History of Country Music

Country music was one of the first genres of modern American popular music, and old-time music was its earliest style. It developed in the southeastern states of the USA as a mix of folk music from the British Isles, church music and African American blues. It was played on instruments like acoustic guitar, mandolin, autoharp, fiddle and the banjo. 


1930 - 1960

Before television, American families often sat together and listened to the radio. One of the most popular programs was a live country-music variety show called the "Grand Ole Opry". It was broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee, which had become the centre of the country-music business. Listeners heard old-time music as well as another style called Western music. This style often had horse-like clip-clop rhythms and songs about lovesick cowboys and gun-fighting outlaws. 
Western music became popular in the 1930s and 40s when singing cowboys began appearing in Hollywood cowboy movies called "Westerns". Singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers became huge country-music stars, and Nashville executives decided the cowboy image was better for country music than the hillbilly image of old-time music. They renamed the genre "Country and Western music" and began dressing their musicians in cowboy clothes. 

The Class of 1989

The list of superstars who debuted in 1989 reads like a future Country Music Hall of Fame induction class: Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, and Dwight Yoakam all scored their first country hits in 1989. They drastically altered the direction of country music by infusing a youthful vitality and rock-and-roll mentality into a genre that was quickly growing stale and predictable. The amazing Class of ’89 bridged the gap between 20th and 21st Century country music.

Some country music instruments: mandolin, guitar, banjo, dobro guitar.  

Written by: Guilherme e Maryelen do 2º de Química.

Sources:
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/music-country.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-history-of-country-music-934030