A Brief History of 50s and 60s Country Music

In this blog post, we’ll take a brief look at the history of country music in the 1950s and 1960s. We’ll explore the genre’s roots, its key artists and songs, and how it evolved during this era.

The Early Days of Country Music

Country music has its roots in the folk music of the Southeast United States, particularly the Appalachian Mountains. In the early 1900s, the fiddle was the most popular instrument in the region. The music was often played at dances, and as the music evolved, it began to be played on the radio.

The Carter Family

The Carter Family was one of the first country music groups. They were originally from Virginia and started playing together in the 1920s. By the 1930s, they were touring and recording regularly. They became very popular, especially with their radio show on the Grand Ole Opry.

The Carter Family was known for their traditional style of country music. Their songs were about love, loss, and family. They were also known for their harmonies, which were very unique at the time.

The Carter Family continued to perform and record until the early 1960s. They influenced many other country music artists, including Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff.

Jimmie Rodgers

Jimmie Rodgers was born on September 8, 1897, in Meridian, Mississippi. He died of tuberculosis on May 26, 1933, in New York City. He was only 35 years old. Over the course of his short life, Rodgers became known as “The Father of Country Music” and helped to establish country music as a genre.

Rodgers was born into a family of railroad workers and grew up working on the railways himself. It was while working on the railways that Rodgers first began to sing and play the guitar. In 1924, he moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where he worked as a brakeman for the Southern Railway. In 1927, he moved to Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia, where he began performing on radio station WCYB. It was here that Rodgers met Ralph Peer, a talent scout for Victor Records.

In 1927, Rodgers made his first recordings for Victor Records. These recordings were extremely popular and helped to launch his career. In 1929, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry radio show. Over the next few years, Rodgers became one of the most popular country music performers in the United States. He continued to record and tour until his death in 1933.

Rodgers’ style of country music was very influential in the development of the genre. His use of yodeling helped to popularize country music and influenced many subsequent performers. His songs were also very sentimental and often told stories about love and loss, which appealed to many listeners.

Hank Williams

Hank Williams may be country music’s first superstar, but he was also a complicated man who battled alcoholism and depression. Williams was born in rural Alabama in 1923 and began performing publicly in his teens. In 1948, he signed a contract with the fledgling country music label, MGM Records. His first hit single, “Move It On Over,” was released that year and quickly rose to the top of the country charts.

Williams’ popularity continued to grow in the early 1950s with hits like “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” He became known for his catchy melodies, simple lyrics and sad themes. In 1951, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and became one of the most popular performers on the radio show.

Unfortunately, Williams’ personal life was plagued by problems. He struggled with alcohol addiction and his marriages were often tumultuous. In 1953, he divorced his first wife, Audrey Sheppard, after she caught him cheating. His second marriage, to Billie Jean Jones Eshliman, lasted just six months. In 1952, he married his third wife, Carolyn Hodge. The couple had one daughter together, Jett Williams, who was born after Hank Williams died.

On New Year’s Day 1953, Hank Williams died of heart failure at the age of 29. He had been scheduled to perform on New Year’s Eve at a show in Canton, Ohio, but he never made it to the gig. His death came as a shock to fans all over the world and cemented his place as one of country music’s most legendary performers.

The Rise of Nashville

Country music has always been a popular genre, but it wasn’t until the 1950s and 1960s that it truly began to take off. This was due in part to the rise of Nashville as a music city. Nashville became the home of country music, and many famous country artists got their start there. If you’re a fan of country music, then you owe a lot to Nashville.

The Nashville Sound

The Nashville Sound is a subgenre of country music that emerged from Nashville, Tennessee, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was characterized by a more polished production than earlier country music, as well as a blend of traditional country with pop, rock and R&B. The Nashville Sound was popularized by artists such as Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, and was defined in part by the recordings made at the city’s famed RCA Studio B.

The Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, which was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio “barn dance” on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties), it is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing live. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and is Tennessee’s top tourist attraction, bringing in $180 million annually.

Country Music on Television

In the late 1940s, country music began appearing on television. Country music artist Eddy Arnold was one of the first to appear on television in 1949. He continued to appear on early American television variety shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show. The Grand Ole Opry also began appearing on American television in the late 1940s. The first live country music show to air on network television was Dude Ranch Time, which aired on ABC in 1954. In 1955, The Steve Allen Show featured country music prominently and helped to increase its popularity. In 1957, network television broadcast coverage of the World’s Fair in Nashville, Tennessee which included several country music artists such as Carl Smith, Jim Reeves and Ernest Tubb. This exposure helped to increase the popularity of country music across the United States. By the early 1960s, country music was appearing regularly on network television shows such as The Jimmy Dean Show and The Beverly Hillbillies. These broadcasts helped to increase the popularity of country music artists and helped to spread the reach of country music beyond its traditional audience.

The Outlaw Movement

The Outlaw Movement was a subgenre of country music that began in the late 1960s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1970s. The movement takes its name from the film “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” which was released in 1976. The Outlaw Movement was characterized by a rebel spirit and a DIY attitude. Artists in the movement such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Patsy Cline were often rebellious and broke many of the rules of the country music establishment.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician, guitarist, actor, and activist. The outlaw movement in country music of the late 1960s and early 1970s brought many of Nelson’s songs to a wider audience. His work as a songwriter and his recordings with his band, Shotgun Willie, helped bring country music into the mainstream.

Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings was an American country music singer and songwriter. Jennings began playing guitar at eight and began performing in local talent shows at 12. He formed a band named the Waylors. Jennings recorded for several record labels, including RCA Victor, A&M, Epic, and CBS, before releasing his first album in 1964 for RCA’s Hickory Records called Folk-Country. In 1965 he moved to Nashville to begin session work..

Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard was born on April 6, 1937, in Oildale, California. His parents were James Francis Haggard and Flossie Mae Harp. James Francis was a migrant worker who left the family when Merle was only 5 years old. Flossie Mae moved the family around California looking for work, eventually ending up in Bakersfield. It was there that Merle started his musical career, inspired by the local country music scene.

In the 1950s, Bakersfield became known for a new style of country music called the Bakersfield sound. This sound was based on a traditional country music style, but with a more driving beat and electric instruments. Merle was influenced by this new sound and began performing in local clubs. He eventually caught the attention of Capitol Records and released his first single, “Skid Row”, in 1964.

The Outlaw Movement is a term used to describe a group of country musicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s who rejected the mainstream Nashville sound in favor of a more raw and Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Haggard was oneof the most prominent outlaws. The change in sound can be heard in Haggard’s 1968 hit “Mama Tried”, which has a more rock-influenced sound than previous country hits.

The outlaws were also known for their rebel image and lifestyle. They were often seen as rebels who didn’t conform to society’s expectations, which fit well with their rough-around-the-edges music. This image was perpetuated by songs like Willie Nelson’s “Good Hearted Woman” and Waylon Jennings’ “Are You Ready for the Country”.

While the outlaw movement did have a significant impact on country music, it didn’t last long. By the late 1970s, many of the outlaws had returned to the mainstream or retired from music altogether. However, their influence can still be heard in today’s country music.

The Modern Era

It would be impossible to discuss the history of country music without first mentioning the artists who created the genre. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Cash are just a few of the legends who popularized country music in the 1950s and 1960s. But what about the contemporary artists who are keeping the genre alive and well today?

Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. Brooks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1962 and began his musical career in the early 1980s, performing in local clubs and bars. He released his self-titled debut album in 1989, and it was an immediate success, reaching number one on the Billboard country music chart. Brooks’s subsequent albums also topped the charts, and he became one of the most popular country music artists of all time. In the 1990s, Brooks expanded his reach beyond country music, becoming one of the few crossover artists to achieve success in both country and pop/rock music. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide and has won numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards and five Country Music Association Awards.

Shania Twain

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in 1965, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, one of three daughters of Clarence and Sharon Edwards. When she was two, her parents divorced, and her mother moved with the girls to Timmins, Ontario. Twain’s father went to work in the mines, while her mother supported the family by working at a local restaurant. Sharon later married Jerry Twain, a full-blooded Ojibwa Native American and casual musician who played country and rockabilly music. Jerry adopted the girls, and they took his last name.Shania Twain grew up listening to country music and singing along with her dad’s band in Timmins—a small mining town in northeastern Ontario where winter temperatures can plunge as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. “My earliest memory of music would be sitting on my dad’s lap while he was playing guitar,” Twain told Marc Myers in an Oct. 7, 2014 Wall Street Journal article. “I’d be holding onto the guitar because it was so big for me.”

At 8 years old, Twain began writing her own songs. She also started entering—and winning—local talent contests. But when she was just 13 years old, tragedy struck: Jerry Twain died of heart failure brought on by a drinking problem. Determined to help her family out of poverty, Sharon took jobs as a singer in a hotel lounge and as a housekeeper at a local motel; she also continued working at the restaurant where she had first met Jerry. To make ends meet, the family relied on food stamps and handouts from the Salvation Army. “My mom did everything she could to try to make life easier for us kids,” Twain told Myers.

Faith Hill

Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry; September 21, 1967) is an American singer and record producer. She is one of the most successful country artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill is married to American singer Tim McGraw, with whom she has recorded several duets.