RGNET1391CD
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From the pioneering string bands and old-time banjo maestros to country music’s first superstar Jimmie Rodgers, this Rough Guide features many of the trailblazing artists who paved the way for the country music explosion to come.
01 Uncle Dave Macon & Sam McGee: Way Down The Old Plank Road 02:56
02 Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers: Leaving Home 03:02
03 Jimmie Rodgers: Somewhere Down Below The Dixon Line 02:55
04 J.P. Nester: Train On The Island 02:59
05 Darby & Tarlton: Sweet Sarah Blues 02:58
06 Dock Boggs: Old Rub Alcohol Blues 03:05
07 East Texas Serenaders: Acorn Stomp 02:50
08 Clarence Ashley: The Coo Coo Bird 02:54
09 The Carter Family: Wildwood Flower 03:08
10 Tenneva Ramblers: The Longest Train I Ever Saw 03:05
11 Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers: Ain't Nobody's Business 02:57
12 B.F. Shelton: Darling Cora 03:49
13 Ernest V. Stoneman & The Sweet Brothers: John Hardy 03:07
14 Cliff Carlisle: Chicken Roost Blues 02:30
15 Eck Robertson & Family: Texas Wagoner 03:00
16 Ray Brothers: Got The Jake Leg Too 02:55
17 Fruit Jar Guzzlers: Stack-O-Lee 03:16
18 Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles: Sleepy Desert 03:04
19 Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers: It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' 02:55
20 Burnett & Rutherford: Curly Headed Woman 03:06
21 Fiddlin' Doc Roberts Trio: Cumberland Blues 02:50
22 Lowe Stokes: Billy In The Lowground 03:02
23 Buell Kazee: The Orphan Girl 02:59
24 Leake County Revelers: Leake County Blues 03:03
25 Fiddlin' John Carson & His Virginia Reelers: Gonna Swing On The Golden Gate 02:55
The term “country music” hadn’t even been conceived when these American folk pioneers recorded in the 1920s and early 30s. It wasn’t until the 1940s that it came into common parlance as an alternative for what was widely known as hillbilly music, something of an outdated and degrading description.
Loosely speaking, country music derives from a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the southern United States and Appalachian Mountains. Its true origins however are deep rooted in the cultures of the early European settlers in America who brought their old-world folk traditions with them, which over time incorporated other musical elements such as the African American traditions of gospel and blues.
Before the widespread fame of Jimmie Rodgers popularized the guitar as an essential instrument for solo performers, the fiddle was the predominant instrument, with the likes of Fiddlin’ John Carson and Eck Robertson being among the first to commercially record. Robertson is widely regarded as the finest fiddler of this era and an inspiration to a generation of fiddlers, as his wonderful bow work on the featured ‘Texas Wagoner’ bears testament to.
The banjo was another potent weapon of choice for some of old-time music’s seminal figures including Dock Boggs, whose music was a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues, and Uncle Dave Macon. Born in 1870, Macon achieved regional fame as a vaudeville performer in the early 1920s before becoming the first star of the Grand Ole Opry in the latter half of the decade. His importance is rightly acknowledged by music historian Charles Wolfe who writes, "If people call yodelling Jimmie Rodgers 'the father of country music,' then Uncle Dave must certainly be 'the grandfather of country music'."
Long before the development of the trademark lap steel guitar had become a sound synonymous with country music, the slide entered the frame as early as 1922, when Jimmie Tarlton met famed Hawaiian guitarist Frank Ferera. He is joined by playing partner Tom Darby on ‘Sweet Sarah Blues’, a song which epitomises an era of musical cross fertilisation as Hawaiian guitar and blues styles meet native South Carolina folk. It was this willingness for musical exchange amongst these pioneering musicians which would lay the groundwork for popular country music as it is known today.
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