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All Things Country on International Country Music Day

History

September 17, 2018

Posted on September 17, 2018June 12, 2021 by Rene Rodgers

September 17 is International Country Music Day! And while every day is “country music day” here at the Birthplace of Country Music, we thought we’d mark today in particular with a few fun facts and fancies all about this genre of music.

On This Day

On the internet, you can almost always find something interesting via the “on this day” sites, and country music is no exception. Sometimes the connections drawn feel like a stretch to mark the day as interesting. For instance, on this day in 1959, Johnny Cash made his first appearance on UK television on a show called Boy Meets Girl. And sometimes you find a connection to the day that is just a good story, like the fact that on September 17, 1977, Reba McEntire almost missed her debut performance on the Grand Ole Opry after her name was accidentally missed on the performers’ list by a security guard. However, some “on this days” give us a truly notable moment: On September 17, 1923, country legend Hank Williams was born in Alabama. Williams died young at the age of 29 in 1953, but his short life had huge impact on country music with a host of iconic and influential songs, including “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “Hey Good Lookin.'”

International Fandom

With this being International Country Music Day, it seems only natural to highlight the love of country music beyond the borders of the United States. Articles from recent years in The Tennessean and the Guardian note the increasing global popularity of country music – not just with fans but also with country singers who hail from other countries. Festivals devoted to country and bluegrass music abound abroad – for instance, the Country 2 Country Festival in the UK, which now draws over 80,000 fans, and the Takarazuka Bluegrass Festival in Japan, now in its 47th year. In 2014 the Canadian postal service released a series of stamps focused on the contributions of Canadian country music stars with stamps of Shania Twain, k. d. lang, Tommy Hunter, Hank Snow, and Renée Martel. And we we often experience that international love of country music here in Bristol where the Birthplace of Country Music Museum has seen visitors from around 45 countries since we opened!

The Long Road is a new festival in the United Kingdom, held for the first time in early September 2018. Members of our team – and three musical acts from Virginia, including Folk Soul Revival seen here – went over for this inaugural event! © Kim Davis

Storytelling

So much of country music is about storytelling from the songs themselves to the stories behind them. And that storytelling is an important facet of this blog too, giving us the chance to dig deeper into the people and the events that make our music heritage so interesting. Over the past year and a half, we’ve shared the stories of several Bristol Sessions or other old-time artists. Here are just a few of our favorites:

West Virginia Coon Hunters

Ernest Stoneman

Jimmie Rodgers (via artists who have been influenced by him)

Mother Maybelle (via her guitar)

Dixon Brothers

Clockwise from top left: Ernest Phipps posing on a rock outcrop with his first wife Minnie and a friend; Georgia Warren’s signature on the museum’s Green Board at the grand opening in 2014; Jimmie Rodgers; and Hattie Stoneman performing with her family. Top left: Donated to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum by Teresa Phipps Patierno in the memory of her grandfather, Ernest Phipps, a coal miner and Holiness preacher from Kentucky, a simple man who loved his Lord; top right: © Birthplace of Country Music; bottom right: From the John Edwards Memorial Foundation Records, #20001, Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; bottom left: Photograph courtesy of Roni Stoneman

An Animal By Any Other Name…

The common names of animals and plants – dog or daisy – aren’t their only names; they also have scientific names. These scientific names are formed within a system of binomial nomenclature using Latin grammatical forms where the first name refers to the genus and the second to the species, e.g. Homo sapiens or Tyrannosaurus rex. Now, oftentimes, these names reflect different elements related to the discovery of the animal or plant – for example, the person who discovered it, the place it was discovered, different languages, or even based on a joke or a pun. And in 2015 one creepy crawlie was named after a country music star: Aphonopelma johnnycashi. Named by arachnologist Chris Hamilton and his team, this tarantula species honored “The Man in Black” because it was found near Folsom State Prison, site of Cash’s famous “Folsom Prison Blues,” and due to its dark coloration.

A male *Aphonopelma johnnycashi*. From Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aphonopelma_johnnycashi_male.jpg

Country Music…Worth a Visit

Hopefully the few quirky and interesting highlights above stoked your interest and will lead you to explore country music more. A great place to start is obviously the Birthplace of Country Music Museum here in Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia! But, of course, there are a huge variety of sites that are important to country music history – for a start, check out this list of “14 Places Every Country Music Fan Should Visit Before They Die.” Just in this area alone there are many great ways to experience the history and sounds of country and old-time music (and the music it has influenced), from the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail with sites like the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, and the Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood, Virginia, to the Down Home in Johnson City, Tennessee and music festivals and fiddlers’ conventions such as Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, MerleFest, Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention, and FloydFest. And finally, fans can pay tribute to country music stars who have passed by visiting the cemeteries and the graves that mark their final resting place.

Kiosk with info about the music heritage of Grayson County, including text about the Carter Family. — Crooked Road Wayside Kiosk at Grayson Highlands State Park. Photo by Jonathan Romeo for The Crooked Road

Happy International Country Music Day! Enjoy!

Reading is Music to the Ears!

Education History Museum Music & Songs

September 6, 2018

Posted on September 6, 2018June 17, 2021 by Creative Energy

Each year on September 6, bookworms across America celebrate National Read A Book Day. Though this is a fine thing to celebrate, reading is, of course, important and pleasurable every day of the year. If one wants to learn more about country music history, what better place to start than with a book? While you can find all of the selections below through online sellers, these and other fine selections can also be found at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in our museum store – so stop on by and pick one up. Here are just a few of my favorites to get you started!

Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost by Tony Russell

If you want to learn more about the important players in the world of country music, Tony Russell’s Country Music Originals is a great place to start. World-renowned scholar Russell presents biographies of figures in country music from the earliest days of recordings until the late 1940s. Highlighting superstars such as Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family and celebrating obscure figures such as Bernard “Slim” Smith and John Dilleshaw, Russell provides articles that are short enough to be approachable for the casual reader, but also in depth enough to spark interest for further reading. It’s a great place to start your country music reading journey!

Don’t Give Your Heart to a Rambler: My Life with Jimmy Martin, the King of Bluegrass by Barbara Martin Stephens

While bluegrass music is widely regarded as having been born in late 1945, one could argue that the music did not achieve the “high lonesome” sound until a young guitar player and singer from Sneedville, Tennessee, joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys in late 1949. Jimmy Martin is widely regarded as “The King of Bluegrass” and is one of most charismatic and controversial figures in bluegrass. Don’t Give Your Heart To A Rambler was written by Barbara Martin Stephens, Martin’s longtime partner and the driving force behind his rise to success in the music business. Barbara spares her readers no gritty details as she gives an inside look into life with the King. Through all the abuse and hardship she suffered in her personal life, Barbara was still able to become the first female booking agent on music row. Nothing short of inspiring, this book is a must-read for all bluegrass fans and those interested in women in country music.

Dixie Dewdrop: The Uncle Dave Macon Story by Michael D. Doubler

Uncle Dave Macon is one of the most iconic figures of early country music, and his style of banjo playing and showmanship has inspired countless musicians – and so Dixie Dewdrop tells the story of one of country music’s first stars. Michael Doubler, the great-grandson of Uncle Dave, spins a narrative that ties together Uncle Dave’s personal life and the music and culture of the world in which Uncle Dave lived, giving readers a glimpse into a different side of this legendary performer. If you’re curious about this book and Uncle Dave Macon, you can join Doubler at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum at 1pm on Sunday, November 4 for a special talk and book-signing.

In Tune: Charley Patton, Jimmie Rodgers and the Roots of American Music by Ben Wynne

Before record companies began marketing music to specific audiences, music flowed across cultural lines, and the line between traditional African American and white rural music was blurred. With the wonderfully informative In Tune, Ben Wynne compares and contrasts these two giants of roots music within that context. Both men were born in Mississippi around the same time, and both passed away much too early in their musical careers and their lives, dying within a year of each other. Though from separate sides of a deeply segregated society, these men lived hard lives and had experiences that were remarkably similar. This book provides commentary on the social dynamics that shaped country music, and it gives readers a detailed look into the lives and legacies of these two important figures.

Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South by Patrick Huber

Geography and country music go hand-in-hand, and regionalisms are part of what makes early country music so diverse. Bristol with its significant music history is heralded as the “Birthplace of Country Music,” but in reality, American roots music was shaped all across the nation. Patrick Huber explores the impact of textile mills in the Piedmont region of the Carolinas in Linthead Stomp. With a high population of displaced rural southerners seeking work in the mills, a new market for early country music entertainment was opened. Rural music moving to town also changed the music, and the changes that were taking place in the 1920s and 1930s in the Piedmont set the stage for country music as we know it. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the commercialization of country music.

And finally a “special mention”: Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921–1942 by Tony Russell

All of the books previously mentioned are easily digestible reads for the casual country music fan. However, if you find yourself hungering for all the facts about early county music records, this is the book for you. Roughly the size of your local phone book and twice as dense with information, this book contains the dates, locations, and personnel of every commercial country record recorded before 1942. A must have for any diehard country music fan and connoisseur of fine shellac.

So…I’ve given you my favorites. Now tell us: what are your favorite music reads?!

From Devoted Terrier to International Icon: The Story of Nipper

History Museum

August 26, 2018

Posted on August 26, 2018June 17, 2021 by Rene Rodgers

It’s #NationalDogDay today so what better time to indulge in a little doggy detection?

If you love dogs – as I do – you can’t help but love the logo made up of a small terrier dog sitting in front of an old gramophone. As a curator at a museum focused on music history, I see this logo on a daily basis on the many Victrolas and 78s we have on display and in our collections. And so I was ready and willing to turn terrier myself and dig deep to find out more about that dog and one of the most recognizable logos in the world.

The Victor Talking Machine Company logo on one of the Victrolas in the museum’s collections. © Birthplace of Country Music; photographer: Haley Hensley

First things first: who is the dog in the logo? The pup in question was a real live dog owned by a theatrical scenic artist named Mark Barraud in Bristol, England in the late 1800s. He was called Nipper, inspired by his penchant for nipping people’s heels. Apparently, as with many terriers, Nipper was also a ratter of great success. He was devoted to his master, often following Barraud on stage for transformation scenes and when he was called to be recognized at the end of the play. After Barraud passed away, Nipper went to live with his brother Francis Barraud, a painter who lived in London.

While obviously a terrier, there has been some debate about Nipper’s exact breed. Some have identified Nipper as a Jack Russell, while others have claimed fox terrier or bull terrier. While looking much like a Jack Russell in the face, Nipper’s long legs seem to disprove that identity. The discussion has even found its way into the pages of the New Yorker and the website of the American Kennel Club, and many now agree that Nipper was actually a mixed-breed made up of the stately fox terrier and the charming bull terrier.

But how did Nipper end up as the model for the Victor logo? In the 1890s, Francis Barraud painted Nipper’s portrait with the dog looking at the horn of a cylinder phonograph, head cocked quizzically as if listening intently to whatever sound it was emitting. The painting was originally called “Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph,” but he later paired the painting with the slogan “His Master’s Voice,” the idea being that the picture showed a dog who missed his dead owner listening to a recording of his master’s voice. Indeed, there were even stories that Nipper was found atop his master’s coffin listening to his voice through a phonograph, but this is just a tall tale.

This being the era of the new technology of phonographs and gramophones, Barraud saw an opportunity and he filed a copyright on the image in February 1899. Soon after he approached the Edison-Bell Company in England to see whether they would be interested in buying the painting to use for advertising their phonograph machines, but they didn’t bite. He then went to Emile Berliner’s Gramophone Company, also in England – executives there expressed interest as long as he could replace the phonograph in the painting with one of their gramophones instead. Easily done and agreed, Barraud was paid 100 pounds sterling for the painting and the copyright, including the slogan “His Master’s Voice.”

The design of a dog listening to a gramophone, based on Francis Barraud’s painting, was soon being used to market disc gramophones by Berliner’s company in America, and it helped to launch the products of the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901. Nipper the trademark became a rallying cry for Victor quality: “Look for the dog, on the horn, on the record, on the cabinet” and “Don’t buy a record without a dog. Imitations have neither the dog nor the loud and clear tone of our records.”

Not only was Nipper seen on the company’s products, but he also adorned their letterhead and envelopes, along with a host of advertising and promotional materials. And of course, the company’s marketers quickly realized that Nipper was an image that would sell other things too. He could be found on reproductions of the paintings and on postcards, and as souvenirs such as paperweights and pen trays. He was even used in satirical cartoons and images such as “His Master’s Vice” where he sits amongst whisky bottles to highlight the dangers of alcohol. And today dedicated Nipper collectors look for his many manifestations in antique stores and on eBay, at collector’s fairs and while digging through estate sales. Indeed, there is an entire book to aid collectors in their search – Nipper Collectibles: The RCA Victor Trademark Dog (a big help in this blog post!).

Three images of small Nipper statuettes, including one beside a Victor gramophone. — A few Nipper collectibles, courtesy of Bob Bledsoe. © Birthplace of Country Music

And the painting of Nipper served as a model for other, more grandiose advertisements for the company over the years, including one of my favorites: a beautiful stained glass window from Victor’s headquarters in Camden, New Jersey, now one of the landmark objects on display in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. And even more impressive: a 28-foot tall, 4-ton Nipper can also be seen on top of a warehouse in Albany, New York.

Round stained-glass window, beautiful colors highlighting the design of the Nipper painting and with the word's His Master's Voice beneath the image. A museum label is seen in front of the window. — Stained glass window from the Victor Company building in Camden, New Jersey, showing Nipper listening to the gramophone now on display at the Smithsonian. Courtesy of Rene Rodgers

There is a long and convoluted history of the evolution of the Victor trademark bearing Nipper to the use of the logo by later iterations of the company and beyond, including RCA Victor, EMI, and HMV (standing for “His Master’s Voice”). But despite Nipper’s significance in the history of the recording industry and of advertising and branding, for me it all comes back to Nipper the dog: a dog that went from being a loyal companion to his two owners and a tenacious hunter of rats and other small beasts to an international icon, recognized the world over.

Finally, just for fun, my search for Nipper info led me to this wonderfully silly video called “Nipper Runs Amok.” Probably not the image best-suited for selling gramophones…

Fiddlers’ Conventions: Summer is the Time for Fiddlin’ Fun!

History Music & Songs

August 20, 2018

Posted on August 20, 2018October 19, 2021 by Rene Rodgers

What do you get when you mix a wide-open outdoor space with camping, musicians, spectators, dancing, ribbons, and prize money? You get a fiddlers’ convention…and that’s no joke!

A view of the Galax Fiddlers' Convention grounds from above -- showing the campground, stage, and other elements. — View of the Galax Fiddlers’ Convention grounds. Photo by Trish Kilby Fore

For those who are unfamiliar with fiddlers’ conventions, these events take place all over the United States, and there’s a hotbed of them right here in this region of northwest North Carolina, southwest Virginia, and northeast Tennessee. Basically, a fiddlers’ convention is an event that is sponsored by a community or civic group as a fundraiser for their organization. Often a convention will occur the same weekend each year, so everyone will know when it is and save the date so they can attend year after year. Lots of musicians and music lovers follow the fiddlers’ convention circuit throughout the summer, going to one every few weekends.

Camping is a big part of many fiddlers’ conventions, and the magic of sleeping under the stars amongst a group of like-minded people certainly promotes a greater sense of community among listeners and musicians. The campground is where musicians jam, learn new tunes, and practice to get ready for the upcoming contests, including individual instruments, old-time and bluegrass bands, and flatfoot dance categories. Where there is music at the campground, a good-sized audience of music lovers is sure to also gather to watch the contests, listen to the music, dance, and socialize together. Out in the field of campers is where some of the best music can be heard – an added bonus!

The convention competitions are exciting to watch and also filled with amazing music. Each on-stage contest performance is assigned a score on a numerical scale by a group of judges, all experienced musicians. The judges’ scores are averaged by the convention organizers, and the performances are ranked according to their average score. At the end of the contests on Saturday night, everyone goes to the stage for the presentation of ribbons and prize money to the winning musicians and bands who have earned the highest scores. After the contests are over and the prizes are awarded, musicians go back to their camps to continue playing, dancing, and frolicking late into the night. There’s no end to the good music!

Historically, fiddlers’ contests and conventions have been around for a long time. The print edition of the Encyclopedia of Appalachia notes that the first fiddling contest in America was held in 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia. The oldest fiddlers’ convention in this region is the Johnson County Fiddlers’ Convention, which is coming up this Friday and Saturday, August 24—25, 2018, at the Old Mill Music Park in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee. This year will be the Johnson County Fiddlers’ Convention’s 93rd anniversary!

Large group of musicians standing with their instruments in front of what looks to be a large church or civic building; the five members of The Powers Family are seen in the center of the group. — The Powers Family (center), one of the early hillbilly family bands, is seen here with a large groups of musicians at a music competition in the 1920s or 1930s. Courtesy of James Powers and Stephanie Collins

The largest fiddlers’ convention in this region is the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention, which always takes place the second week of August. The founder was Dr. W. P. Davis, who thought of the idea as a fundraiser for the Galax Moose Lodge and involved the school’s Parent Teacher Association so the school could be used for the location. The first convention was held in April of 1935; this year marked the 83rd annual convention. Since that first fiddlers’ convention, Galax has become well-known as the World Capital of Old-Time Mountain Music, and people from all over the world come to attend the convention at Galax.

Each year, I take vacation time to attend the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. It is a special time for me – some of my best musical memories and dearest friendships have been made there. The thing I love most about Galax is visiting with friends and playing music with folks that I don’t get to see on a regular basis; indeed, seeing people at Galax is similar to attending a big musical family reunion. And, of course, old-time music is dance music, and I love to see people flatfoot dancing on the small, portable dance boards they carry with them from one jam session to another. I also love meeting people and making new friends, easy to do at any fiddlers’ convention. I’m also realizing now that I’m no longer the younger generation, so I love seeing young folks becoming part of this community and playing music.

This year, my husband Kevin and I made two new friends at Galax who traveled long distances to attend the event: Ulf Lidberg and Marc Menish. Lidberg, who made the trip from Stockholm, Sweden, plays guitar, banjo and fiddle, loves old-time music, and followed the advice of a friend who told him he should come to Galax. Menish teaches Media Studies at Aoyama University in Tokyo, Japan, and he is making a documentary on the history, development, and characteristics of old-time music. When asked why he came to Galax, he said he wanted to video jams and to experience the music in an up-close and personal way – he definitely came to the right place!

Close up of Ulf Lidberg, wearing a baseball cap, playing a banjo. — Ulf Lidberg from Stockholm, Sweden, playing a fretless banjo made by Kevin Fore. Photo by Kevin Fore

In recent years, there’s been a trend to get young musicians involved in the fiddlers’ convention tradition, and so Galax begins on Monday night with a large youth competition. I think it’s an excellent way to give young musicians the experience of playing on the Galax stage and to compete against other youngsters of a similar playing ability so they don’t have to compete against adults unless they choose to do so. Winning a prize in the youth contest helps young musicians gain a sense of accomplishment and provides a lot of encouragement to continue playing music.

Two youth musicians on stage -- the one to the left on guitar, the one to the right on mandolin. — Hazel Pasley, from Sparta, North Carolina, participating in the youth guitar competition. Photo by Trish Kilby Fore

Going to the fiddlers’ conventions is one of my all-time favorite things to do as a musician. You never know who you might see or get to play with or what might happen! There’s an excitement in the summer night air that binds people together. If you’ve never been to a fiddlers’ convention, start planning to get to one as as soon as you can!