(Vocal duo, 1926–52) The sound of The Delmore Brothers – a humorous blues or a wistful train song, told to the rhythm of two mellow guitars – echoed through country music across three decades. Alton (1908–64) and Rabon (1916–52) were among the first stars of the microphone era, their voices linked in soft, confidential harmony fit for ...
(Vocal group, 1931–52) The Delmore Brothers (Alton and Rabon) were a precursor to sibling vocal groups like The Everly Brothers. The Delmores’ sound, which incorporated fast electric guitar parts and bluesy harmonica riffs, foreshadowed the crossover appeal of later rockabilly and country rock bands. Embracing elements of western swing and boogie-woogie in the late 1940s, The Delmores ...
(Vocals, 1899–2000) Born in rural Louisiana, Davis first made his name singing on radio station KWKH in Shreveport. From 1928 onwards, he was a popular recording artist, initially with sentimental and cowboy songs, then with raunchy blue yodels in the manner of Jimmie Rodgers. These included ‘She’s A Hum Dum Dinger From Dingersville’ and ‘Bear Cat ...
Merle Travis was both a vital cog in the development of the West Coast country scene and a major influence on a whole generation of guitarists. Highly innovative, he had a style of three-finger playing named after him – ‘Travis picking’ – and the equally skilled Chet Atkins well acknowledged the Travis influence, although the latter modestly shrugged off ...
(Vocal duo, 1930s–40s) Contemporaries of the Delmores, Dixons and other brother acts, Homer (1912–2002) and Walter (1910–71) Callahan (professionally, Bill and Joe respectively) stood out with their duet yodelling and their fondness for bluesy themes. Starting out on radio in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1933, they recorded copiously through the 1930s, enjoying moderate ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1915–56) The Carter Family was the first vocal group to become country music stars. Consisting of A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and their sister-in-law Maybelle, The Carter Family’s simple harmonies and unique guitar-based arrangements supplanted the bluegrass-oriented ‘hillbilly’ music of rural America. The family’s sound gave new life to British and Appalachian traditionals and made ...
The Everlys were born into a country music family; Don on 1 February 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky; Phil in Chicago – where father Ike had moved to play in bands with his brothers – on 19 January 1939. The family moved to Shenandoah, Iowa, to a regular slot on a local radio station, and Ike and Margaret’s ...
The Louvin Brothers followed in the footsteps of The Blue Sky Boys, one of the most influential close-harmony groups of the 1940s, and they paved the way for The Everly Brothers, kings of the 1950s and 1960s brother harmony duos. Though The Louvin Brothers’ commercial heyday was a relatively brief half-decade in the 1950s, their powerful, ...
There is no distinct boundary line between the early and old-time country era, when the music was still relatively unshaped by the American mainstream, and the modern age, when country music’s popularity and ubiquity have made it very much a part of the mass culture. But it was in the 1920s, due to the emerging radio and ...
‘The fiddle and guitar craze is sweeping northward!’ ran Columbia Records’ ad in Talking Machine World on 15 June 1924. ‘Columbia leads with records of old-fashioned southern songs and dances. [Our] novel fiddle and guitar records, by Tanner and Puckett, won instant and widespread popularity with their tuneful harmony and sprightliness… The records of these quaint musicians which ...
The arrival of the rockabilly phenomenon in the mid-1950s can be traced back directly to the rise of Elvis Presley (1935–77) and there is no doubt that he was the dominant influence on most of the young country boys who followed him. The impact of Presley can never be overstated, but at the same time he did not materialize out ...
A slapped upright bass, twanging lead guitar and acoustic rhythm guitar; a blues structure with country and blues inflections; a strong beat and moderate-to-fast tempo; a wild, yelping, often stuttering vocal style, together with plenty of echo on the recordings are the main ingredients of rockabilly. The rockabilly style was an eclectic hybrid of R&B, hillbilly ...
Rock’n’roll did not spring fully formed from Memphis in the shape of Elvis Presley but was the coming together of several different roots musics. Country, jazz, doo-wop and the blues had all enjoyed significant audiences in their own right, and all would have a bearing on the sounds to come. The music scenes across America had been local ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.