Now if you want to know anything about country music, just two-step over to Nashville, Tennessee, also known as Music City, U.S.A. We stayed with World Trekker Brian Wingate's family. Not only did they supply with me with a stack of books on the history of country music, but they also took Stephanie and I out for a night of live Blue Grass music. Brian's dad played us some tapes, giving us a taste of the many different varieties of country music.

That is the first lesson in country music: every decade had its own sound. So while Stephanie and I may not like the sad stories and hillbilly sounds we associate with today's radio music, I did notice we both had our feet tappin' when we went to see Hoot Hester's band playing Blue Grass music. Using fiddles, steel string guitars, accordions, stand up bass and the drums, it is music you can really dance to. That may be the second lesson: seeing Country Music live is a whole different experience than listening to it on the radio. As World Trekker Brian points out, "It's part of a tradition that makes people feel good, and that's pretty cool."

The following day Stephanie and I walked around downtown Nashville. It was there that I learned it's not called "Country-Western" music anymore. What's in a name? Apparently a lot! When country was first becoming commercial in the 1920s, it was called "Hillbilly" music. Named for the mostly illiterate and poor "mountain people" who lived in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. At another time it has been called "Country and Western" in an attempt to disassociate itself with its past image. Eventually just called "Country," I don't think it has ever truly been separated from its rural roots, which could be a big reason some of us still have a negative image of it in our minds. But country music is so much more than just that stereotype and I was determined to find out what it is that makes country music such a rich part of Americana. The Grand Ole Opry seemed a good place to start.

While we were in town, the Grand Ole Opry had returned to one of its old homes, the Ryman Auditorium, which housed the legendary music program for over 30 years. When the Opry first aired in 1925, it was the first live radio program of its kind. By the early 1940s, so many people came to see the live recordings of the Opry that they had to find a venue large enough to house them all. The Ryman Auditorium was just the place.

It turns out that the Ryman was actually built as a church in the late 1800s. Back then, Nashville wasn't known for its honky tonk music, but rather for its electric steam cars and railroads. While industry expanded and the rich prospered, saloons, gambling and prostitution took over the lower Broadway District. Preachers like Sam Jones toured the city holding revivals, where sinners could repent and save themselves from the evils of sinful, city life. Around that same time, Captain Tom Ryman (yup, they named the auditorium after him) was a prosperous riverboat captain who owned a saloon, and was known to gamble. So, if the Ryman Auditorium was built as a church, how did it come to be named after one of the sinners?

One night, Captain Ryman and his friends decided to crash one of Sam Jones' revival meetings. They set out to cause a ruckus and instead, Ryman was swept up by the revival and vowed to change his sinning ways. It is said that he went back to his saloon and dumped all of the whisky into the river so that all the fish got drunk! He also decided to build the largest Tabernacle possible so that all the people in Tennessee could hear Sam Jones preach. The Ryman opened its doors for its first revival in May of 1896. By the 1920s, plays and concerts were being performed on its stage as a way to help pay back the cost of building the auditorium. Which brings us right up to the time that country music was spreading its wings and the Grand Ole Opry was making its first appearance on the radio. It is the longest running live radio program in history and has even been broadcast internationally over the Internet. It was a place for performers to earn a name for themselves and advertise their live concerts.

Whereas nowadays we have CDs and MTV, it was records and the radio that made country music popular in the 20s. It was music that told stories and was born from the folk music of Scotch-Irish settlers who lived in the Appalachian Mountains. I have to admit that I own a Kenny Rogers CD because I love the sad stories in his songs. I spoke with George Woolfe, who has written several books on the history of country music. He explained that the voice of the country music story was made more mainstream with the advent of the traveling recording studio.

First, records were marketed to the upper middle class, but eventually, a man named Ralph Peers began traveling around the country recording Hillbilly music that appealed to the southern working class and the black audiences. He had a touring car with a recording studio set up in the back, which allowed him to travel out to the mountains and capture the music of the "mountain folk." While traveling around, Peers also discovered The Carter Family. It was the Carter Family's music that switched the emphasis of country music from Hillbilly instrumentals to more vocals and are said to have influenced such artists as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.

Unfortunately though, the record companies also were discriminatory. They segregated musicians by race. And sadly, even the Grand Ole Opry did not support black musicians. The only black artist I could dig up was a blind harmonica player, DeFord Bailey. According to Woolfe, whites recorded Hillbilly music while blacks were only allowed to record Blues music. But African-Americans still had a big influence on country music. When the record companies turned them down, they would often become teachers for white musicians. An African American artist named Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne taught country star, Hank Williams to play the guitar. Although not always visible to the public eye, blacks definitely made their mark on the birth of country music.

You may still be wondering why you should pay attention to country music. It is important to remember that country music was the voice of the working class. It told the real stories and gave musical access to people who were not apart of the wealthy elite. The Grand Ole Opry and early country musical recordings brought the experience of the common man to the forefront of what was then, pop music. There is also an important legacy that country music has left us with that may interest you. Grab your radio, CD player or MP3 and listen carefully. Without country music, the music world may never have given us Rock n' Roll! Maybe you like classic Rock like the Rolling Stones. Maybe you're a fan of pop musicians Britney Spears and N'Sync. I personally love the acoustic sounds of Tracy Chapman and the Indigo Girls. We might never have grown into these musical genres without country music. In the 30s and 40s, a time when jazz was blaring its horns, country music was giving rise to the guitar, which is pretty much the icon of rock music. Even Rap music can find some roots in the story-telling qualities of country music. Everything has a beginning, and for rock music, country was it.

If you're still feeing unsure of whether or not country music is worth your time, remember the words of country musician Hoot Hester when I asked him about liking country music. He said, Just listen to it a little bit. It's like eating olives. Roll it around in your mouth a bit. At first you might not understand it, but after a time, you'll start to like it!

Jenni Jo
(Future Country Star?)

Please email me at: jennifer@ustrek.org