AhistoryofCountryMusic

　　SouthernStates:HillbillyMusic

　　In1910ethnomusicologistJohnLomaxpublished"CowboySongsandOtherFrontierBallads"(thatfollowedbytwoyearsthefirstknowncollectionofcowboysongs),andin1916CecilSharpbeganpublishinghundredsoffolksongsfromtheAppalachianmountains(or,better,theCumberlandMountains,attheborderbetweenKentuckyandTennessee),twoeventsthatsparkedinterestforthewhitemusicalheritage,althoughtheworldhadtowaituntil1922beforesomeone,TexanfiddlerEckRobertson,cutthefirstrecordof"old-timemusic".ThesecollectionscreatedthemythoftheAppalachiansasremotesanctuariesofsimple,noblelife,whoseinhabitants,the"mountaneers",isolatedfromtheevilsoftheworldembodiedthetrueAmericanspirit.Manyofthoseregionswerenotsettleduntil1835,andthentheyweresettledbyverypoorimmigrants,thuscreatingalandscapeofratherbackwardscommunities,stillattachedtotheirtraditionsbutalsopreoccupiedwiththedailystruggleforsurvival.

　　In1922,aradiostationbasedinGeorgia(WSM)wasthefirsttobroadcastfolksongstoitsaudience.Alittlelater,aradiostationfromFortWorth,inTexas(WBAP),launchedthefirst"barndance"show.Injune1923,55-yearoldGeorgia'sfiddlerJohnCarsonrecorded(inAtlanta)two"hillbilly"(i.e.,southernrural)songs,aneventthatisoftenconsideredtheofficialfoundingof"country"music(althoughTexasfiddlerEckRobertonhadalreadyrecordedtheyearbefore).Therecordingindustrystarteddividingpopularmusicintotwocategories:racemusic(thatwasonlyblack)andhillbillymusic(thatwasonlywhite).Theterm"hillbilly"wasactuallyintroducedby"Uncle"DaveMacon'sHillBillieBlues(1924).In1924,Chicago'sradiostationWLS(originally"World'sLargestStore")beganbroadcastingabarndancethatcouldbeheardthroughouttheMidwest.

　　WithWhenTheWork'sAllDoneThisFall(1925),Texas-bredCarlSpraguebecamethefirstmajormusiciantorecordcowboysongs(thefirst"singingcowboy"ofcountrymusic).And,finally,in1925,Nashville'sfirstradiostation(WSM)beganbroadcastingabarndancethatwouldeventuallychangenameto"GrandOleOpry".Countrymusicwassteamingahead.LabelsflockedtotheSouthtorecordsingingcowboys,andsingingcowboyswereexhibitedinthebigcitiesoftheNorth.

　　AmongthemostliteratesongwriterswereTexas-bornGoebelReeves,whopennedTheDrifter(1929),BlueUndertaker'sBlues(1930),Hobo'sLullaby(1934)andTheCowboy'sPrayer(1934),i.e.amixtureofhoboandcowboysongs,andTennessee-bornHarryMcClintock,theauthorofthehoboballadsBigRockCandyMountain(1928)andHallelujahBumAgain(1926).

　　Countrymusicwasafederationofstyles,ratherthanamonolithicstyle.Itsoriginswerelostintheearlydecadesofcolonization,whenthefolkdances(Scottishreels,Irishjigs,andsquaredances,thepoorman'sversionoftheFrench"cotillion"and"quadrille")andtheBritishballadgottransplantedintothenewworldandgotcontaminatedbythereligioushymnsofchurchandcampmeetings.ThemusicalstyleswerereminiscentoftheirBritishancestors.Thelyrics,ontheotherhand,werecompletelydifferent.TheAmericansdislikedthesubjectoflove,towhichtheypreferredpraticalissuessuchasreal-worldexperiences(ranching,logging,mining,railroads)andreal-worldtra