regional styles

country/ western

• (C) SE America in ‘30s

  • TX, MS, TN, GA, KY, LA, Carolimas

    • based in folk trads, some British Isles

• (W) SW and CA in ‘30s

  • western swing + cowboy image

• 1st Star of Country Music- Jimmy Rodgers

  • “The Blue Yodeler

  • was a big marketing tool for

LIMITED TO REGIONAL STATIONS AT MOST

radio & recordings

Grand Old Opry - Nashville becomes Country Capital

National Barn Dance

During WWII, country circulates

• Hank Williams is a STAR

  • “Hey Good Lookin’”

    • ‘52, #1 on Folk | AABA | steel guitar & fiddle (an Irish touch)

      • drawn-out, nasal words, short sentences. bouncy song, high pitch & sound. instruments get solos

      • irish-butt fiddle, so folky

bluegrass

• post WWII

• traced to Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys

  • showcases all skills of performer

    • fiddle, banjo, mandolin

  • constant, quick, smooth flow, until the abrupt stop to say chorus. instruments over vocals. vocals are nasal + under-enunciated

rural (delta) & urban blues

• S, SE, goes on after alongside ragtime, post-WWI

  • spirituals + southern, oral trad

• 12 Bar Blues

  • I—IV—I—V—I

    • basis of pop n art music

• Black Female Singers sung for white ppl

  • Bessie Smith!!

• Great Migration helped sprad Blues

  • Memphis & Chicago

  • Delta Blues is MS btw.

• Muddy Waters

  • “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”

    • ‘54, #8 on R&B chart | Intro & 3 verses | 12-Bar Blues

      • harmony: repetitive and bold. very abrupt sound. only verses

radio and independent labels

• made Black audience stations and music

rhythm & blues (r&b is different, like a child)

• a marketing category, or lumped in things

  • wider range of styles

• seen as dangerous influence on white teens

• influenced Gospel

  • sophisticated harmony

  • vocal embellishments

  • call & response