2012's History of Country/Western

Just because Tom reminded me of it, here's a collection of links to the series we had here on the subject back in 2012. Many of the music video links are down due to the age, but quite a few still work. These were originally written for Dad29.

No, No Joe[seph Stalin]

My knowledge has improved on several points in the fourteen years since I wrote those; for example, at the time I did not appreciate Jimmie Rodgers' pivotal role, which I learned about since moving to the Asheville region that was his birthplace. In Western music and Honky Tonk, I have since learned about the central role of Lefty Frizzell.

Still, since the matter is of continuing interest, these might still be worth some attention. 
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3 comments:

  1. Thomas Doubting10:17 AM

    Thanks for collecting these here. I look forward to reading through them.

    I've really been enjoying getting to know Jimmie Rodgers's music since you mentioned him. It's interesting that one of the connotations of "hillbilly" is someone who is isolated up in the hills, but Rodgers rode the trains across the country, picked up some Delta blues, and gave country music a traveling feel that seems very different from that connotation.

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    1. Grim10:23 AM

      That too is one of the terms he set for the genre. There's a lot of country music about being a "rambler" or a "rambling man," sung by almost every great singer since him.

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    2. Thomas Doubting10:43 AM

      Yeah, which is something I really like about it. I'm not sure where he picked up yodeling, but it seems to be an Alps thing, and the Wikipedia page on it says it has mainly been done in the US by descendants of Swiss Quakers. Also, as you pointed out, steel guitar is Hawaiian, and that's the source of all of the slide guitar styles, I think. So, counry music really pulled together a variety of cultural traditions and welded them together into something new. Good stuff!

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