singing white songs simple

CHAPTER 29: FOLK MUSIC IN THE 1930 S AND 1940 S • Lead Belly, An Authentic Singer • Huddie Ledbetter (1888 -1949), popularly known as Lead Belly • • Grew up in Louisiana and spent time in Dallas working with Blind Lemon Jefferson Spent time in prisons • 1930 he was in Angola Prison in Louisiana, where John Lomax recorded him for the Library of Congress • Lead Belly sang the blues, but was more than that • Within the black community he was known as a songster, a tradition that appeared in the latter part of the 19 th century but was dying out around Lead Belly’s time. • • • blues • ballads • work songs • children’s songs • familiar folk songs • A songster was one who could sing and play many different styles of music: • Famous hits for Lead Belly: • “Skip to My Lou” and “Goodnight, Irene” • “Goodnight, Irene” was a popular hit for other artists as well • Lead Belly performed it without any blues inflections and his guitar accompaniment is with no syncopation • It’s as if Lead Belly assumed a different musical persona when singing white songs simple

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • A honky-tonk is a working-class bar, typically catering to whites, featuring country music, sometimes with a live band • After the repeal of Prohibition, they were very popular in the South and Southwest • These bars were rough and noisy—musicians needed a style that could be heard above all that

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • Country Music After 1945 • Country music was getting more and more airplay and its stars were gaining notoriety • Cover versions of country hits were being offered by pop singers • Country music was also popular due the continuing migration of people from the South • But the music itself was the most compelling evidence of its popularity • New artists rose to country stardom • They borrowed from pop and black music • The most popular style from the late 1940 s and early 1950 s was honky-tonk

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • Hank Williams • Williams (1923 -1953) was from Alabama • He gained popularity from exposure on the Louisiana Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry • Williams was quintessentially “country” • Widening the gulf between the newer country styles from its older folk, country now is mixing more traditional country instruments, such as fiddle with the newer instruments: steel guitar and drums

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK “Lovesick Blues” • • “Lovesick Blues, ” Hank Williams (1948), was originally recorded in 1929 by Emmett Miller • Williams recorded it against his publisher’s wishes • Williams is more modern in his treatment of the song with full rhythm section and steel guitar • This is an example of redoing an old pop song in a country style • The new sound in country music now has: • • Full rhythm section • • Drums now included • • Steel guitar—now a standard instrument • • Two-beat rhythm with a crisp backbeat • A great song interpreter • He had some blues influences in his background—one can hear it in his singing • Williams called his own style “moanin’ the blues” • The fusion of country and blues was his own synthesis • He unlocked the expressive potential for country music

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • He was an alcoholic and into pills, which eventually killed him—probably from his chronically bad back pain plus a blustery, stormy marriage which finally ended in divorce in 1952 • Williams was found dead, New Year’s Day, 1953 in the back of a car headed for the next gig in Canton, OH • Interestingly enough, his latest hit record, “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” was still on the charts

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • Kitty Wells and the Heart of Country Music • Kitty Wells (Muriel Deason, 1919 -2012) was born and raised in Nashville • She recorded “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” as an answer to Hank Thompson’s No. 1 hit in 1952, “The Wild Side of Life” • Thompson’s song was about a woman who rejected him so that she could return to the “glamour of the gay night life” • Her song retorted: “It's a shame that all the blame is on us women” • In 1952 her career wasn’t doing much and agreed to record this song for $125 • The record was a hit and sold well—it was the first crossover hit by a female country singer

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • The song featured: • • The primacy of the lyric, and the role of music in supporting it • • The sincerity and lack of artifice in her voice • • Newly traditional sound of the accompanying instruments • The song uses the melody of a white gospel song recorded by Roy Acuff in 1936: • “Great Speckled Bird” • Now the spotlight is on the words of the new song, the music is simple also allowing more focus on the lyrics • Couple this with Wells’s downhome singing delivery and she made it big in the country world

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • Honky-Tonk and the Evolution of Country Music • Honky-tonk updated the sound of country music with its full rhythm section and two-beat rhythm • But it also maintained a strong connection with its roots • Honky-Tonk and its mix of old and new: • • Song texts speak to everyday life, alcohol, love, hard times, work, life on the road, • • Twangy, nasal vocal style • • Straightforward melodies, delivered plainly and directly • • Simple accompaniments, usually a minimum of three chords • • Old and new country instruments: fiddle and steel guitar • • Full rhythm section playing the standard “countrified” dance beat

CHAPTER 30: HONKY TONK • Elements brought in from outside were “countrified” • Country owned the sound of the steel guitar—not Hawaii —and it has the sound of a bluesman’s bottleneck style • The distinctive honky-tonk beat is a country take on the foxtrot • Honky-tonk helped country music redefine itself • It preserved a distinctively country sound: • • With secure links to its heritage • • By retaining and adapting key features of the folk music that spawned it • • By imbuing those outside elements that it assimilated with a country sound • • By speaking directly to its audience, who preferred stories told in plain language that they could relate to

CHAPTER 31: BLUEGRASS: A NEOTRADITIONAL STYLE • Bill Monroe and the Birth of Bluegrass • Monroe (1911 -1996) singer/mandolin player is known as the “father of bluegrass” • From Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, he grew up in a musical family • He began his career in the 1930 s and by the mid-1940 s formed a group of great players • Formed a group called the Blue Grass Boys which included banjo-player Earl Scruggs (b. 1924) • This music descended from the early string bands, all acoustic • Salient characteristics: • • Expanded instrumentation: including fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and string bass • • Chop-chord mandolin style: a style that features chords played opposite the bass note, the bluegrass answer to the honky-tonk beat • • Scruggs’ virtuoso banjo playing: had a continuous stream of notes with syncopated groupings of notes like in ragtime—all very fast! • • Collective improvisation: similar to the New Orleans early-jazz style; more than one player improvising simultaneously • • Very fast tempos: whereas string band music was often danced to, bluegrass was much too fast

CHAPTER 31: BLUEGRASS: A NEOTRADITIONAL STYLE • “It’s Mighty Dark to Travel” by Bill Monroe and the Blues Grass Boys (1947) • All the above (previous slide) aspects are heard on this recording • Scruggs is on banjo, Lester Flatt (b. 1914 -1979) on guitar, Monroe on the mandolin • This music was the country music style closest to the old-time music of country fiddlers • Was a countercurrent in country music • Flatt and Scruggs would soon leave Monroe and form “Flatt and Scruggs” • They charted in 1962 with theme music for The Beverly Hillbillies, “The Ballad of Jed Clampett”

CHAPTER 31: BLUEGRASS: A NEOTRADITIONAL STYLE • Country and folk started out at the same place but split in the 1920 s—two worlds that were almost mutually exclusive • These three decades indicate that country music is relative, not absolute • Honky-tonk and bluegrass, two “traditional” post-WWII country styles, evidence the assimilation of non-country elements, while still keeping their distinctive sound • Country and folk would follow separate paths through the 1950 s and into the 1960 s. It remained for Bob Dylan to bring them together.