Southern Culture: Country Music - from Scots-Irish folk until the 1930s string bands

After watching RedShirtArmy's video on country music, I decided to make some videos on the history of country music.

Lots of the popular music sold as 'country' today is derided as shoddy. It wasn't always like that, and I want to show how interesting earlier country music is, and how it developed and changed.

I am not a historian at all, I'm a chemist, this is not my field.

I do feel Southern history is important, but I apologise if I have made blatant errors. It's more of a personal interpretation of the some people and events in country music history.

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This first video is about Southeastern country music, and refers to four musicians: Fiddlin' John Carson, Gid Tanner, Charlie Poole, J.E. Mainer, and Snuffy Jenkins.

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The songs I've included are samples.

The titles are:

Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers - Dixie
Fiddlin' John Carson (with Moonshine Kate) - Snowy White Wings
Charlie Poole and His North Carolina Ramblers - White House Blues
J.E Mainer and His Mountaineers - Run Mountain
The Bluesky Boys - Are You From Dixie?
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To download the J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers catalogue from 1935-1939:

http://saggyrecordcabinet.blogspot.co...

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This is the first video I've filmed. I apologise for the poor quality, especially for my voice. It is hard to hear and there's distortion and background noise when I'm speaking.
For that reason I have included closed captions to help clarify what i'm saying.

The video seems to change colors somewhat. I think the light was too low for the camera.

I hope this doesn't savage the quality too much. The technical problems are because I'm a video novice. The music quality shouldn't be too bad.

I hope you enjoy it as much as you can.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• country
• music
• southern
• culture
• heritage
• history
• old
• time
• timey
• appalachian
• string
• band
• banjo
• fiddle
• fiddlin
• John
• Carson
• Gid
• Tanner
• Charlie
• Poole
• JE
• Mainer
• Snuffy
• Jenkins

[jannyrcobs]

A very nice history of early southern music. However, one cannot deny the Welsh, English, African and French influences on the music of those days. I hope you're not a racist, because 'black folk' influenced and helped formulate country music, and 'white folk' influenced and helped formulate the blues. There's an old saying about blues being the 'the black man's country music' and country music being 'the white man's blues'. Ever notice how the 1930s are forgotten in regards to country music?

[rimidalv47]

@jannyrcobs How is he being racist?Like you said he also forgot Welsh,English and French.Why single out only Africans?I think he's mostly just focusing on the Scots-Irish influence,especially with fiddling and Appalachian folk.

[ShermanBurns]

@rimidalv47 Yep, I wanted to make a few videos on Southeastern country music. Originally I was going to stick to the Appalachian country music from Georgia.

I'd really like to do a couple of more videos on Appalachian country music, then a couple on other types of country music too.

I want to show that country music, aside from its roots in England, Ireland, Wales etc, can be a source of Southern pride, because it's often denigrated (sometimes rightly so, with what's billed as modern country)

[ShermanBurns]

@jannyrcobs Hi, thanks for the response.

I intend to make a more videos on the topic, when I have time away from the lab, and will do.

I wanted to focus on specific Appalachian country music pioneers, from the turn of the century to the start of the 1930s. Perhaps I should have mentioned the earlier influences.

I don't mean to exclude or include anyone because of race.

The next video I want to show how Appalachian music changed in the 30s and 40s - any contributions you have are most welcome

[likatyga]

From Africa Rhythm from Europe Melody. For centuries The church in europe tried to eliminate Rhythm and that still applies (Rock and Roll=Devils Music). While there was certainly melody in africa, the people chosen for slavery wher tribal and what westerners called "primitive" who tended to be steeped in Rhythm. The Banjo is both drum and stringed instrument. It's introduction gave rise to the fact that piano's guitars, mandolins, even fiddles all fit this criteria also. Hence String Band Heaven

[donkeyspamffs]

@jannyrcobs is just one of those morons who searches for "racism" behind every tree but only when a white person is involved. This is of course racist in itself and makes jannyrcobs quite the hypocrite.

[INDYOSKARS]

Nobody ever wants to point out that Charley Pride dug these "racists".

[ShermanBurns]

@cathkinghost Thanks very much