100 Years of Country Music History
By Abby Monteil, Stacker News
On 4/10/21 at 9:00 AM EDT
Over the past century, the country music genre has become one of the most popular and recognizable within the American music industry. It first originated in the early 1900s, particularly among working-class Southern Americans. Elements of fiddle songs, ballads, banjo, jazz, and blues became entangled together, leading to its official recognition as a genre (often referred to as hillbilly music ) by the 1920s.
From there, country music grew roots in the city of Nashville, Tennessee, where the Grand Ole Opry radio and television show launched the careers of icons like Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash. It was also the place where the genre had its Big Bang moment, when talent scout Ralph Peer began to scout Southern talent and came away with legendary acts that would continue to shape the genre and put Nashville on the map as Music City.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton s legal troubles just got the ukulele treatment
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Ken Paxton s legal troubles just got the ukulele treatment. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images for SiriusXM)Kirk Irwin/Getty Images for SiriusXM
History has long been passed from generation to generation through song, and now, we have the ballad of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton s legal woes to add to our catalogs.
Texan Grace Gilker responded to a request from Marshall Project reporter Keri Blakinger for a sea shanty about Paxton on Twitter, and Gilker over-delivered.
(For those unaware, sea shanties had a big moment on TikTok. I m no expert on sea shanties by any means, but I think Gilker s composition qualifies more as a folk song. Any genre experts, feel free to weigh in.)