American Country Music of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
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PALACKÝ UNIVERSITY OLOMOUC FACULTY OF ARTS Department of English and American Studies Martin Hujčák AMERICAN COUNTRY MUSIC OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Master thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Jiří Flajšar, Ph.D. Olomouc 2015 UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Martin Hujčák AMERICKÁ COUNTRY HUDBA DRUHÉ POLOVINY 20. STOLETÍ Diplomová práca Vedúci práce: Mgr. Jiří Flajšar, Ph.D. Olomouc 2015 Prehlásenie Prehlasujem, ţe som diplomovú prácu na tému: American country music of the second half of the twentieth century vypracoval samostatne pod odborným dohľadom vedúceho diplomovej práce a uviedol som všetky pouţité podklady a literatúru. V Olomouci dňa……. ….……….. Podpis ……………………… Ďakujem vedúcemu mojej diplomovej práce Mgr. Jiřímu Flajšarovi, Ph.D. za uţitočné rady a pripomienky. Ďalej pánu doktorovi ďakujem za podnetné diskusie a trpezlivosť pri odpovedaní mojich otázok. V Olomouci 2.12.2015 Martin Hujčák Contents: Introduction ....................................................................................... 8 1 Country music background ............................................................... 10 1.1 American Folk music ..................................................................... 10 1.2 Society and the birth of Folk music ................................................ 11 1.3 Western music ................................................................................ 13 1.4 The beginning of commercial development ................................... 14 1.5 The national Barn Dance and the Grand Ole Opry ........................ 16 1.6 Rockabilly and its commercial success .......................................... 17 1.7 Country and controversial Rock & Roll ......................................... 19 2 Golden Age Country .......................................................................... 23 2.1 Country pop and Nashville sound .................................................. 23 2.2 Bluegrass Music ............................................................................. 26 2.3 Modern Country music of 1970s and 1980s .................................. 29 2.4 Contemporary Country music ........................................................ 32 3 American country music stars of the second half of the twentieth century ........................................................................................................ 35 3.1 Johnny Cash .................................................................................... 36 3.1.1 Summary .................................................................................. 42 3.2 Johnny Cash: song analysis ............................................................ 43 3.2.1 ―Big River‖ 1958 ...................................................................... 43 3.2.2 ―Cocaine Blues‖ 1968 ............................................................. 45 3.2.3 ―A Boy Named Sue‖ 1969 ....................................................... 47 3.3 Willie Nelson .................................................................................. 49 3.3.1 Summary .................................................................................. 56 3.4 Willie Nelson: song analysis .......................................................... 56 3.4.1 "Jimmy‘s Road‖ 1965 .............................................................. 56 3.4.2 ―On the Road Again‖ 1980 ...................................................... 58 3.4.3 ―Seven Spanish Angels‖ 1984 ................................................. 59 3.5 Shania Twain .................................................................................. 61 3.5.1 Summary .................................................................................. 68 3.6 Shania Twain: song analysis .......................................................... 68 3.6.1 ―Man, I Feel Like a Woman‖ 1997 .......................................... 68 3.6.2 ―If You Wanna Touch Her, Ask!‖ 1997 ................................. 70 3.6.3 ―That Don't Impress Me Much‖ 1998 ...................................... 72 4 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 74 Resumé .............................................................................................. 77 Bibliography ..................................................................................... 82 Appendix ........................................................................................... 85 Introduction The aim of this thesis is to explore the establishment of American country music of the second half of the twentieth century. The main focus includes the following country musicians: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Shania Twain. This thesis will commence with the historical overview of early country music in the United States and its effect on the audience. In addition, this chapter also examines particular music subgenres of American country music. Regarding the development of early country music, the music instrumentation and popular culture elements will be covered. The reasons why country music started to flourish will be inspected as well. The following chapter of the thesis will focus on the beginning of a new era in country music. It will also concentrate on country music transformation over the years. Moreover, the thesis will highlight the commercial element that is an integral part of American country music which helped this music to spread to every corner of America. The final subchapter will deal with contemporary country music formation as well as associations that were established to promote and retain this music genre. Thereafter, the thesis will concentrate on the chosen country music practitioners: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Shania Twain. Each chapter about one of these country stars will present a precise information about their career and personal life events. It is known that these country musicians started their career thanks to other influential people and particular recording labels as well. This thesis will offer a chronological prospect of the selected musicians, their achievements and falls both in professional and personal life. Regarding the selected stars, all three practitioners were given approximately the same length of the thesis owing to their immense contribution to country music genre and culture. The chapters will mainly deal with a personal biography of each musician and his/her role as a singer in American country music sphere. At the end of each chapter there is a brief summary. The two theoretical chapters focused on these musicians are followed by the study of their music production. The analysed songs will be selected in order to demonstrate country music development process in American culture from the 1950s up to the millennium. The main aim of the song analysis is to portrait how country music themes evolved within the given time period. The study will primarily consist of my personal ideas, thoughts 8 and secondary literature with respect to the theoretical part of the thesis and also my music experience. Finally, the outcome of important facts will be summarized in the conclusion. 9 1 Country music background 1.1 American Folk music Music is a harmony of instruments, notes, scales, rhythm, bass and melody. It is a phenomenon that people respond to. More often than not, people enjoy it as much as any spectacle, as it leaves a lasting good sensation. It stirs emotions that affect the minds and sometimes makes people want to dance.1 We listen to music which has an aesthetic value and it is an essential part of human life. Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form.2 American folk music is a term which is widely spread and it is many times seemingly understood as a kind of music belonging to a particular ethnic, historical or regional group. The musical instruments which are associated with American folk music are the acoustic ones and they vary according to the country and geographical region. The most frequently used instruments include acoustic guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, autoharp, accordion and violin. The term folk music is derived from a term stemming from the realm of cultural studies. ― ‖Folk‖ is essentially a constructed term, a European invention of the industrial era.‖3 From the 8th century ―folk‖ was considered by scholars as a lower class or ordinary people, stigmatized according to their otherness. It was also associated with the society which was reluctant to change their habits and customs due to the dynamic and advanced industrialised world that surrounded them. These definitions of ―folk‖ continued through the nineteenth and twentieth century. In the second half of the twentieth century; the so called ―popularisers‖ claimed that songs based on traditions of particular cultures must be performed only by interpreters originating from the same cultural background as the music. American folk music always originates from the identifiable community such as coal miners or Native Americans. These communities are spread through America and they can easily be characterized by their ethnic identity, 1 Philip Dorrell, What Is Music?: Solving a Scientific Mystery (Raleigh: Lulu.com, 2005), 19. 2 Derek Watson, Wordsworth