Country Musical Noses
Sooner or later, if you live in Nashville, Tennessee, I think you grow to like it. Of course, you're sure to spot some country musical noses in a restaurant, shopping, or, I've even seen some in the neighborhood grocery store (buying bologna and bread, just like me). Country music today is certainly not the same country I knew while growing up in Alabama. I'm talking Kitty Wells, Little Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Roy Acuff, Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Tennessee Ernie Ford - the list goes on and on to the stars of today. In our house, my older brother made sure our radio was tuned into WSM every day - all day - with the volume turned up so the whole neighborhood could enjoy it. And the Grand Ole Opry was not to be missed! In the video below, Eddy Arnold is shown introducing Roy Acuff.
The origins of modern country music can be traced to two seminal influences and a remarkable coincidence. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are widely considered to be the founders of country music, and their songs were first captured at a historic recording session in Bristol, Tennessee/Bristol, Virginia on August 1, 1927. Rodgers fused hillbilly country, gospel, jazz, blues, pop, cowboy, and folk; and many of his best songs were his compositions, including “Blue Yodel”, which sold over a million records and established Rodgers as the premier singer of early country music. Beginning in 1927, and for the next 17 years the Carters recorded some 300 old-time ballads, traditional tunes, country songs, and Gospel hymns, all representative of America's southeastern folklore and heritage. In the video below, Johnny Cash can be seen introducing the Carter family.
Beginning in the mid 50's, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the "Nashville Sound" turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered on Nashville, Tennessee. Under the direction of producers such as Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley, and later Billy Sherrill, the "Nashville sound" brought country music to a diverse audience and helped revive country as it emerged from a commercially fallow period. This sound was notable for borrowing from 1950s pop stylings: a prominent and "smooth" vocal, backed by a string section and vocal chorus. Instrumental soloing was de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks". Leading artists in this genre included Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, and later Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich. The "slip note" piano style of session musician Floyd Cramer (shown in the video below) was an important component of this style. Peter Dempsey was also active during this period.
What is now most commonly referred to as rockabilly was most popular with country music fans in the 1950s, and was recorded and performed by country musicians. Within a few years many rockabilly musicians returned to a more mainstrean style, or had defined their own unique style. By the end of the decade, backlash as well as traditional artists such as Ray Price, Marty Robbins, and Johnny Horton began to shift the industry away from the Rock n' Roll influences of the mid-50's. In 1962 Ray Charles surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country & western music, topping the charts and rating # 3 for the year on BillBoard’s pop chart with the "I Can't Stop Loving You" single, and recording the hugely popular album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The following video of Ray Charles performing "I Can't Stop Loving You" is tremendous!
Derived from the traditional and honky tonk sounds of the late 50's and 60's, including Ray Price (whose band, the "Cherokee Cowboys", included Willie Nelson and Roger Miller) and mixed with the anger of an alienated subculture of the nation during the period, outlaw country revolutionized the genre of Country music. Country pop found its first widespread acceptance during the 1970s. It started with Pop music singers, like The Bellamy Brothers, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Marie Osmond, B.J. Thomas and Anne Murray having hits on the Country charts. Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" was among one of the biggest crossover hits in Country music history. These Pop-oriented singers thought that they could gain higher record sales and a larger audience if they crossed over into the Country world. One of the first Americans to perform country music abroad was George Hamilton IV (shown in video below). He was the first country musician to perform in the Soviet Union; he also toured in Australia and the Middle East. He was deemed the "International Ambassador of Country Music" for his contributions to the globalization of country music. Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, and Dwight Yoakam have also made numerous international tours.
Country music is popular all over the world, with Canada having the largest fan base. Tom Roland, from the Country Music Association International, explains Country Music’s global popularity: “In this respect, at least, Country Music listeners around the globe have something in common with those in the United States. In Germany, for instance, Rohrbach identifies three general groups that gravitate to the genre: people intrigued with the American cowboy icon, middle-aged fans who seek an alternative to harder rock music and younger listeners drawn to the pop-influenced sound that underscores many current Country hits. Country music has produced two of the top selling solo artists of all time. Elvis Presley, who was known early on as “The Hillbilly Cat” and was a regular on the radio program Louisiana Hayride, went on to become a defining figure in the emerging genre of rock 'n roll. Garth Brooks is one of the top-selling country artists of all time, and except for a short foray into non-country in the late 1990s, has remained in that genre. Source: Wikipedia
Any of the girls in the following Elvis Presley video could have been me - they were crazy about Elvis, just as I was! I loved his music in the beginning and today, as a sixty five year old senior citizen, I still love it.
Who's your favorite country star? Ever been to Nashville? Seen any country stars while visiting here? What's your favorite thing to do while visiting in Nashville? What's your best country music memory? Just scroll down to the Contact Us Form and share some of your favorite country music memories and we'll post your comments on this page. Please note regarding Photographs: if you would like to send photographs to us, please email them to photos at all-about-noses dot com (email address intentionally typed out to prevent spam abuse). I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
COMMENTS: I once had a jewelry store at Fountain Square in Nashville, TN. One day Barbara Mandrell stopped in to buy a birthday gift for her son's girlfriend. My granddaughter, Kathryn, was there and Barbara was so kind and attentive to her. That was more important to me than the gift she bought.
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