Roots of Hillbilly Music
Choose a question from the Week 9 Discussion Forum and write a 1000 - 1250 word (approx. 4 - 5 page) essay paper in the persuasive rhetorical mode. Here are the eligible questions (choose ONE):
How does The Birth of American Music podcast describe black music and blackness in music? What's the difference?
What is the significance of "hillbilly music" and what are its roots?
How has American music throughout history used traditions and styles developed by African Americans?
Why is Blues music so important in the history of American music?
What formerly popular genre[s] of American music should we be listening to today and why?
Why was Rock 'n Roll so controversial during its early years?
Approach
Re-read your original responses to the DF questions and get a feel for which questions were most interesting to you. You can include all or part of your original response in your essay paper. (Just make sure it's properly written in third personLinks to an external site., like the rest of the paper.)
Base your essay on the question that you feel would be easiest write persuasively.
Have subjects in mind. For example, if you're going to write about the significance of hillbilly music, who are some bands or artists you can discuss? If you're going to write about the impact of styles of African American music on American music in general, what specific genres can you discuss?
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Roots of Hillbilly Music
Hillbilly is an American folk music played on stringed instruments: guitar, banjo, and fiddle (Bernard 37). It is characterized by simple melodies, often featuring only a few chords, and its lyrics, typically about the working class's daily lives (Huber 2). The origin of hillbilly music dates back to the twentieth century in Appalachian Southern United States mountain regions (Huber 2). Research shows that migration into Southern Appalachian Mountains brought the folk music and instruments of Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin, which developed into hillbilly music (Huber 2). In the early 1900s, hillbilly music was termed 'country music' due to its association with ingenious and rowdy rural residents (Bernard 35). Traditional Scottish and Irish ballads and dance tunes became a primary source of inspiration for hillbilly music (Bernard 35). The music was regularly played at social gatherings and country shows, often accompanied by guitar or fiddle, and Barn dances on the airwaves (Bernard 54). These dances reflected rural America’s spirit, which was the crux of the South.
History depicts that Hillbilly music first gained popularity in the early 1920s when commercial radio stations began broadcasting it to the public. During this period, Fiddlers consisting of Gid Tanner and Eck Robertson recorded the first commercial songs of what became hillbilly music (Bernard 38). Together with other musicians, they came to New York City at Ralph Peer’s invitation. Peer was a music scout and the then recording director at Okeh Records (Bernard 30). He was looking for new sounds to record. Americans from the mountain regions regarded him as the pioneer of the trend due to his mastery of various regional styles of music. He categorized all Southern country music as a hillbilly. In 1923, Fiddlin’ John Carson made the first hillbilly music (Harkins 319). Record companies and radio stations such as WLS and WSM Nashville, with their Grand Ole Opry program promoted this music, widening its reach in the South and across the country (Bernard 54).
North Georgia became the home for many hillbilly songs in the early days of the genre because it housed most of the recording studios, with many musicians eager to record Southern music (Bernard 28). As hillbilly music gained popularity, various bands across the US began to play it. Many artists’ successes have been linked to this genre. Jimmy Rodgers, a country singer, and songwriter from Meridian, Mississippi, was the first musician to succeed in hillbilly music (Bernard 92). He rose to prominence in the late 1920s and early 1930s with his signature yodeling style (Bernard 92). Rodgers’ achievement helped establish hillbilly music mainstream, making it one of the most famous musical genres in the US in the 1930s and 1940s. Other stars included the Carter Family, a country music group that recorded many of the first commercially successful hillbilly songs (Bernard 92).
According to Harkins, hillbilly music had many musical influences ranging from traditional British ballads to nineteenth-century popular songs, African-American blues, religious hymns, and minstrelsy (316). In fact, folk song collectors like John Lomax and Cecil Sharp associated it with the cradle of American folk music. The growth of hillbilly music continued in the subsequent decades. By the twenty-first century, it had become a popular phenomenon (Bernard 55), with musicians like Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton achieving widespread success. Today, t...