Added: 10/21/2005 |
European glance on American folk musical art: country music awards are a recognition of top-quality of american folk masterpiecesNot so long ago, being on vacation in Spain, at solar coast Costa Blanca that is not far from Valencia and Alicante, I have personally collided with a new, musical direction poorly known for me which has come to the Europe from America, which is the country of cowboys, prairies and cheerful vigorous melodies.
Breathing useful sea air, walking on quay of all in several meters from a sandy beach I enjoyed a special unforgettable atmosphere of hospitable Spain. In fact there is an opinion, that who even once arrive to the country of King Juan Carlos, can leave there his own heart forever.
At coast the set of unusual shops with souvenirs for tourists settled down. And certainly there is a huge quantity of bars with music and exotic dances. In bars, besides become usual rock and electronic dancing compositions, the songs of the American cowboys often were represented. The given musical style is called COUNTRY. I managed to hear to performances of the big number of musical groups, which sang songs in this style and to make the opinion on the given direction. Compositions in style Country have seemed to me more melodious and pleasant for hearing, such songs charge me with fun and adjust on sanguine mood.
Country it is impossible to name a new direction, but in Europe Country is not so popular. And if I want to receive more information about this musical direction, interesting me again, I must sit down near my computer and I must plunge into blue virtual space - the Internet. I managed to find out extensive information about this subject. But let's go forward in order, step by step...
Country music today, just now summoned country and western music or country-western, is a mixture of popular musical genres developed in the southern United States, with bases in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues. Country style contains 12 distinctly different genres of music. Some of them are: Nashville sound, that is the pop-like music and is very popular today then we can mention bluegrass, as a fast mandolin and fiddle-based music, which is extended by Bill Monroe. Further Western come to mind and is very popular under the name of Western swing, then a sophisticated dance music popularized by Bob Wills, Bakersfield sound popularized by Buck Owens, Cajun, Zydeco, gospel, oldtime (at the beginning of 1930s years folk music), honky tonk, Appalachian, rockabilly and jug band.
Each style is unique in its accomplishment, its use of rhythms, and its chord structures, though many songs have been adjusted to the dissimilar country styles.
For example, the tune Milk Cow Blues is an early blues tune by Kokomo Arnold, who sang musical compositions in wide directions of country styles by apiece from Bob Wills to Willie Nelson, George Strait, Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley. There is no escape from leaving behind that Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit (May 1924, with "The Wreck of Old '97").
During the 1950s Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson organized to produce records in Nashville, and created the form by extraction the honky tonk roughness from traditional country and adding jazzy compositions and pop song structures. They were the founders of Nashville sound. The most famous artists of the Nashville sound's original era also were vocalist Patsy Cline and pianist Floyd Cramer. Then in 1960s the Nashville sound engaged in competition with the competitor Bakersfield sound. Nashville's pop song structure became more evident, and it was converted into "country-politan". "Country-politan" was intentioned immediately at mainstream markets, and it sold well throughout the later 1960s and 1970s. The Bakersfield sound and, later, outlaw country predominated country music among music-lovers while "country-politan" prevailed on the pop charts. When Chet Atkins was asked about what the Nashville Sound was, he put his hand into his pocket, shook the loose change around, and answered that: "... It's the sound of money".
Some subdivide the sources of modern country music into two seed influences. Jimmie Rodgers and Carter Family are the trail blazer in country music, and their songs were first noticed at an historic recording session in Bristol, Tennessee on August 1, 1927.
It is possible to classify many country singers as being either from the Jimmie Rodgers creative work or the Carter Family strand of country music.
Jimmie Rodgers' endowment to country style was country blues. Building on the traditional ballads and musical ascendances of the South, Jimmie wrote and sang songs that customary people had a certain attitude toward. He took the incidents of his own life and those of the people he met on his way, in cinema, in bars and on the streets and parks to produce his lyrics. In his lyrics we can look for pathos, humor, women, whiskey, murder, death, disease and destitution. These themes have been developed by his stalwarts. People like Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash have also tolerated their harassment, bringing added magnitudes to those themes. They also as their cult figure sang about life and death from a male perspective. Such influences affected on the development of honky tonk, rockabilly and the Bakersfield sound.
When the 1960s years turned out behind the shoulders, country music became a multimillion-dollar industry. And Nashville, Tennessee became a capital of a new religion. Under the patronage of Chet Atkins, the Nashville sound brought country music to a divergent audience. And every day the variety of country music was heard in radio and TV programs. The popular appreciation of country music was influenced by the maudlin ballads and whining steel guitars that many people connected with the genre.
Among another breeding grounds of such folk art we can mention vast acres of California and Texas.
California gave birth to the Bakersfield sound. The best known representatives of this musical direction were Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Their masterpieces were founded on the work of the legendary Maddox Brothers and Rose, whose wild eclectic mix of old time country, folk swing and gospel in the 1940s and 1950s was a feature of honky-tonks and dance halls in the state.
Texas promoted Willie Nelson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Jerry Jeff Walker and others who created outlaw country.
It is necessary to note, that in history of development of direction Country it is possible to note huge number of remarkable musicians and composers. About the some people in my opinion it is possible to talk more in details.
So James William Anderson III (he was born on November 1, 1937 in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American singer and songwriter in country style. In 1975, Bill Anderson was involved into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was inveigled into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Another famous country person Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940 in Titusville, Pennsylvania) is a singer. Jeannie Seely was a top-level country music female vocalist during the 1960's and 1970's. She began her career as a child on provincial radio stations and areas and in her early twenties arrived to Los Angeles to begin songwriting. She moved to Nashville in 1965 when she climbed the ladder on Monument Records. She had a main hit with 1966's "Don't Touch Me" which leaded the country charts and fetched Seely the 1966 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Other noteworthy hits were: "It's Only Love" (1966), "I'll Love You More" (1967), and "Welcome Home to Nothing" (1968).
Oklahoma made a present to music world: that was Jeremy Glen Castle, who was born on August 2, 1974 in that American city. J.G. Castle is a country music singer and songwriter. He was distinguished in Blanchard, Oklahoma, listening to the sound of traditional country artists such as Merle Haggard, George Jones, and George Strait. Castle began studying to wield a skilful guitar from Charlie Archer, lead guitarist for Conway Twitty. He began creating his own country compositions and performing as he was a college student of Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
During recent years the best known country singer was Sara Evans. She was distinguished on a farm near New Franklin, Missouri. By age five Sara was singing every weekend in her family's band and music became a part of her life. When she was sixteen, she started appearing on stage at a nightclub near Columbia, Missouri. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1991 and made the acquaintance of Craig Schelske there. They were amalgamated both professionally and personally and arrived to Oregon. Craig and Sara were married in 1993. After home-coming to Nashville in 1995, Sara began recording country songs of Harlan Howard. Sara Evans was the most recipient of an award artist at the 2001. She won her fist "Country Music Association awards" reward when her masterpiece "Born to Fly" won the reward for Video of the Year. Sara Evans took part in the Republican National Convention on August 23, 2004. There are three children in her family. And their names are: Avery, Olivia and Audrey. Evans satiated in for LeAnn Rimes on the TV show Nashville Star.
To my great surprise, I have found out, that many famous rock groups often try their forces, singing songs in style Country. For example, The Eagles are an American rock music group that inherently came together in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. The band established in 1971 when Linda Ronstadt's manager to be, John Boylan, evoked Frey, Leadon, and Meisner from their amalgamations. They were the drummers, up to that moment, when Frey called Henley by phone, whom he had come across at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The band came back to Ronstadt on a two-month tour. After that they decided to create their own consort, The Eagles. Their first album, The Eagles, was inflated with innocent country rock; their second, Desperado, was devoted to Old West outlaws and introduced the group's disposition to songwriting. The most famous group's album, Hotel California, was created in 1976, and was dedicated to the chase of the American dream. Enlisting California as an allegory for the nation, the Eagles sang about temptations of that pursuit. The sorrowful ballad "Wasted Time" closed the first side of the record, and its instrumental reiteration opened the second side. The album was finished with "The Last Resort", which was an epic fairy tale of the waste of American Elysium. Now Hotel California is considered as the best album of Eagles for all time, and it is their best-selling studio album.
Except for it I managed to find out a number of versions of country music. Here is some of them.
Christian Country music is a format of gospel music, which is first mentioned in the 1980s, during the increase in popularity of country music on mainstream radio. Although Southern Gospel had some earlier impulse on mainstream country music in generations before, it differs obviously from Southern Gospel music. Southern Gospel is found on four part harmony and was performed mainly by male singers. Christian Country follows the transference of mainstream country music. Over the years, country music has migrated toward a contemporary or pop sound. Christian Country's main entreaty is to exquisite country music lovers. It's the largest problem is confrontation within the Southern Gospel music community, who have, for a few generations, equalized four part harmony with "holy music." A less popular direction of country music Country Gospel has appeared too earlier than Christian Country. Artists have put a gospel track on their albums as usual. Country Gospel has a circumscribed auditory, much like the parentage country music of Hank Williams. The comprehension "Christian Country" was first observed in broadcasts by Rob Green (known as Les Roberts) in the 1980 year.
Australian country music is a vigorous tendency of evolution of folk art in Australia. Australia has a bygone tradition of country music, which has constituted a musical direction quite separate from its U.S. duplicate. Waltzing Matilda is generally avowed as Australia's unofficial golden voice of Australia. She is a quintessential Australian country singer. Matilda was subjected more by Celtic folk ballads than by American country western music. Her lyrics were focused on strictly Australian subjects, and were generally named as "bush music".
Another, more Americanized movement of Australian country music had such an initiator as Tex Morton, who began his work in 1930. Later that musical style was popularized by Slim Dusty best known for his 1957 song "A Pub With No Beer". Today modern country music intersect with popular music very deeply, and it is considerable popular in Australia. Also, country music is popular among the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In faraway Australia legendary heroes are not leaving behind. We can mention some festivals and ceremonies, which are annually promoted. The main celebration of country music is the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January. For 14 days the city of Tamworth, New South Wales with its 35,000 inhabitants change into "global mega-polis", with guests from all across the continent, nay the world, coming to join in the ceremonies. The population grows approximately to half a million during the bash. This gives the city an economic and cultural boom.
Creativity of musicians and composers of direction Country is not deprived by attention of experts. On a regular basis from the beginning of 60 years annual rewards are spent, special prizes stand out. And community names such arrangements as country music awards. It would be desirable to note some of similar actions.
So, in 1968-69 the business members of the Country Music Association began to broadcast the Country Music Awards voting on TV. The first musical CMA male artist of the Year was Eddy Arnold.
The Country Music Association (CMA) was organized in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It inherently consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization founded to promote a music genre. The purposes of the organization are to guide and enhance the development of Country Music throughout the world, to reveal it as a fecund medium to advertisers, buyers and media; and to spare solidarity of purpose for the Country Music industry.
Originally, CMA's Board of Directors consisted of nine directors and five officers. Wesley Rose, president of Acuff-Rose Publishing, Inc., was as CMA's first chairman of the board. The founding president was broadcasting entrepreneur and executive Connie B. Gay. There were nine individual membership categories at once. The 15 categories represent all aspects of the music industry. CMA membership is constituted of those persons or organizations that are engaged in Country Music, directly and substantially.
The first CMA Awards ceremony was conducted in 1967 in Nashville. The winner of the first "Entertainer of the Year" award was singer Eddy Arnold. "Male Vocalist of the Year" was Jack Green and "Female Vocalist of the Year" was Loretta Lynn.
In 1968, annual awards are distributed in the following twelve categories: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Horizon Award, Vocal Group, Vocal Duo, Single, Album, Song, Music Event, Music Video, and Musician. And in 1969 there was the first live show telecast.
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was established in 1964 in Nashville, Tennessee. It was named the Country & Western Music Academy; and was established by people who wanted to separate their love of Country music. In 1965, the first annual awards ceremony was promoted. Buck Owens won for Top Male Vocalist and Bonnie Owens won for Top Female Vocalist. Merle Haggard was named Top New Male Vocalist and Kaye Adams was named Top New Female Vocalist.
Admirers of country music observe the annual rewardings of achievements of their idols with permanent interest. So in 2004 the entertainer of the year by version of CMA was Kenny Chesney. K.Chesney was born 26 March 1968 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is a country music singer and songwriter. He is very famous for such masterpieces as "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" and "When the Sun Goes Down". Kenny confess laid back style of country music. His first hit was "Fall in Love," which obtained the Country Top 10 in 1995. Also we can mention his deserving compositions: "The Good Stuff" (No. 1 in 2002); "There Goes My Life" (No. 1 in 2004); and "When the Sun Goes Down" (a duet with Uncle Kracker in 2004). In January 2005, Chesney created the album "Be As You Are: Songs from an Old Blue Chair," upholding the album with his "Somewhere Under the Sun" tour. On May 9, 2005, Chesney married Renée Zellweger on the resort island St. John in the USA Virgin Islands. On September 15, 2005, after four months of marriage, they declared their plans for an abrogation. And also in 2005 Kenny Chesney scored one of the most important country music awards: "ACM Entertainer of the Year".
Familiarizing with materials devoting to intellectual development of american folk music art , I also notice that country music in USA have the governmental significance. So the September 11, 2001 attacks impeled Keith Urban (Urban publicated his American debut in 2000, then in 2004 his hit "Be Here" was nominated for best country album at the Grammy Awards and at the Academy of Country Music Awards) to create the song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" (The Angry American). That song is about Keith's father's patriotism and faith in America. At first, Keith decided not to record the song and only sang it live at his concerts for military auditory. After that the reaction of military community was negative. And Andt the Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones asked Keith to record the patriotic song. So, as the lead song from the album "Unleashed" (2002), "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" was the top single over the weekend of July 4. The album established a foothold on 65 weeks in the "top-10" Billboard Country Albums chart.
Gradually I have understood, that the world of country music is so various and deep that I can not be limited only researching in Internet. Therefore I have decided to suggest you to undertake cyber travel in places where country music is very popular. These are states of California, Texas, Tennessee, also it is possible to glance in Melbourn (Australia). So, I hope to meet you very soon, and we shall be personally convinced of magic attractiveness of country music.
Article comments:
No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!
