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Country & Western

audience was relatively small and regionally well-defined ... poor whites in the South, Southwest, &Midwest

Review musical characteristics on the "Converging Styles" handout
Pop - C&W - R&B

C&W was popularized by media

1925—radio program entitled "WSM Barndance"; in 1927, changed name to Grand Ol' Opry

late 1940s & early 1950s--"The Grand Ol' Opry" (WSM, Nashville); attracted more and more C&W songwriters and performers to Nashville

Eddy Arnold - Bouquet of Roses

Eddy Arnold - Anytime

- wide vocal range, from high falsetto to low bass (listen especially at 1:39)

Kitty Wells - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels

Kitty Wells - There's Poison in Your Heart

innovation—expressed intense, personal emotions with country music's plainspoken directness
father was shell-shocked in WWI (committed himself to Veteran's hospital)
mother was forced to support the family (church organist)
1937—moved to Montgomery, AL where he acquired a radio show (twice a week on WSFA)
1952—drinking got out of hand & he died of a heart attack 1/1/53

Hey Good Lookin'

Cold Cold Heart

Your Cheatin' Heart

posthumous #1 hit

Flatt & Scruggs' "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"
Patti Page's "Tennessee Waltz" (1951)
- 2-track recording harmonizing with herself