Unit 3The Folk Origins of Country

Music

Chapter 10

Day 1

What is country about country music?

• It was developed by rural dwellers

• Ironically has been produced in urban centers for years

• Nashville, New York and Hollywood

• Continues to draw from the imagery and values of rural life and the common people who live that life

Country music stars are typically

• White

• Male

• From the poor working-class (blue collar)

• From the South

Characteristics of the South

• The climate of the South was more suitable for agriculture

• Farms were widely separated; farmers were more isolated

• The competition of black slave labor and the lack of job diversity discouraged new immigrants from settling there

• Little ethnic diversity• This all led to a society that did not change as

quickly as the more urban North

Characteristics of people of the South

• Three classes – wealthy landowners, black slaves, poor white farmers

• After slavery was ended, whites were in direct competition with blacks for jobs

• Led to an inferiority complex• To cure self image problem, whites decided that

endurance and power is displayed in proficiency at hard physical labor and sports and less principled acts (drinking, fighting, seducing women)

• Very religious• Combination of religion and sinful behavior led to inner

conflicts• Also known for longwinded storytelling with

exaggerations

CLASSWORK/HOMEWORK

• Read Chapter 10 page 117-124. Answer questions on page 124 in your notebooks.

• Find a country song that tells a story. Write a summary of the story in your own words.

• EMAIL the name of the song, the artist, and your summary to

alaine.bolton@woodbridge.k12.nj.us by midnight tonight.

Unit 3The Folk Origins of Country

MusicBirth of Country

Chapter 10

How country music reflects rural characteristics• Topics include

• Praise of a simpler rural life

• Ideal love

• Family ties

• Religious conviction

• Male machismo

• Pride of the working class

• Many country songs express the inner conflict between pleasure-seeking and the pursuit of religious devotion

• These moral issues can be seen in remorseful songs about drinking, infidelity, and the consequences suffered from being away from home

• This early country music can be considered 'white blues'

• Why does the portrayal of conflict spell success for country music (or any other style of music for that matter)?

• Conflict makes for more interesting songs, and our desire to cope with it compels us to write, sing or listen to those songs

• In the 1920’s rural youth longed for the excitement, wealth and glamour of the city life

• Sparked a growth of lower middle class• Rural youth realized city life wasn’t what they thought it

was• Found themselves bewildered and lost in the ‘big city’• Fell victim to its pale human relationships and familial

strains• This left them longing nostalgically for home, love of

family, and the simple rural life• Instead of moving back to the country, they adapted the

rural value system• This is where country music began to identify with the

blue-collar worker (i.e. construction workers) and the truck driver, not just the farmer

Country music developed from folk songs, dance music and ballads

• Ballads – narrative songs that tell a story

• Sung by amateur singers

• Unaccompanied

• Emotionless and plain

• Plots are usually dramatic events (family feuds, romantic encounters) with no elaboration as to time

• Usually depressing and tragic

Unit 3The Folk Origins of Country

MusicTraits of and Influences on

Early Country Music

Chapter 10

Topics of American ballads

• Trains wrecks• Coal mine disasters• Famous murders• Epic journeys• American ballads were topical in nature, similar

to British ballads; their subject matter was related to events of pioneer America

• Distinctive trait of American ballads was the addition of a moral at the end

• This was a result of the new southern fundamentalism taking root

Instruments primarily used in early country music

• Fiddle

• Guitar

• Banjo

Fiddle VS. Violin

• Is there a difference??

• Anglo-American country music was influenced by urban and African American culture and music

• Because poor whites and blacks worked together and shared the same religion/values they came to share speech patterns, cuisine and music

• Urban influence came from rural dwellers coming into contact with ragtime, jazz and the blues in red-light districts

Unit 3The Folk Origins of Country

MusicEarly Commercialization of

Country Music

Chapter 11

The importance of radio

• Radio was important to the spread of all popular music, but especially so with country music

• Rural isolation and comparatively lower incomes made it difficult for southerners to purchase records

• The advantage of radio was its ability to cater to specific local audiences, or mark

• Today Nashville is synonymous with country music but at the beginning of country music’s commercialization the key city was Atlanta, Georgia

• In 1920 songwriter Perry Bradford persuaded the General Phonograph Company to make the first blues recording by a black singer

• Proved to be a success• Also proved there was a viable market

outside the white, urban middle class

• In response to radio catering to specific interests, the record industry began to do the same thing to compete

• Race record labels were created

• Talent scouts were dispatched to southern cities in search of folksingers

Ralph Peer

• producer for GPC• Recorded Fiddlin’ John Carson in June 1923• The record became immensely popular and

Carson became the first commercial country recording artist

• Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane p.126 http://youtu.be/XXOIBcnvOKY

• Soldier’s Joy - Gid Tannere and His Skillet Lickers page 127 http://youtu.be/RpZ8umpz42c

Grand Ole Opry

• radio show developed in 1925• Originally a cast of three, local amateur solo and

group acts began to vie for a spot on the show for a chance to play on the radio – for free

• The Grand Ole Opry experienced higher exposure when the National Broadcasting Company established network radio in 1926 and the show was broadcast around the country

The Carter Family

• A. P. and Sara Carter (husband and wife) and Maybelle (A. P.’s sister-in-law) Carter

• Their music deals with themes of family stability, godly life, human tragedy and secure rural life

• Maybelle’s guitar playing set a standard in the tradition of country music

• Wildwood Flower http://youtu.be/g5T5Gt-_0Lw

Jimmie Rodgers

• In 1929 he settles in Kerrvile Texas• Very proud of his adopted state• Fascinated by the cowboy lore associated with it• Frequently performs in Texas, featuring western

themes in his songs and posing in cowboy regalia for publicity shots

• This provides a catalyst for a commercial western style in country music

• Waitin’ For a Train p. 133 http://youtu.be/M0ftVEeRtn4

Jimmie Rodgers, cont.

• Known for incorporating yodels into his singing• Sang about themes ranging from risqué to

religious, humorous to sentimental• Sang with a relaxed, throaty quality• Would sometimes pose for publicity photos in a

brakeman or cowboy outfit • The American West of the 1800’s already had a

mythical image associated with it - Wild West shows of Buffalo Bill Cody helped this

The End

CLASSWORK

Read Chapter 11

Answer questions at the end in your notebook.

You will need to study both these questions and those from chapter 10 for your test.

HOMEWORK

• Listen to the 4 songs listed for country music. NOT JUST ANY COUNTRY SONGS! THE 4 IN THIS POWER POINT!

• For each song, write down at least 2 characteristics for each – such as instruments used, etc.