Country Music from the 1940s Through the 1950s Changes in the Recording Industry
-In the 1930s there were basically three types of radio stations: the large networks, the network afilliates,and the idependent stations.
-Agroup called the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was in control of the song copyrights.
-At the end of the National Broadcasters Company’s contract, ASCAP wanted it renewed at the price of 9 million dollars.
-NAB ofcourse said no way and developed their own network called Broadcasters Music Inc. (BMI)
-Slowly people were signing with BMI, most important was Ralph Peer’s Southern Music Publishing.
-When the disputes were finally settled in 1941, popular music had changed drastically.
-On the tail of the broadcasting ban, the musicians’ union, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) went on strike.
-In anticipation of the strike the large companies had been stockpiling records.
-The American people were hungry for new music, so they accepted the independent stations of the majors.
-Over the span of the next few years the American public would embrace this music known as “Western.” Country Music in the World War II Years
-The American presence in World War II redefined many American’s commitment to their country.
-By 1939, the Grand Ole Opry had become the most popular and important music show on the radio.
-The four-and-a-half hour program was condensed into three hours.
-The people on the Opry were not paid very well if at all. Roy Acuff
-One of the first great “stars” of the Grand Ole Opry was a young musician from East Tennesee named Roy Acuff.
-Acuff actually wanted to be a professional baseball player, he actually went to a summer camp with the Yankees.
-His first famous son was “The Great Specked Bird.”
-Songs about trains became popularized in the music of Jimmie Rodgers.
-Since the late 1930s, it had been popular for country and hillbilly music acts.
-Acuff’s popularity grew through the war years. Fred Rose -Fred Rose began his career in music writing songs in the popular style Tin Pan Alley.
-In the 1940s, he moved to Hollywood and began writing songs for the singing cowboys, among them was Gene Autry.
-In Fred Rose’s popularity Nashville Tennesee became the country capitol. The Country Music Boom Period: 1946-1953
-By the end of the war in 1945, hillbilly music, which by this juncture had come to be called “Country and Western” was growing exponetially.
-In California, country music was gaining a widening audience, this was because of the singing cowboys and the ne nightclubs.
-One of the most influential country musicians based in California was Merle Travis.
-He envented the music style of the guitar called “Travis Picking.”
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