Country music
Country (also called “country and western”) is a type of music originating in the Southern and Southwestern United States. First produced in the 1920s, country primarily focuses on working-class Americans and blue-collar American life.
Country music is known for its ballads and dance tunes with simple form, folk lyrics, and harmonies accompanied by instruments such as banjos, fiddles, harmonicas, and many types of guitar. Though it is primarily rooted in various forms of American folk music, many other traditions (including African-American, Mexican, Irish, and Hawaiian music) have also had a formative influence on it.
The main components of the modern country music style date back to music traditions throughout the Southern United States and Southwestern United States, while its place in American popular music was established in the 1920s during the early days of music recording. According to country historian Bill C. Malone, country music was “introduced to the world as a Southern phenomenon.”
The U.S. Congress has formally recognized Bristol, Tennessee as the “Birthplace of Country Music”, based on the historic Bristol recording sessions of 1927.
The first generation of country music emerged in the 1920s, with Atlanta’s music scene playing a major role in launching country’s earliest recording artists.
During the second generation (1930s–1940s), radio became a popular source of entertainment, and shows featuring country music were started all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California.
Today, country music has a long list of famous singers that carry on its traditions, as can be seen here in the following video:
Glossary:
blue-collar: classe operaia
lyrics: testi
fiddles: violini
date back: risalire
throughout: per tutto
recording sessions: sessioni di registrazione
launching: lanciare, rilasciare
featuring: che presentavano
as far west as: fino ad ovest in
carry on: continuare un’attività
Forever Country
