SEARCH RESULTS FOR: honky tonk
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At least until the 1930s and 1940s the dominant themes in country music were a celebration of bedrock rural values like family, faith, fidelity and the redeeming powers of true love and honest labour. The music served as much as anything to offer listeners comfort, reassurance and a soothing sense of place and identity. But as America’s national ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

From its roots, country music has been associated with simplicity – in melody, in subject-matter and in instrumentation, and it is this that has perhaps ensured its longevity. However, all good musicians make their craft look simple, and the history of country music is packed with virtuosos, from the pioneering banjoist Earl Scruggs, through ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

Acoustic Guitar Throughout its history, the guitar has – perhaps more than any other instrument – managed to bridge the gap between the often disconnected worlds of classical, folk and popular music. Its roots go back to Babylonian times; by the 1500s it was prevalent in Spain, and is still sometimes called the Spanish guitar. Medieval versions – ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

Country music has been euphemistically called ‘white man’s blues’ or ‘the poetry of the common man’. While both descriptions have elements of truth, neither is quite accurate. It is, in fact, a broad, nebulous, over-reaching category with no exact boundaries or parameters. Over the decades country music has grown to encompass a greatly varied assortment of ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

(Vocals, songwriter, 1905–84) Born Clarence Albert Poindexter, in Troup, Texas, Dexter recorded a string of hits that were part of the early foundation of honky-tonk, including ‘Pistol Packin’ Mama’ (1944), ‘So Long Pal’ (1944), ‘Guitar Polka’ (1946), ‘Wine, Women And Song’ (1946) and ‘Honky-Tonk Blues’ (1936). Styles & Forms | War Years | Country ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1954) Aged 12, Norwegian Arly Karlsen bought his first guitar, and played with numerous bands in his native country during the 1970s, before forming The Western Swingers with Arne Løland and Liv Jurunn Heia. Their 1983 debut album, Sin Egen Stil, sold over 20,000 copies in Norway, and they ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Organ, piano, arranger, 1916–96) William Ballard Doggett was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band he led was taken over by Lucky Millinder in 1940 and Doggett stayed on as pianist and arranger. After working with the Ink Spots, he played with Louis Jordan’s band from 1947–51. He was active as a studio pianist, organist and ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

(Vocals, guitar, b. 1939) Shaver arrived in Nashville in 1968, sold songs to Kris Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall, and wrote all but one song on Waylon Jennings’ 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes. That led to Shaver’s own debut later the same year with Old Five And Dimers Like Me. Shaver had his songs recorded by Elvis ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, b. 1936) One of Nashville’s most influential producers during the 1970s and early 1980s, Alabama-born Billy Norris Sherrill started out playing piano at tent shows where his father, an evangelist minister, preached. Later, he played in local rock’n’roll and R&B bands. When he came to Nashville in 1964, Sherrill brought ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

Although Bakersfield had already played host to a number of country-music artists, it was Buck Owens (1929–2006) who not only put it on the map, but also spread its name around the world. So great was his impact, some even called it ‘Buckersfield’. The Road To Bakersfield Hailing from Sherman, Texas, and born Alvis Edgar Owens ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Vocals, b. 1927) Born in Maynardville, Tennessee, Smith’s earliest hits – including ‘Let’s Live A Little’ (1951), ‘Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way’ (1951), ‘(When You Feel Like You’re In Love) Don’t Just Stand There’ (1952) and ‘Hey Joe’ (1953) – came in the early and mid-1950s. As a singer, Smith started out in the honky-tonk ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Vocals, guitar, 1913–63) A talented Ohio-born singer and flat-top-style guitarist, Lloyd Copas was a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry from 1944 until his death in the same plane crash that killed Patsy Cline. Copas is best known for honky-tonk hits like ‘Filipino Baby’ and ‘Tragic Romance’. Styles & Forms | War Years | Country Personalities | ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Songwriter, vocals, b. 1939) Spiro, Oklahoma-born Dallas Frazier was a quintessential honky-tonk songwriter of the 1960s and 1970s. ‘If My Heart Had Windows’ (a hit for George Jones, 1967), ‘I’m So Afraid Of Losing You Again’ (Charley Pride, 1969), ‘Johnny One Time’ (Brenda Lee, 1969) and ‘What’s Your Mama’s Name’ (Tanya Tucker, 1973) are ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Vocals, songwriter, 1928–2003) The king of the country truck-driver song – a melding of honky-tonk and country rock – was born David Pedruska in Spinner, Wisconsin. He started playing guitar at the age of 11, but he really only began to focus on music after an injury put paid to a career in baseball. He rose to ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

Of all the new-traditionalist acts, Dwight Yoakam was arguably the most flamboyant, with his tight-fitting designer jeans and cowboy hat. He was also the most distinctive of those to emerge on the country scene in the mid-1980s. Yoakam was born in Pikesville, Kentucky, on 23 October 1956. He was primarily raised in Columbus, Ohio, before ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen
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