High and Lonesome Facts About Country Music
“I think country music is popular - has been popular and will always be popular because I think a lot of real people singing about a lot of real stuff about real people. And it's simple enough for people to understand it.
And we kind of roll with the punches.”—Dolly Parton.
What happened when the country singer sang his song backward? He got his dog back, his truck back, and his wife back.
All kidding aside, country music has been drawing listeners in with its relatable lyrics about the hardships and joys of everyday life since the beginning of the 20th century. And country music’s roots go back even further than that.
Now, as a new generation of performers like Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan pursue mainstream success by blurring the lines between country and pop music, country music is bigger than ever, with fans all around the world.
Here are 42 high and lonesome facts about country music.
Country Music Facts
42. The Birth of Country Music
Country music had no birth per se; it arose from the blending of blues, English ballads, Irish fiddle music, cowboy folk songs, and many other earlier genres. Nevertheless, Bristol, Tennessee, is officially recognized as the Birthplace of Country Music. It was here, in 1927, that seminal country figures the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers were first recorded.
41. Old 97
Despite the designation of the 1927 Bristol Sessions as the birth of country music, many country historians would argue it was Vernon Dalhart’s rendition of “The Wreck of the Old 97,” recorded in 1924, that was actually the first “country”
record. Dalhart—whose real name was the significantly more memorable Marion Try Slaughter—was a trained opera singer, and his version of “The Wreck of the Old 97” sold a staggering 7 million copies.
40. A Whole Hall of Hillbillies
The 1927 Bristol Sessions were staged by Ralph Peer of the Victor Recording Company. Peer posted an open call for any old-time hillbilly singers in the county to participate in the recording session.
Other acts recorded that day included the fiddler Blind Alfred Reed, an old-time string band called Stoneman’s Dixie Mountaineers, and singing preacher Ernest Phipps and his Holiness Quartet.
