Music – Its role in KY Heritage Music speaks an emotional language to share collective life experiences of our past & present. We may read historical accounts of our ancestors, but the sounds, rhythms and/or lyrics of music trigger feelings of personal connection to our people and their lives at a particular time and place. There are unique musical genres that are distinctly Kentucky and form the foundation for a powerful cultural heritage spoken through song.

Ballads & Folk Songs Kentucky settlers in the late 1700’s were predominately pushing west from Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania into the Appalachian Mountains and beyond. Folk songs, music of the people, provided a bonding sense of identity, an outlet for physical and emotional release and a means for individual creativity. The fiddle – a treasure possession crossing the Atlantic - was the predominate instrument of musical expression predominately played by men. Clyde Davenport [Photograph]. (n.d.). MSU special collections and the Women, often barred by local customs Kentucky Center for Traditional Music., Special Collections and Archives at from playing more raucous Morehead St. University. instruments like banjo or the fiddle, preferred to sing. Ballads were often passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Most used the high lonesome vocal sound - a tight voice and high shrill tone- often mimicking the instrumental bagpipe of the Scottish Highlands. When Appalachian settlers sang songs based on their memories of their “old countries” (England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, etc), they often sang very long ballads. A Ballad is a long impersonal narrative song. Ballads tell stories of lost love, tragic death, dying children, crimes (especially murders) sailors lost at sea, the struggles of economic hardship and other newsworthy events. Examples include ‘Loving Nancy’, by Betty Garland or a famous riddle ballad, ‘Bold Robington’s Courtship’ by Logan English., where an older poetic riddle story has been adapted to song. Ballads from the British Isles represent some of the earliest and most substantial building blocks to later country music The Late 1880s found many English & Scottish popular ballads, with preserved ancient Celtic poetry lyrics, still sung the same as ancestors. ‘Barbara Allen’ is one of the oldest popular ballads brought by early settlers and faithfully sung with creative twists. Italian, Spanish or other eastern European immigrants following the railroads, mining and logging industries also infused different ethnic musical styles into Anglo American ballads. Ballads were traditionally sung by only vocals or accompanied with simple instruments, such as the fiddle brought across the Atlantic. Later the banjo was introduced by both slaves and free African American minstrels. The dulcimer, so often associated with Appalachian ballads, was a much more obscure instrument, predating the piano, with later importance and recognition. “Born in Old Kentucky” by Logan English delivers a traditional mountain ballad, with a pure banjo accompaniment.

African American Blues Kentucky cultural heritage is rooted in the land and a rural lifestyle. Slavery in the agrarian system prior to the Civil War and Reconstruction migration of free black population into rural Kentucky, brought a cultural mingling where shared hardship of rural life was musically expressed. This became widespread when industrial expansion, including railways and mining, as well as expansion of the farm tenant system, brought new job opportunities. Both poor whites and blacks shared poverty, pain and social exclusion during the bleak economic times of the late 19th century. Blacks & Whites had long mingled since the first settlements and absorbed much from each other across racial barriers. In Kentucky, social interaction was much closer. White farmers worked side by side with black farmers in fields, [A Black Banjo Player with Wooden Leg]. (n.d.). as both land tenants & owners. White immigrants and southern Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_black_ban blacks lived together in coal mining or railroad camps. The jo_player_with_a_wooden_leg._Photograph,_c a._1865_Wellcome_L0030740.jpg children of these families played together, with families often entertaining themselves on front porches with impromptu jam Library reference: ICV No 51428; Photo number: L0030740 Full Bibliographic Record: sessions during leisure time. Food & Music became a common http://catalogue.wellcomelibrary.org/record=b 1527805 body of shared culture across the races. The unique merger of mountain ballads and African blues brought a clear glimpse into the soul of rural Kentucky, especially in the Appalachian mountain communities. Traditional ballads from the British Isles, fiercely retained in the Appalachian Mountains, were sung in the white culture with ‘high lonesome sound’ – higher in the throat with a strict, methodical rhythms. The African American culture took the same folk songs, and delivered with a more emotional style, singing fuller, more open throated with soulful vocal expression. Free moving rhythms were added to create a musical style commonly called “blues” music. Black musicians introduced new instruments such as the banjo, which added dimension to fiddle accompaniment. They also added unusual chord progressions and minor ‘blues’ notes with different strumming patterns. White rural musicians exhibited a fondness of the freedom of black music and embraced this more interesting style into their own delivery of traditional ballads that lamented hardship on farms, rivers, mines or railroads. Examples include “Harlan County Blues by George Davis or “Red River Blues” by Lesley Riddle or “Rappahannock Blues” by John Jackson.

Spiritual & Gospel In the early and again in the late 1800s, huge outdoor revival awakenings, often called brush arbor or ‘camp meetings’ began in Kentucky and spread throughout the South with lasting Binns, S. (2000). A Shape Note Singing Lesson [Smithsonian in your Classroom]. cultural influence. Evangelists conducted major campaigns for souls and the ‘taming’ of southern men to curb passion, divert sinful ways, and to civilize them. The Scot-Irish passion for fiddle, dance and the bottle was to be balanced by an understanding that God would met out the ultimate reward or punishment. After the Civil War, folk religious music evolved with flourish, with popular tunes paired with new spiritual lyrics. “Wondorous Love”, an 1811 folk ballad, sung by Andrew Rowan Summers, is one example. Sight reading or Shape note singing, emerged in Kentucky during each great revival awakening, with more emotion in the latter part of the century. Allen County’s Tabernacle and Nashville’s the Union Gospel Tabernacle, later renamed the Ryman Auditorium, are examples of late 19th century /early 20th century religious revival and singing school sites. Singing schools taught a simplified New England system of reading notated music. Four or seven syllable sounds were paired with individual note shapes to indicate how each voice would sing musical melodies with harmonies. Singings schools, with dinner on the grounds, were extremely popular and special occasions. Teachers became regional legends, often viewed just a notch below God. Songbooks such as Kentucky Harmony (published in 1816), Sacred Harmony or the Sacred Harp songbooks were published to use in instruction and services. In early days, vocals were unaccompanied by instruments. “Traveling On” by Sacred Harp singers, uses four part, music syllable sounds, rather than lyrics, to emotionally express religious piety. In the early 1800s, Slaves frequently attended religious revivals and while they were typically segregated from whites in services, their musical style was recognized and admired. Both black and white cultures used music to emotionally express a closer relationsh8p with God and give a glimpse into the soul of rural Kentucky. While the lifestyles of the two cultures remained deeply separated, the two cultures’ religious music began to show a much closer relationship The African blues style was fully embraced in religious music. Traditional hymns and black spirituals merged into gospel hymns by the late 1880s, combining elements of the older four part shape note harmony singing as well as the more emotional blues style. “Old Time Religion” by Ella Jenkins shows the pure blues delivery style for a more emotional expression of personal religious experience. The Carter Family’s version of “Lonesome Valley” takes an old southern black song and delivers it instrumentally and vocally in the White Mountain tradition. The four part gospel singing style emerged as gospel quartet music, extremely popular in south central Kentucky.

Bluegrass Music A unique Kentucky musical style emerged in the Early 20th century that combined southern string bands – using new Spanish & Italian mandolins and guitars with traditional fiddle & banjo – rhythm & blues, sacred gospel hymns and folk ballads into what became known as Bluegrass. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Spanish and Italian immigrants arrived in eastern Kentucky to find work in the railroads, coal camps or other stone work. They brought new instruments (guitar & mandolin) to Band [Photograph]. (n.d.). UK Special Collections Research Center, Lexington. couple with the traditional African American banjo & Anglo fiddle for making music to tell their stories of hardship in an unfamiliar place. Mail order catalogs (such as Sears & Roebuck) at the turn of the century made guitars (the poor man’s piano), mandolins or cheap harmonicas readily available to mass audiences throughout rural Kentucky for musical expression of religious experience, economic hardship or lost love. Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys are credited with inventing the bluegrass music and string bank styles as heard in the “Kentucky Waltz”. Almost every early bluegrass style singer initially learned to sing in four part harmony at rural singing schools and would include ballads, hymns or spirituals as sacred music in any performance – whether that was on the front porch, gatherings under shade trees, community socials or later live radio or stage performances. Will the Circle Be Unbroken, by the Country Gentlemen and “Are you Washed in the Blood” by Red Allen, provide excellent examples of the bluegrass delivery style of old sacred hymns.

Country Music Country music did not exist prior to the 1920s, as it is a commercial art form emerging when traditional rural music met the new technologies of phonographs and radio. The ‘old songs’, recognized and sung by generations, were broadcast into the most isolated homes by regional radio stations such as WHAS in Louisville, WSM in Nashville or even WLS in Chicago. Regional singers & musicians performing ‘old time’ songs were turned into celebrities with live radio performances or selling records through paid venue performances. Kentucky’s rich mecca of musicians, such as the Carter Family , Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys, Merle Travis, Grandpa Jones, the Rambos, Lonzo and Oscar, Loretta Lynn, Jean Ritchie, Ricky Skaggs and many more have continued to advance traditional Kentucky music into the 21st century with new, modern artists.

Summary

These historic musical genres are only part of Kentucky’s rich cultural heritage. Further appreciation and introduction to other styles and famous musicians can be found at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Museum. Located in scenic Renfro Valley, the Museum provides exhibits that range from artifacts centuries old to the memorabilia of today’s artists. Some exhibits convey the excitement of a musical movement or event, while some take you to back to a place in time where life was more simple and reflective. Music is a universal language that tells our stories and emotionally connects us to our shared life experiences. We can especially explore Kentucky’s cultural heritage through our rich musical traditions. Whether we experience ballads, blues, bluegrass or new country, our music offers a glimpse into the past and connects us to our people and our place, building pride in our cultural traditions.

Fact Sheet adapted by: Janet Johnson, Allen County Extension Agent- Family and Consumer Sciences

References:

Barton, S., MURP. (2016, July 20). Appalachian Heritage Project [E-mail interview]. Appalachian Studies Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Appalachian Studies Association. K-12 Educational Resources for Teaching Appalachian Topics. Accessed July 22, 2016 at http://appalachianstudies.org/resources/k12.php

Kentucky Digital Library. Accessed August 4, 2016 at http://kdl.kyvl.org/

Kingsbury. P. & Nash, A. Ed. (2006). Country Music Foundation. Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music In America. Dorling Kindersley. London, England.

Montell, W. L. (1991). Singing the Glory Down. Amateur Gospel Music in South Central Kentucky, 1900-1991. University of Kentucky Press. Lexington, KY.

Wolfe, C. K. (1982). Kentucky Country. University of Kentucky Press. Lexington, KY.

Smithsonian Institution Folkways Media Collection. Accessed July 7, 2016 at http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org

Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Museum. Accessed August 4th, 2016 at http://www.kentuckymusicmuseum.com/

Photograph References:

Clyde Davenport [Photograph]. (n.d.). MSU special collections and the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music., Special Collections and Archives at Morehead St. University.

[A Black Banjo Player with Wooden Leg]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_black_banjo_player_with_a_wooden_leg._Photograph,_ca._1865_Wellcome_L0030740.jpg Library reference: ICV No 51428; Photo number: L0030740 Full Bibliographic Record: http://catalogue.wellcomelibrary.org/record=b1527805

Binns, S. (2000). A Shape Note Singing Lesson [Smithsonian in your Classroom].

Band [Photograph]. (n.d.). UK Special Collections Research Center, Lexington