Evolution of Country music

Arnold Schultz was a influential african american guitarist who is known as a primary source of thumb playing or "Travis picking".

Country music is often mistakenly thought of as a European creation but African Americans had a big influence in the development of early country music.

Early Beginnings

European immigrants brought with music and instruments.

Early folk music in the south was a combination of musical traditions of the ethnic groups in the region.

The first country singer to have a nationwide hit was Vernon Dalhart with "Wreck of the Old 97" in May 1924

Some recording companies turned away early country artists but some realized that their music would connect perfectly with the country's agricultural workers and their lifestyle. Victor Records released the first commercial recordings in April 1923, the artists were fiddlers named Henry Gilliland and A.C. Robertson.

First Generation (1920s)

And finally some other popular artists in country music today are Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, Tim Mcgraw, and Eric Church.

Other important events for country music in the 1920s included...

-Samantha Bumgarner and Eva Davis became the first female artists to record and release country songs in April 1924.

- the steel guitar was began appearing in country music in 1922.

-Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter family began recording in 1927 and over a 17 year period recorded close to 300 songs.

-A lot of country musicians also recorded blues music during the 1920s and into the 1930s.

Although today Nashville is known as the heart of county music, in the 1920s it was Atlanta that had a major role in the launch of some of country music early recording artists

The End

Some of the more popular shows that aired on the radio were "National Barn Dance" and "The Grand Ole Opry". "National Barn Dances" started in the south during the depression and spread north as far as Chicago and out west as far as California. Meanwhile "The Grand Ole Opry" was broadcast out of Nashville on WSM and because of the stations 50, 000-watt signal the show could be heard all across the country quite often.

Female country singers also began to become more common and gained popularity, which opened the door for future female artists to have successful solo careers. Pasty Montana and Kitty Wells were two of the more popular trailblazers for female musicians. Montana's song "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" made history when it sold over a million copies, making her the first female artists to have a song of that popularity.

Some of the of the different styles of country music that started to form in the 1930s were: Western swing, Hillbilly boogie, Bluegrass (folk and gospel), and Honky tonk. These styles all had different characteristics that separated them from each other but they all still remained sub genres of country music as a whole. Some of the artists in this time period would help inspire some of the pioneers of rock and roll, such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Ike Turner. One of the more influential musicians was Hank Williams, who also provided a framework for up and coming honky tonk artists.

This time period also included some changes in the instruments that were used in country music. Drums became more common as well as electric guitars. Bob Wills, a country musician who became popular as the leader of the "hot string band" the Texas Playboys, was one of the first country musicians to add drums and an electric guitar to his band.

Second Generation (1930s-1940s)

Sixth Generation (2000s-Present)

Fifth Generation (1990s)

The widespread popularity of country music was aided by the expansion of FM radio. This was helpful because at this point country was still on AM radio which had started to become overcome by talk shows. Not all the country music stations transferred to FM radio and the ones that didn't developed a classic country format.

One benefit of the great depression was that radio became more popular when people couldn't afford to buy all the new records. This was also a time when country music began to develop different styles of country music.

This is when country music began to become a worldwide phenomenon thanks to multiple country artists breaking records in music history. In both sales and concert attendance a through the decade.

This time period saw TV help launch the careers of several country artists, including Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Chris Young. It also saw former rock artists and pop artists release country songs or start country careers. One example of an artist who has had a successful career in music after a career in pop is Darius Rucker, who was the former frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish.

This generation has also seen the emergence of multiple vocal groups that use close harmonies in the lead vocals in their music. This group includes Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, and Eli Young Band.

Artists that had major success during this time period included: Billy Ray Cyrus, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, and George Strait. Female artists also had great success in this period, they included: Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and The Dixie Chicks. Many of these artists continued to have success well into the 2000s.

Some of the new sub genres that started to emerge included Rockabilly, the Nashville and country politan sounds, The Bakersfield sound, and Country rock. Although other styles of country music were having success, the cowboy ballad and Western style of music was starting to decline in popularity. Rockabilly became the most popular sub genre with fans in the 1950s, it was a combination of rock-and-roll. The more well known country musicians from this time period like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash were associated with the Rockabilly style.

Country rock formed when many americans wanted to go back to the old values of rock n' roll and there was a lack of enthusiasm in country music. This sub genre allowed many well known rock musician to briefly convert to country music. These included Bob Dylan (who was one of the first to crossover), Neil Young, The Eagles, and even The Rolling Stones.

Third Generation (1950s-1960s)

This time period saw more styles of country music become more popular as well as the decline in popularity of other styles. It also saw the country music scene try and distance itself from folk music.

Forth Generation (1970s-1980s)

This period saw the emergence of Outlaw country, Country pop, Truck driving country, and Neotraditionalist movement. A lot of the musicians from this time period are more well known by people today.

Outlaw country was a combination of traditional western and honky tonk styles and revolutionized country music. Some artists that are associated with outlaw country are: Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., Michael Martin Murphey, and the later career of Johnny Cash.

Evolution of Country music

By: Darcy Verstraten

Country pop emerged in the 1970s when pop musicians began crossing over to country music and having songs that were successful on both the pop and country charts. Country singers also tried crossing over to pop music and had the same results. Some of the artists that are associated with country pop are Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Alabama, Olivia Newton-John, Anne Murray, and Willie Nelson also had success on both charts.

The Neotraditionalist movement were artists who preferred more traditional sounding country music. This group of artists included Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Travis Tritt.