Post by TomLine on Jul 30, 2018 18:39:28 GMT -5
OLD TIME COUNTRY
by Tom Lineaweaver
by Tom Lineaweaver
There is a Facebook group called "Old Time Country." But there seems some debate as to what Old Time Country is. The very first Country artists to be recorded were the Carter Family. This was their first recording...
The second Country artist, first solo artist to be recorded was Jimmie Rodgers...
Instrumentation was very simple. The Carter Family used the autoharp and guitar. Jimmie Rodgers used a guitar, banjo, and dobro. No electric instruments at all, and perhaps that's the line of demarcation between Old Time Country, and and the rest of Country Music. The introduction of electric instruments led to changes in Country Music. But there is an essence of Country Music that has survived from the Carter Family to Alan Jackson, that doesn't exist in any other form of music.
Here's an article that talks about how Country Music lost its soul... www.cmt.com/news/1708291/what-is-and-isnt-real-country-music/
Here's another article about how Country Music went crazy... ew.com/article/2013/10/01/country-music-identity-crisis/
When you consider what "Country" music radio plays today, Beyonce would fit into that format. Would anyone consider Beyonce to be Country?
Look, I don't care what people want to sing, whether hip-hop, rap, etc. But, it is not Country. What Country stations are playing is nothing like the Carter Family or Jimmie Rodgers.
I often heard that Hank Williams was the father of modern Country. He sure isn't the father of that stuff Country radio plays today. I often said, the further away you get from Hank Williams, the less Country it becomes. And there is simply no relationship between the rap and hip-hop being called "Country," and the music of Hank Williams. None at all. So, it's not Country at all.
It shutters me to think, that one day, this hip-hop and rap called "Country," will be called old time Country.