In the early 1950s, the real rival to the popular music industry wasn't rhythm and blues; it was country music. Country and western began to rise in popularity when national radio networks began to broadcast "barn dance" shows featuring country music and comedy. The National Broadcasting Company picked up the largest of them all, the WSM Barn Dance, recorded live in Nashville. Its stars, Roy Acuff and Uncle Dave Macon, became national celebrities, and the barn dance acquired the name it still holds today: the Grand Ole Opry.
Country music became extremely popular during World War II. Music publishing firms like Hill & Range and the Acuff-Rose Agency set up shop in Nashville, which produced so many hit records that the disc jockey David Cobb dubbed it "Music City U.S.A." The Opry was still one of the most popular radio shows in the land, and charismatic stars like Hank Williams and Chet Atkins were attracting a new, young audience for country music; even rhythm and blues artists were recording country songs! Western swing artists like Bill Haley and the Saddlemen found that R&B audiences enjoyed their up-tempo renditions of popular blues songs, and Red Foley and Tennessee Ernie Ford managed to recast boogie-woogie as a country style. It seemed that something exciting was about to happen, even before Sam Phillips discovered Elvis Presley. On behest of the Hill & Range firm, RCA records spent an unprecedented amount to purchase Elvis's contract; they believed that Nashville was about to profit from a national country boogie-woogie craze. However, the new hybrid didn't attract mainstream country audiences, and Nashville's fortunes started to slide. The industry desperately needed songs that would appeal to both country and rock record buyers. Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, a songwriting team at the Acuff-Rose firm, had the formula.
Felice Bryant had no musical training, but had always enjoyed fitting new lyrics to her favorite songs. During WWII she met Boudleaux Bryant, a classically trained violinist who had played with the Atlanta Philharmonic before discovering he had more fun playing with jazz and country bands after hours. After they married they began writing songs that combined the syncopation of jazz and Western swing, country style guitar playing, and blues-inflected melodies. They began sending them to publishers and soon sold "Country Boy" to Little Jimmy Dickens, a new artist on the Grand Ole Opry. Dickens took the song to number seven on the charts, and the Bryants became country music's new hope.
The pair wrote more than 6000 songs; more than 1000 have been recorded to date, by artists like Roy Orbison, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bob Dylan, and Glen Campbell. Their most extensive partnership was with the Everly Brothers; the Bryants wrote all of their major hits, including "Bye, Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Suzy," and "All I have to do is dream."
|
 |
|
|
Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins
Must Haves:
 "Rocky Top" (Buck Owens)
"Love Hurts" (Roy Orbison)
"Raining in my Heart" (Buddy Holly)
"Have a Good Time" (Tony Bennett)
"Hey Joe" (Frankie Laine)
Hal David, Elvis Costello, James Taylor, Peter and Gordon
|
|
