Hank Williams Electric Guitar

Country music originated in the 1920s in Tennessee. The genre was influenced by folk music from the Appalachian Mountains and revolved around themes of love, faith,

Southern music known today as country music became popular in the 1920’s. This was music that was based on folk music of cowboys in the southeast (Collins English Dictionary, 2003). In most of the early music the artist played stringed instruments like fiddles, guitars, banjos and some were even playing harmonicas. When this type of music started some people called it

​ Rock n roll came from the mix of country and rhythm and blues. The origins of rock n roll can be traced back to when the great migration brought African Americans to the U.S. with them they brought a different sound for music. After the great migration, new genres of music began to become very popular in the late 1920’s and 1930’s. These genres of music influenced the development of rock n roll such as blues, boogie-woogie, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music “Rock n Roll developed from blues and country so no one invented rock n roll” ( Tim Janis) Rock n roll was definitely influenced by African American roots. The African music tradition of storytelling using music of African origins was a big influence on the creation of blues and other genres. These genres of music soon developed into rhythm and blues. Later

“The cliché is that rock & roll was a melding of country music and blues, and if you are talking about, say, Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, the description, though simplistic, does fit. But the black inner-city vocal-group sound . . . had little to do with either blues or country music in their purer forms.

always been what we recognize it as today. Country music began in the 1920’s in a town in Tennessee called Bristol and was recognized for its hillbilly and folk format. Country music artists like Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis are each responsible for creating this music format that was written mostly about everyday life. Today country music is recognized as a more modern contemporary version of music. Today’s country artists have started to change their sound in order to appeal to the mainstream audience in order to make more money. Miranda Lambert said “there’s been a shift: country music is popular now. Every other genre wants to come over to our land.”

“When first entering in America, British folk music was distinguished by three-chord tunes, sparse instrumentation (with some fiddlers), mostly male performers, improvisation, the singers’ sporadic shouts (Scottish “yips”), Christian themes served up in hundreds of hymns, and a secular collection of songs that told stories, generally about love and lost love, using metaphor and symbol to tell those stories” (Allen 101). By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, British music changed and became Americanized. Vocal harmonizing slowly evolved, and fiddlers were accompanied by those who played banjo, an African American opening. “Tambourines and “bones” (tapping out rhythms using pork rib bones) were a minstrel show contribution” (Allen 102). When African Americans were forced into slavery and brought to North America in the 1600s, they brought their own musical traditions and sounds. Slaves who were on the Mississippi River Valley delta soil developed what will later be introduced as blues music. On the plantations, slaves greatly changed British American hymn singing. They took non-religious British American songs and turned it into their own forms of music that followed their culture and taste of music. Blues emerged in the early twentieth century at the same time country music became settled from its folk roots. Blues music talked about the indifferences African American slaves were going through at that time. “The blues voiced human

The main artist to capitalize on combining country with blues and jazz was the king of rock and roll, better known as Elvis Presley. He had the country twang along with the bluesy deep message and jazz type feel, which started the music we all know today as rock and roll.

s toured throughout the country. It reached its peak in the 1850's and 1860's as it became the popular music of the people. It ran on New York's Broadway for over forty years, and it was the music of the Mexican War, the California Gold Rush, and the Civil War. This form of popular music gave birth to our Ragtime, Blues, Dixieland, Country, and Bluegrass music of today. When a plantation owner had a man with musical talent, he might send him to New Orleans or up north to be trained in violin so he could play Celtic music for the cotillions and parties. But, when that man was alone in his quarters, he would pour his African soul into his Irish fiddle. This was the music the blackface minstrels tried to copy.

Music is such a beautiful creation, the way the melody, rhythm, tempo, all mix together to become a masterpiece. One specific genre of music, the blues, was heavily popular in the early 20th century. The blues is a tradition-oriented music style from the rural Southern African-American origin (“Jazz in America”, n.d. ). It usually had secular content, which is disparate from how it was when it first began. Blues music originated in plantations, where slaves sung, using it as a mental escape method from their oppression. Even though it started off in a simple way, it eventually turned into a serious entertainment. Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday, two well-known blues female singers, became hit sensations.

Hank Williams Jr. was born on May 26, 1949, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father was country music star Hank Williams, now known as Hank Williams Sr., who unfortunately died when Hank was merely three years old. In his youth, Hank was expected to live up to his father’s legacy, which put a lot of pressure on him. His mother tried to mold him into a younger version of his father, but though he wanted to be in the country music business he did not like his father’s style and sound. Hank wanted to have his own style and music, for some this was difficult, they preferred for him to continue the legacy of his father by playing Hank Sr’s music. For twenty three years he endured the pressure of being just like his father until he attempted suicide,

At the time, it was common for quite a few bands in the scene to navigate between genres. The term cowpunk started to be coined by music journalists in the early 1980’s as a catch-all phrase to describe punk-influenced country music, and country influenced punk rock. Some bands played straight up country music with an attitude of punk rock, for example, The Blasters, and Los Lobos.This artist would go on to influence the likes of Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams and Wilco. “Though they never would say it,

American Music is a melting pot of different cultures, emotions, experiences, and therefore genres. It is incredible to see how as music evolves and changes with the time, so does The United States. We are a mixed bag as a country, accepting all different cultures and backgrounds. This has led to many breakthroughs and innovations in music throughout history. We are all influenced by our experiences in life and this is no different in the evolution of music in American History. The Blues was created from African American Slave songs, with lyrics that narrate the hardships of the human experience at the time. These rhythms and forms carried over and eventually created what is now Rock and Roll. Over the next five weeks, we will explore and discover five key genres and artists who are known to specialize in that genre as a way to reconnect with our history and explore the possibilities for innovation in music in the future.

An impact on American History, the southern sound of blues has been influenced through years of rich traditions and entertainment legacy. Its origins begin in the Mississippi Delta. From highway sixty-one to forty-nine, since its creation, blues has established a legacy of artists that have paved way for current and future musicians. From Johnny Guitar Watson to Muddy Waters and BB King, the musical sound of blues has developed tremendously creating a platform for upcoming artists to follow. Legendary artists of blues continue to be an impact on the genre; which can be illustrated through novel blues artist’s music. The new era of blues artists continue to pay homage to the numerous contributing blues musicians; however, the southern soul sound

Over the years music has been able to evolve in many different ways, their musical accompaniment being one. The two genres of country and hip hop/rap both have been able to change their musical accompaniment due to technology improving, as well as instruments. Hip hop/rap is a sort of free style string of lyrics put together with intricate and clever ways of manipulating the beat and country music has a pattern of repeated chord progressions using a lot of instruments. The musical accompaniment of Country music is more string-accompanied, it has many different interment’s such as; guitar, banjo, violin. Country music is usually more relaxed and calming, having a folk root from the southeast and cowboy music of the west,

As we went over this gender of music I learned that Country Music was originally a North American form of music that mixed many eras, styles and sub-genres. We got introduced to and old time favorite artist who is considered the “Father of Country Music” Jimmie Roberts. During the year of 1924 he decided to dedicate his