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Hillbilly
The height of the hillbilly style occurred in the early 20's through the mid 30's. Hillbilly is known as the first and most traditional style on which country music was built. It was localized in the mountains of Appalachia and had a strong emphasis on the oral tradition of strophic ballads. The instrumentation is simple, usually consisting of a single voice accompanied by a fiddle, guitar, banjo, or some small combination of them. It rejected pop music and enjoyed its "otherness" as a style. -
Fiddlin' John Carson
Fiddlin' John Carson represents an older generation of commercial hillbilly performers. -
The Bristol Sessions
The Bristol Sessions (thought of as the "Big Bang" of country music were recording sessions held in the Appalachian mountains. Many of the artists who went on to be the first superstars of early country music who truly embodied "hillbilly" music were discovered at these recording sessions. -
The First "Talkies"
"Talkies" were the first films produced with sound. Their invention had a huge impact on the music industry as songs could start being included in film. -
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Western Swing
Western Swing is at its core dance music played by a mixture of string bands and big bands and performed in a style heavily influenced by jazz (an example of the pop influence on country music). It was developed and maintained in the Southwest from the 30's all the way through the 50's. It is mostly associated with white, working-class, rural fans. It has slightly more pop influence than hillbilly music, but still maintained its separateness. -
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Singing cowboy
This style emerged throughout the 1930's and 40's and is inextricably linked to the B-Side Westerns that feature songs in this style most prominently. Cowboy songs are a representation of a style of country music heavily influenced by the pop music of the time which can be seen through the crooning voices and instrumentation. -
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Brother acts
Brother acts were at their height within the 1930's and throughout the 40's. They originated on barn dance radio shows and had a very specific sound that featured a distinctive, close, 2-voice harmony and voices that maintained their regional accents and nasally quality. Contrary to their name, brother acts were not always just brothers. There were also sisters acts and husband-wife duos. This style stuck more closely to class country and rejected pop influence. -
The Delmores
The Delmores were a brother act who starred on The Grand Ole Opry and were known for their close harmony, a specific trait of brother acts. -
Jimmie Rodgers
Jimmie Rodgers is known as one of the most influential artists in country music history. He was a prominent hillbilly artist known for his distinctive voice and yodel. His death in 1933 was a turning point in hillbilly music and country music in general. -
Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies
Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies were an example of a Western Swing style band. -
Carter Family
The Carter Family are another extremely influential group in the hillbilly style. The band is comprised of Sara Carter, her sister Maybelle Carter, and her husband A.P. Sara is the lead vocalist and played the autoharp, A.P. collected and edited the songs they sang and provided singing harmony, and Maybelle was featured both vocally and on the guitar. She is famous for creating the "Carter Scratch" a way of playing guitar that involves strumming chords while also plucking out the melody. -
Lulu Belle and Scotty
Lulu Belle and Scotty, though classified as a brother act, were a husband and wife duo who played on The Grand Ole Opry. -
Patsy Montana
Patsy Montana was one of the few women in the singing cowboy style. -
The Blue Sky Boys
The Blue Sky Boys were a brother act known for their strictly wholesome songs. They played on various different radio stations throughout their career. -
Gene Autry
Gene Autry is likely the most famous artist of the singing cowboy style. Fun fact: he was the original artist to record the popular Christmas song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer!" -
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Honky-tonk
Honky-tonk emerged and was refined throughout the 1940's-1950's. It's known as the "crying in your beer" style of music but still has an upbeat rhythm (known as a sock-rhythm) because it is dance music. Its typically features five main instruments: fiddle, steel guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar, and acoustic/upright bass. Honky-tonk singers had naturalized voices and wrote/sang songs from the "I" perspective. There is some pop influence, but not to an overwhelming degree. -
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Bluegrass
Bluegrass is most associated with the 1940's and 50's. Though it is an intentionally designed commercial sound, it stays true to older and more classic country roots. It typically features the banjo, mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, acoustic/upright bass, and a voice described to have a "high lonesome" sound. The artists of this genre were virtuosic musicians on whichever instrument they played. Though very commercialized, the actual music strongly rejects pop influence. -
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were an example of a Western Swing style band. Bob Wills is well know for his fun whooping interjections and tendency to put his various band members on the spot for solos. -
Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys
scruggs and flatt left in 48 -
Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys
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Lefty Frizzell
Lefty Frizzell was a very prominent honky-tonk artist. -
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Rockabilly
Rockabilly is most associated with the 1950's. It features three main instruments: the acoustic rhythm guitar, electric guitar, acoustic/upright bass (played in the slap bass style). Singers used exaggerated vocals to sing upbeat songs about teen romance, sex, and partying. As its name indicates, Rockabilly is the meeting of country, more specifically hillbilly, and rock 'n' roll. The heavy rock 'n' roll influence displays lots of influence from popular music. -
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Nashville sound
The Nashville sound was most prominent in the late 50's and into the 60's. It features drums, piano (played in the slip note style), trumpets, strings, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and the combination of acoustic and electric bass which work together to achieve the "tic tac" bass style. It displays more pop influence than any previous country styles. This can be seen through the use of orchestral strings (no longer fiddle), crooning vocals, and the incorporation of new studio technology. -
Hank Williams
Hank Williams is likely the most famous artist of the honky-tonk style. His untimely death in 1953 was felt deeply by the early country music fanbase and was a huge turning point in country music's development. -
Webb Pierce
Webb Pierce was a very prominent honky-tonk artist. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley, though known throughout the world as the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" had roots in the country music industry. He is a classic example of the Rockabilly style. -
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was a very prominent Rockabilly artist and maintained a reputation as a "bad boy" and an outlaw throughout his career. -
"Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley
"Rock Around the Clock" is a classic rock 'n' roll song and its release had a large impact on country music. It foreshadowed the profound influence rock 'n' roll was destined to have on country music. Sometimes in the form of shaping styles like Rockabilly, and other times squashing/overshadowing country as a genre. -
The Naming of Bluegrass
When Scruggs and Flatt split off from Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, there was a lot of residual animosity. So, when crowds wanted to hear Scruggs and Flatt play that kind of music they would refer to it as those "bluegrass songs" to avoid mentioning Monroe. The name caught on and by the mid-50's was commonly used to describe the style of music. -
Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson, known colloquially as "the female Elvis" was one of the few women in the Rockabilly style. -
The Naming of Rockabilly
Rockabilly got its name in 1956 from record reviewers who coined the term in trying to describe rock 'n' roll played by so-called "hillbillies." -
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Bakersfield sound
The height of the Bakersfield sound occurred in the 1960's. The music came from working-class people in California mostly in the industries of agriculture and oil. It has some rock influence, but prides itself on being more towards the traditional side. In a time dominated by the Nashville sound, the Bakersfield sound pushed back and stayed rooted in more classic country styles. It is identifiable by its acoustic guitar rhythm known as the Bakersfield shuffle. -
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline is the heart and soul of the Nashville sound. Her death in 1963 shocked the world and was a huge and impactful moment in country music history. -
Buck Owens
Buck Owens is known as one of the most prominent artists in the Bakersfield sound style. -
Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves is one of the most well known artists of the Nashville sound style. -
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard is known as one of the most prominent artists in the Bakersfield sound style.