Until the 1950s, country music was more commonly called folk music,
or sometimes hillbilly music or old-time music. After folk singer Pete
Seeger (1919–) was forced to testify before the U.S. Senate in 1955
about his alleged communist sympathies, some professionals in the
music industry stopped using the label “folk” in order to distance themselves from the political controversy. Instead, they began to call the music
country and western, or just country. Early in the 1920s, the music industry wanted to tap into the rural
market. Jazz music was popular in urban regions across the country, but
recording companies wanted a different sound, especially in the
American South. Ralph S. Peer (1892–1960), an employee of the RCA
Victor Company in 1927, was determined to discover that new sound.
He went to Tennessee that year and “found” Jimmie Rodgers
(1897–1933), who became the first country music star and is still considered the father of country music. Rodgers used banjo, guitar, and sentimental lyrics in his music. He also yodeled in a style known as “blue
yodeling.”
In the same year, Peer discovered another recording group, the
Carter Family, who hailed from Virginia and initially included three
family members: Maybelle Carter (1909–1979), Sara Dougherty
(1898–1979), and Sara’s husband A. P. Carter (1891–1960). In 1942,
the trio disbanded and Maybelle joined her three daughters to form
Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. This group included June
Carter (1929–2003), who eventually married one of country music’s
greatest stars, Johnny Cash (1932–2003). The original Carter Family
trio recorded approximately three hundred country tunes in their seventeen-year history together.
Early country music led directly to another style of music, bluegrass,
or “mountain music,” in the mid-1940s. This type of music is played on
acoustic instruments such as bass, fiddle, banjo, guitar, and mandolin.
Vocalization is usually in two- to four-part harmony, and themes are
often sentimental or even religious. Famous early bluegrass musicians include Bill Monroe (1911–1996), who is considered the father of bluegrass; Earl Scruggs (1924–); and Lester Flatt (1914–1979). Flatt and
Scruggs met when they were members of Monroe’s band, the Blue Grass
Boys. They later formed the Foggy Mountain Boys.
Bluegrass was first played by rural African American bands who later
abandoned that sound in favor of jazz and blues. White musicians began
playing bluegrass, and the sound incorporated instruments such as harmonica and jaw harp as well as the washboard. Like jazz, bluegrass often
features improvised (made-up) solos.
As the years progressed, the line separating country from bluegrass
blurred, and many of today’s most famous country musicians play a mixture of the two. Some of these artists include Ricky Skaggs (1954–),
Dolly Parton (1946–), and Patty Loveless (1957–). The soundtrack to the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? revived the public’s interest in
bluegrass and won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2001.
Country music, which by the 1950s and 1960s included strains of
bluegrass and gospel, was played in honky tonk bars throughout the nation, but its center was Nashville, Tennessee. During those decades, country music took on the “Nashville Sound,” which was polished and
smooth, almost pop-sounding. Leading artists included Chet Atkins
(1924–2001), Patsy Cline (1932–1963), and Charlie Rich (1932–1995).
Rockabilly was the rage in the mid-1950s, when rock and roll
music burst onto the scene and musicians combined rock with country
music to create a new form. “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley
(1935–1977) and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” were examples of this
sort of music. By the end of the decade, country artists had moved away
from the rock and roll influence to return to a more traditional sound. Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, the country music
“sound” changed as electric guitars were added, giving the music a
harsher tone. The late 1960s saw the “British Invasion“ of new bands, including the immensely popular Beatles (see Beatlemania), and a new
genre called country rock was born. Bands such as the Byrds and the
Eagles represented this genre, as did the Charlie Daniels Band and
Lynyrd Skynyrd. The 1970s brought a cross between soft rock and country called country pop that brought fame to performers such as John
Denver (1943–1997) and Olivia Newton-John (1948–).
The sounds of Reba McEntire (1954–) took America’s country
music fans by storm in the mid-1980s. Her records went platinum, and
critics praised her ability to combine modern-day storylines with traditional country sounds. In the 1990s, country music was influenced by
line dancing, a form of group dancing that required strong rhythms and
beats. Country music became slick sounding until the end of the decade, when a more traditional version of country music returned to the airwaves. Country music charts in the 1990s were dominated by the songs
of Garth Brooks (1962–), whose albums sold millions.
In the twenty-first century, country remains one of the most popular and best-selling music genres. It is supported by the “Grand Ole
Opry,” a country music radio program that has been running since
1925. The Opry is the broadcast of a live show attended by audience
members, and its impact on country music is similar to the influence of
Dick Clark (1929–) and his American Bandstand rock and pop music television show. Entertainers must be invited to become members of the
Opry and perform, and musicians consider an invitation one of the
highest honors possible. Famous Opry members include Emmylou
Harris (1947–), Tom T. Hall (1936–), and Loretta Lynn (1934–).
Another emblem of country music is the city of Branson, Missouri.
Branson is home to more than fifty theaters that produce more than one
hundred live concerts annually. The largest theater, the Grand Palace,
seats four thousand. Although entertainment in Branson is not restricted
to country music shows (the city also has golf courses, lakes, museums,
and a winery), the majority of theaters were established by and feature
country music stars.