In my term paper I will examine the question “Why is Country Music in America so popular?” Therefore, I will concentrate on the development of country music from traditional folk music to commercial music. I will reflect on the influences of the immigrants who entered the USA to build a brave new world, different to the old wo rld of Europe, which they assumed to be overpopulated and morally corrupt. On the basis of several selected books and articles, like those of Bill Malone, Seymor Martin Lipset and Rachel Rubin, I will emphasize the meaning of the most traditional music of America. Analyzing changes in the musical development, I will explain them as a consequence of the country’s changing social circumstances by using the example of the Bakersfield movement in the 1930s. I will furthermore outline the most important facts and events regarding the music, including the life and work of Merle Haggard, who perfectly represented the theme of nostalgia in country music. At the end, I will emphasize the commercial aspect of country music, its Western image and the high efficiency of the Nashville music publishing industry.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Country Music
1.1 Outline of the Paper
1.2 An Overview on the Development of Country Music
2. The Term Country Music and the Content of this Genre
2.1 The Origin of Country Music
2.2 The Instruments
3. The Content of Country Music
3.1 The Meaning of Home in Country Music
3.2 The Bakersfield sound - Nostalgia in American country music
3.3 Merle Haggard – The Nostalgic Star of Bakersfield
4. Why is Country Music so Popular in America?
4.1 The Settlement of the European Immigrants in America
4.2 America’s Fear of Urbanization
4.3 Country Music as Contradiction to the Urban Development of America
5. The Commercial Factor of Country Music
5.1 The Western Image
5.2 Nashville - Music City, U.S.A.
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper examines why country music holds such enduring popularity in American society by analyzing its evolution from traditional folk roots to a commercialized genre. It explores how the music reflects the values, immigrant history, and the persistent tension between rural identity and urban development in the United States.
- The development of country music from traditional folk to commercial mainstream.
- The significance of the "home" theme as a symbol of nostalgic identity.
- The role of the Bakersfield movement as a cultural response to migration.
- How country music serves as a critique of urbanization and American social change.
- The influence of commercial factors and industry hubs like Nashville.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 The Bakersfield Sound - Nostalgia in American Country Music
The popular ‘home’ theme symbolizes a constant nostalgia in country music. Nostalgia is a whistful mood of people who mourn for the good old time, no matter whether the past was really better or not. Already in the early commercial country music of the 1920s, nostalgia was a significant element that shaped the music until today. Thus, the people in the songs of the first successful country singer Jimmie Rodgers suffer from homesickness, telling sad stories out of their lives and sorrow for their present difficult circumstances. It’s always the common people that yearn for a better life, people who live in big cities or in places which they don’t assume to be their home.
Rachel Rubin claimed in the essay “Sing me back home” that “it serves a symbolic function that has allowed the music to speak for and depict rural Americans in the urban diaspora.” (Rubin 93) But why do people live in such places? During the 1930s, millions of migrants, coming from Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, were seeking work in California. People from the rural homeland of country music, which had meanwhile turned into the so-called dust-bowl area, found jobs in the former little city Bakersfield that “developed into a statewide agricultural center and a major transportation and shipping crossroads.” (Rubin 95)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction to Country Music: This chapter outlines the paper's central research question and provides a brief historical overview of country music's development since the 17th century.
2. The Term Country Music and the Content of this Genre: This section details the origins of hillbilly music and how the influx of diverse immigrant instruments helped shape the genre's unique sound.
3. The Content of Country Music: This chapter analyzes how themes of "home," nostalgia, and the specific Bakersfield sound reflect the experiences of displaced Southerners.
4. Why is Country Music so Popular in America?: This section discusses the relationship between American ideology, the immigrant experience, and the genre's role as a counter-narrative to urban industrialization.
5. The Commercial Factor of Country Music: This chapter explores the shift toward mass-market commercialism, focusing on the Western cowboy image and the rise of Nashville as an industry hub.
6. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes how country music continues to resonate with the American spirit through its focus on freedom, independence, and family values.
Keywords
Country Music, American Culture, Nostalgia, Bakersfield Sound, Merle Haggard, Immigration, Rural Identity, Urbanization, Commercialization, Nashville, Folk Music, Hillbilly, American Ideology, Songwriting, Western Image.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper primarily investigates the reasons behind the enduring popularity of country music in the United States and its reflection of American cultural values.
Which thematic fields are central to the analysis?
Key themes include the impact of immigration, the importance of "home" and nostalgia, the conflict between rural and urban lifestyles, and the commercial evolution of the genre.
What is the primary research question?
The author addresses the fundamental question: "Why is Country Music in America so popular?"
Which scientific methods were utilized?
The paper employs a qualitative analysis of academic literature, books, and articles to trace the musical and social development of country music over time.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body examines the roots of the genre, the significance of the Bakersfield movement, the influence of commercial industry centers like Nashville, and the symbolic meaning of traditional music in modern American society.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Essential keywords include Country Music, Nostalgia, American Culture, Bakersfield Sound, and Commercialization.
How does the author describe the "Bakersfield Sound"?
The author identifies it as a direct response to the migration of Southerners to the West, characterized by a harder sound, heavy use of steel guitars, and themes reflecting the experiences of displaced workers.
What role does the concept of "home" play in country music lyrics?
The concept of "home" serves as a powerful symbol of an idealized, rural, and stable past that contrasts sharply with the challenges of modern urbanization and the realities of the Great Depression.
- Quote paper
- Juliane Hanka (Author), 2005, Country Music as Reflection on the American Culture, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/35848
