Texas Country

By: Andrew Felix

Texas country music started out with the very first Texas cowboys during the times of the cattle drives.  These cowboys made music about the tough living and working conditions they faced every day.  Most of the early Texas cowboys were Hispanic, black, or Native American.  This brought a wide variety of instruments like the fiddle, mandolin, and guitar into the south. 

During the Great Depression, in the 1930s, “entertainers had to be able to perform a broad array of musical styles that would appeal to a large and diverse audience. The end result was a new type of music, known as "Texas Swing" or "Western Swing," which introduced an astounding array of musical influences into mainstream country music.”  Famous country artists like Texas natives, Bob Wills and Milton Brown did this by mixing their style of country with blues and jazz.

Later in the 1970s, “Outlaw Country” was born in Austin, Texas. Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were two of the main country artists to start this “revolution” which helped create an even bigger audience for country music. 

The 1980s were very important for Texas country music. One of the most popular country singers of all time, George Strait, started out in this decade.  “In 1981 Strait signed on with MCA Records and quickly became a country superstar. With an emphasis on western swing and back-to-basics honky-tonk, his long string of Number 1 hits, which includes "Fool Hearted Memory," "Right or Wrong," "Amarillo By Morning," "Baby Blue," and "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?," spawned legions of imitators and reawakened an interest in more traditional-sounding country music.”

            Today Texas country music is still very popular in the south especially in towns like Austin, College Station, Fort Worth, Luchenbach, and San Marcos.  Robert Earl Keen, Cory Morrow, Pat Green, and Randy Rogers are very well known Texas country singers.  Texas country artists are known for putting on great performances and there are many great dance halls and bars in Texas where you can see some of the best Texas country music singers perform live.

Gary Hartman, "COUNTRY MUSIC," Handbook of Texas Online.  Texas State Historical Association. Web. November 20, 2012. 

History of Texas Country

Country music has had several sub-genres over the years, some more popular than others. Nashville country is without a doubt the most widely listened to of these genres, but many people are beginning to discover a different genre commonly known as Texas Country or Red Dirt Music. Texas Country is becoming more widely known and quickly growing in popularity. But how did this sub-genre originate?

For that answer, we have to take a look back in the 1960s and 70s at what has been known as the Outlaw Country movement. “At the center of the outlaw movement was Willie Nelson who by 1968 had grown frustrated with Nashville's resistance to his more personal music approach”(Fabian). Willie Nelson moved to Austin, Texas where he could continue his music career in his own way, not bound by the norms of Nashville Country. Just like Nelson, another country artist, Waylon Jennings, also moved down to Texas to escape Nashville. Together, Waylon and Willie made an album called, “Wanted: The Outlaws…  The 1976 album gave a name to a country sound that rejected Nashville sweetening and took herd living, hard loving and confessional song-writing as an artistic and personal creed”(Decurtis). This was the first million selling country album. Effectively, Waylon and Willie began the Outlaw Country movement that paved the way for Texas Country.

Though this country music sub-genre derived in Texas, several artists from Oklahoma such as Cross Canadian Ragweed also had a lot of influence on its development. This Oklahoma influence is where the sub-genre got its other name – red dirt music. This term refers to the miles of red dirt that is common throughout Texas as well as Oklahoma.

A large part of the development of Texas country actually occurred right here in College Station, Texas. College Station has, and continues to be a hot spot for Texas Country artists from all around. Other cities vital to the growth of Texas Country include Austin, Houston, and Luckenbach. Waylon and Willie even wrote a song about Luckenbach, Texas.

Today, Texas Country artists are becoming more widely recognized. Though the majority of Texas Country artists have a hard time finding their way onto a predominantly Nashville Country radio, bands such as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Josh Abbot Band, Kevin Fowler, and Pat Green are making headway and expanding Texas Country to new audiences.

- By: Chase Mack

Sources:

Decurtis, Anthony. "WAYLON JENNINGS GAVE NASHVILLE ITS OUTLAW EDGE." . Rolling Stone. Web. 21 Nov 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=18&hid=25&sid=b2de6373-a831-406d-9ee1-d0b156903cbd@sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==

Fabian, Shelly. "Country 101: Different Types of Country."About.com. N.p.. Web. 20 Nov 2012. <http://countrymusic.about.com/od/history/a/country101_e.htm>.

Abernethy, Francis E. "Texas Folk and Modern Country Music." Texas Country: The Changing Rural Scene. Ed. Lich, Glene. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1986.

Texas versus Nashville Country... What's the Difference?

Country music originated in the South sometime around the 1920s. Today when you hear of Country Music, you probably imagine guitars, cowboy hats, and a bit of a twang mixed in with the vocals. However, there are many subcategories that can also be considered Country music. Two of these subcategories are what has come to be known as Texas country and Nashville country. Texas country tends to be more traditional in its sound and dance style. Nashville country however, has more of a pop or rock and roll sound to it as well.

Texas country has several names such as Red Dirt and Outlaw country. Texas country tends to have more of a small town feel to it. It often celebrates being southern and usually offers a care-free, outlaw theme. As far as instruments are concerned, there is almost always an acoustic guitar. Texas country seems to be more popular in rural and especially southern areas of the United States. Some popular Texas country artists include Willy Nelson, Buckshot Bradley, Dwight Yoakam and Charlie Robinson.

Nashville country is much less traditional than Texas country. It often mixes elements of other genres of music like Pop or Rock and Roll with the traditional country sound. Even though Nashville country also celebrates being southern and carefree, it tends to be much more mainstream. Texas country is way more based on being a ‘cowboy’ than Nashville country is. The instruments associated with Nashville country include the acoustic guitar, electric guitar and even the electric keyboard.  Some popular Nashville country artists include Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Jason Aldean.

    

 

                                                           
                                                                       Sources

Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.

Abernethy, Francis E. "Texas Folk and Modern Country Music." Texas Country: The Changing Rural Scene. Ed. Lich, Glene. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1986.

   In The Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998, ISBN 0-375-70082-X

"Country Music." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.wikipedia.org/>.

 

History of Nashville Country

        Sarah Dedmon

         Nashville country music got started at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. The Opry was a "weekly American radio program featuring live country and western music" (Grand Ole Opry, 2011). It was first broadcast in 1925 and is the nation's oldest continuous radio show. The station manage was George Dewey Hay but they called him "The Solemn Old Judge." The show was called WSM Barn Dance until 1926 and in 1930 started hiring professionals. Once this started, the Opry grew in popularity and debuted nationally on NBC in 1939. Only a year later the Opry moved to it's new, permanent home at the Ryman Auditorium where it performed live. This made it the nation's favorite radio show by the end of the 1950's. 
         As the Opry grew, so did the city of Nashville (Grand Ole Opry, 2011). It soon became America's country music capital with much help by the Opry. Many artists have come to the Ryman Auditorium to perform for the Grand Ole Opry. The show always offers the "who's who" of country music at the time. Soon the Opry became so popular they had to start charging admission for viewers and by the 1950's they offered more than just country music. It had "honky-tonk, bluegrass, crooners, comedy, even a little rock 'n' roll" (Opry Timeline, 2012). 
         Nashville itself has always been popular with tourists as well and is now known as "Music City". In an article titled "Nashville strikes new cords with visitors", Vince Gill states that "Nashville 'keeps getting better and better, but it's still got small-town charm'". As the popularity of country music grows, Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry still stay true to its southern roots. Over the years the artists have changed and even the sound of country music has changed but the values and morals of the south remain constant. 
         Now the Grand Ole Opry is a famous place where you can go see country artists perform. And for an artist, being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and being able to perform where so many other greats have performed is an honor, as you can see in the video when Carrie Underwood in inducted. 

"Grand Ole Opry." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition(2011): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.
http://www.opry.com/about/Timeline_1950.html
Kitty Bean, Yancey, @thebeankitty, and TODAY USA. "Nashville strikes new chords for visitors." USA Today n.d.:Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.