Country Meets Western CHAPTER 12

Country Meets Western Song themes evolved from country to western Country singers routinely dressed in western wear, something widely practiced today, whether or not the singer’s repertoire includes western themes These costumes, to fit Hollywood’s garish style at the time would feature sequined wagon wheels, ropes and guitars

Gene Autry – 1907 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AhpWZjqMLI “You Are My Sunshine” Native of Texas First appeared on the radio in 1930 billing himself as “Oklahoma’s Singing Cowboy” His acclaim landed him a job in Hollywood, acting and singing in westerns Starred in over 90 movies

Gene Autry experienced a huge amount of success Because of this young men looked up to him and the image he portrayed He was a symbol of the model American male Clean cut Wholesome Virtuous Virile and always triumphant in battle

Hollywood geared its western music to the broadest possible audience - was not interested in preserving or presenting “authentic” cowboy music - there was a conscious effort to smooth its twangy style through vocals and music

COWBOY HARMONY a unique musical style that developed in western movies this style can be attributed to the Sons of the Pioneers trio consisting of Bob Nolan (Canada), Tim Spencer (Missouri) and Leonard Slye (Cincinnati) their songs “Cool Water” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amDo-KqUjpA and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UiSMyyj-Ac exploited the romantic images of the western desert Slye left the group in 1937 and changed his name to Roy Rogers He went on to rival Gene Autry as America’s most popular singing cowboy

Record Labels The Great Depression had an impact on record sales Record labels began offering budget label subsidiaries to make records more accessible

X Stations OR Border Stations By placing transmitters in Mexico they were exempt from FCC (Federal Communications Commission) transmission wattage restrictions Their signals reached as far away as Canada This was a powerful vehicle for exposure of country talent as well as the commercial products that sponsored their radio performances

Because of these developments, western music increasingly asserted itself on the country music tradition The two major styles of western music that emerged during the 1930’s were western swing and honky tonk

Country Swing and Honky Tonk Western swing is an eclectic dance music that originated in Texas As southerners of Anglo-Celtic ancestry migrated westward across the US, they encountered European and African-American settlers The typical road musician was required to maintain diverse repertoires to cater to these various ethnic groups

Bob Wills – 1905 Third-generation hoedown fiddler Possessed a vast repertoire of traditional dance music Influenced by Hispanic folk music and African-American folk music (blues, jazz) As a poor, white farmer he worked side by side with blacks and knew their folkways and music firsthand

Bob Wills worked toward forming an urban style of hoedown western music The Light Crust Doughboys had a jazz rhythm section to provide a danceable beat and a white blues singer Over time Wills began to add drums and horns to his ensembles By 1940 he had added enough horns that the group was essentially a big band with a country string band Though not as polished as northeastern swing bands they were extremely versatile

Bob Wills New San Antonio Rose http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l7rLA9Jm1I World War II brought about the end of western swing - Most members were drafted Wills reorganized in 1943 with a smaller band, essentially returning to a string band format

Honky Tonk Named after the establishments in which it was heard During the height of the Great Depression, the Texas oil boom brought many rural dwellers to remote oil towns in search of work On the weekends these workers headed to the outskirts of town to drink and dance in taverns after Prohibition was repealed In these establishments, the gentle “God, mom, and home” themes of earlier country music were lost Honky Tonks were loud places and people were there to dance; to do any dancing the music needed to be heard over the noise

Themes in honky tonk lyrics took on the experiences and sentiments of the patrons They celebrated the party atmosphere of the tonks and the good times to be had The primarily fundamentalist upbringing of the performers and the audience added a counterbalance of morality This added themes of self-pity and remorse This approach seemed to offer justification by guilt to those who inhabited honky tonks and an “I told you so” righteousness to those who would not have been caught dead in those places

Ernest Tubb “Walking the Floor Over You” https://youtu.be/nWmbFXJDHrM

Austin and Outlaw Country Austin, Texas was an important country music scene - Home of the University of Texas In the 1970’s it had a thriving intellectual and highly eclectic music scene College students were both devotees of urban folk music and rock and were caught up in the fierce regional pride of their native music This fostered a club scene in which graduate students and rednecks, rockers and honky-tonkers coexisted in harmony

Outlaw Just as San Francisco spawned a counter culture in rock music in the 1960s Austin of the 1970s had its own brand of rebellious imagery It glorified the image of the ruthless western outlaw, the antithesis of the upstanding cowboys portrayed by Hollywood westerns

Characteristics of outlaw country artists Black cowboy clothes Long hair Beards Blue jeans Sneakers

Jerry Jeff Walker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcBOcwgb4OA “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother” He was an early member of the redneck rock scene

David Allen Coe had served in prison Helped his image rather than being detrimental to it Eventually moved beyond the image of a hell-raising cowboy and opted for biker clothes – a more universal outlaw character

David Allen Coe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhEHB0a7Uyg “If That Ain’t Country” The language of some of his recordings were graphic enough to limit their advertising to adult magazines

Willie Nelson Originally started out as a songwriter – these songs were popularized by other performers When he changed his image, it shocked a number of people His vocal technique is similar to jazz, as his melody is rhythmically free and floats over the steady beat of the band This was very unusual to country at the time but proved to work for him

Whereas most bands aimed for a full sounding texture, his arrangements were sparse, matching his delicate, nasal vocal style “You Were Always on My Mind” https://youtu.be/G0SJQIicpOs