The Music of East Tennessee has a rich history, and played a major role in the development of modern country and bluegrass music. [1] [2] [3] [4] Bristol, known as "the birthplace of country music", [5] [6] (and home of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum), [7] [8] and Johnson City, notable for the Johnson City recording sessions, are both towns in the Tri-Cities region of East Tennessee. The music of East Tennessee is defined by country, gospel, and bluegrass artists, and has roots in Appalachian folk music.
Pioneer settlers of the Great Smoky Mountains created old-time music ballads, before their relocation, by the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. [9] [10] To help celebrate this heritage, Townsend, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and other locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, host annual festivals, some of which feature folk and bluegrass music. [11] The Great Smoky Mountains Association also promotes events with mountain music, and has released several award-winning albums, including: Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music, Old-Time Bluegrass from the Great Smoky Mountains, On Top of Old Smoky, and Big Bend Killing. [12] [13] The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, in Townsend, also helps to preserve this pioneer cultural history. In addition, the Museum of Appalachia, in Norris, hosts occasional folk music performances.
In May 1925, the now-legendary Fiddlers' Convention was held in Mountain City. Pioneering fiddler G. B. Grayson won first prize for his rendering of the folk song, "Cumberland Gap", besting rivals Ambrose G. "Uncle Am" Stuart, Charlie Bowman, and Fiddlin' John Carson. [14] [15] [16]
The song was named for Cumberland Gap, a narrow pass through the Cumberland Mountains, which was explored by Daniel Boone in the 1770s, as he blazed the Wilderness Road. In recognition of this heritage, the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, hosts the monthly "Cumberland Mountain Music Show", with live gospel, bluegrass, and country music. [17]
To commemorate the Mountain City Fiddlers' Convention, the nearby community of Laurel Bloomery hosts the annual Old Time Fiddler's Convention. The event is held every summer, at the town's Old Mill Music Park. Area musicians travel to attend this festival, which features old-time folk and bluegrass music. [18] [19]
The Bristol recording sessions, held in 1927, have been called by some the "Big Bang" of modern country music. [20] They helped launch the careers of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, among others. In 1998, the U.S. Congress formally recognized Bristol as the "Birthplace of Country Music", [21] and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum opened in 2014.
Though less-known than the Bristol sessions, the Johnson City sessions, of 1928 and 1929, also played a significant role in helping to popularize country and bluegrass music. Some recordings from the Johnson City sessions influenced such later musicians as Bob Dylan and Doc Watson. [22] [23]
In 1929 and 1930, a series of recording sessions was held in Knoxville. Some historians say that these, also, influenced early country music. The sessions are documented at the East Tennessee Historical Society's East Tennessee History Center, which is also located in Knoxville. [24] [25]
The Oak Ridge Boys, of Oak Ridge, are one of the oldest and best-known musical acts from East Tennessee. Since the 1940s, they have sung country and southern gospel music hits. [26]
Dolly Parton, from Sevierville, is a country and gospel music legend. Her theme park, Dollywood (located in nearby Pigeon Forge), features live music performances, and is home to the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame. Parton's western-themed Dolly Parton's Stampede, a dinner theater restaurant (also in Pigeon Forge), has daily shows as well.
The Country Tonite Theater, in Pigeon Forge, has operated since 1996. Its award-winning shows have included performers such as Loretta Lynn, Brenda Lee, and The Bellamy Brothers. [27] [28]
Places in East Tennessee have been the inspiration for many songs. Perhaps the most well-known is Rocky Top. Released by the Osbourne Brothers in 1967, it is one of the ten state songs of Tennessee. [29] Though often performed at Tennessee Volunteers football games, it is not the official fight song of the University of Tennessee (Down the Field). In addition, Rocky Top, Tennessee is now a town, northwest of Knoxville, which changed its name from Lake City in 2014.
Ronnie Milsap's 1980 song, Smoky Mountain Rain, is also one of Tennessee's state songs. Dolly Parton's hit, My Tennessee Mountain Home, served as the centerpiece of her 1973 album, My Tennessee Mountain Home . Parton also reminisced on her rural childhood in her 1984 song, Tennessee Homesick Blues.
East Tennessee Blues, written in 1926 by Charlie Bowman, (from Gray), continues to be a popular bluegrass song.
Please Come to Boston, recorded and written in 1974 by Dave Loggins, has been covered by many artists, including David Allan Coe and Joan Baez. The song concludes with the line, "I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee." Loggins, born in Mountain City in 1947, is the second cousin of singer Kenny Loggins.
Chattanooga Choo Choo, originally published in 1941, tells the story of a train trip to Chattanooga. In 1957, the British musician Lonnie Donegan had a No. 1 UK hit with a skiffle version of "Cumberland Gap". [30] In addition, Dixieland Delight, released by Alabama in 1983, was inspired by a highway drive through Rutledge, Tennessee.
The Ballad of Davy Crockett helped to popularize the 1955 film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier . First recorded and introduced on the television series Disneyland in 1954, it has been covered by a number of artists, most notably Tennessee Ernie Ford. The song's lyrics say Crockett was "born on a mountaintop in Tennessee", but his actual birthplace was Limestone, Tennessee, the home of Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park. [31] In addition to his renowned frontier exploits and military service, Crockett served East Tennessee as a state legislator and Congressman.
The folk hero Daniel Boone, who helped explore East Tennessee, was honored in the soundtrack for the television series Daniel Boone, which ran from 1964 until 1970. [32] [33] [34] The last of three versions of the theme song was sung by The Imperials, a Grammy-winning Christian music group. [35] [36]
Ruby Falls, a waterfall inside the Lookout Mountain Caverns, has inspired multiple songs. Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison wrote and recorded the song "See Ruby Falls", on Cash's 1970 album Hello, I'm Johnny Cash . Country artist Ray Stevens also included a song named "Ruby Falls" on his 2011 album, Bozos's Back Again . [37]
Country superstar Kenny Chesney, (originally from Luttrell), has described scenery from his East Tennessee youth in many of his songs, especially I Go Back. Chesney also includes imagery from the area in songs such as Back Where I Come From, (performed at many of his concerts), [38] and The Boys of Fall, [39] as well as "Touchdown, Tennessee", a limited-edition single, which was released in 1998. [40]
East Tennessee has an impressive number of museums, which comprehensively document the region's contributions to country and bluegrass music:
The music of East Tennessee is celebrated throughout the region at annual festivals. [41] [42] The Museum of Appalachia hosts the Tennessee Fall Homecoming each October. The four-day event has featured headliners such as Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Janette Carter, and Rhonda Vincent. The Kingsport "Fun Fest" is held each July, and has included Charlie Daniels, as well as The Newsboys, among others. [43] [44] Heritage Days, a street festival event, is hosted each October, in Rogersville. [45] The Shady Valley Cranberry Festival, also in October, has live country, bluegrass and gospel entertainment. [46] [47] [48]
East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, is the only four-year university in the world with a comprehensive bluegrass music program. [49] The program includes faculty members who have worked with major recording artists, such as Kenny Chesney (an ETSU alumnus). [50] [51]
Artists from East Tennessee, such as Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Atkins, Morgan Wallen and Ashley Monroe, continue to help define the country music industry. Greeneville is home to The Band Perry, [52] also features occasional performances by the group. [53]
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily for her decades-long career in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly, which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s, before her sales and chart peak arrived during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Some of Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.
Sevier County is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,380. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville. Sevier County comprises the Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN Combined Statistical Area.
Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 6,343. Situated just 5 miles (8 km) north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge is a tourist destination that caters primarily to Southern culture and country music fans. The city's attractions include Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country, WonderWorks, Alcatraz East Crime Museum, Dolly Parton's Stampede, as well as numerous gift shops, outlet malls, amusement rides, and musical theaters.
Sevierville is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, United States, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census.
Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. It has won many international awards.
The Bristol Sessions were a series of recording sessions held in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, considered by some as the "Big Bang" of modern country music. The recordings were made by Victor Talking Machine Company producer Ralph Peer. Bristol was one of the stops on a two-month, $60,000 trip that took Peer through several major southern cities and yielded important recordings of blues, ragtime, gospel, ballads, topical songs, and string bands. The Bristol Sessions marked the commercial debuts of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. As a result of the influence of these recording sessions, Bristol has been called the "birthplace of country music". Since 2014, the town has been home to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles, and to a lesser extent the music of Continental Europe.
Dollywood's Splash Country is a 35-acre (14 ha) water park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, adjacent to the Dollywood theme park. The park's central theme rests around entertainer Dolly Parton's childhood swimming in the rivers of the Great Smoky Mountains. Dollywood's Splash Country operates from May through September.
Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label.
The Dollywood Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Dolly Parton, with headquarters in Sevierville, Tennessee. Shortly after the opening of the Dollywood theme park in 1986, the Dollywood Foundation was created in April 1988, and began by offering scholarships to local high school students. From there it grew into the Imagination Library, started in 1995, which distributes free books to children monthly, up until the age of 5. The Dollywood Foundation grew again into the My People Fund, which started in 2016 after wildfires ripped through Tennessee. The current President of the Dollywood Company is Craig Ross. Today, the foundation continues to grant scholarships and awards, and provides support to numerous non-profit organizations that aim to improve the quality of life of children and others in need.
Terry Lee McMillan was an American country music singer, harmonica player, and percussionist. In 1973, he became a member of Eddy Raven's band in Nashville, and worked with Raven until 1974. McMillan then started working with Chet Atkins, playing harmonica with his touring show. Later, he toured with Jerry Reed and Jeannie C. Riley before becoming a very in-demand session musician. In the 1970s, McMillan appeared on many albums, including the recordings of Mickey Newbury and Gary Stewart. He was also featured many times on Trinity Broadcasting in the 1990s.
The Grascals are a six-piece American bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in February 2004, the band has gained a level of fame by playing on the Grand Ole Opry and bluegrass festivals around the country, as well as with Dolly Parton.
Carl Eugene Jackson is an American country and bluegrass musician. Jackson's first Grammy was awarded in 1992 for his duet album with John Starling titled "Spring Training." In 2003 Jackson produced the Grammy Award-winning CD titled Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers – a tribute to Ira and Charlie Louvin. He also recorded one of the songs on the CD, a collection of duets featuring such artists as James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, and others.
The Chasing RainbowsMuseum was a museum based on the country music singer Dolly Parton. It is located in the Dollywood theme park, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States.
WSEV operates as Sevierville, Tennessee's first and only local AM radio station. While other stations are licensed to Sevierville, their studios are based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
"Cumberland Gap" is an Appalachian folk song that likely dates to the latter half of the 19th century and was first recorded in 1924. The song is typically played on banjo or fiddle, and well-known versions of the song include instrumental versions as well as versions with lyrics. A version of the song appeared in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by folk song collector John Lomax. Woody Guthrie recorded a version of the song at his Folkways sessions in the mid-1940s, and the song saw a resurgence in popularity with the rise of bluegrass and the American folk music revival in the 1950s. In 1957, the British musician Lonnie Donegan had a No. 1 UK hit with a skiffle version of "Cumberland Gap".
Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited is a double-CD produced by Grammy Award-winner Carl Jackson, a Bluegrass and country music artist, as a benefit for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Tennessee. The project was conceived by executive producer Rusty Morrell, a Bristol native who was well acquainted with the story of the historic 1927 Bristol Sessions and imagined a modern tribute to the sessions that have been dubbed the "big bang" of country music. The project includes 37 tracks - 18 songs and 19 spoken word tracks that provide context. WSM disc jockey and country music historian Eddie Stubbs narrates the project, and a who's who of country artists recorded the new versions of the old classics. Jackson recorded the album between 2013 and 2015. It was released by Sony Legacy Recordings on May 12, 2015.
The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. Some of the towns most impacted were Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, both near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fires claimed at least 14 lives, injured 190, and is one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.
The Mountain City Fiddlers Convention was held in the East Tennessee town of Mountain City, in May 1925. The gathering was attended by many acclaimed Appalachian musicians, and pioneers of bluegrass and country music, such as G. B. Grayson, Charlie Bowman, and Al Hopkins. The contest helped to define the music of East Tennessee, and along with the Bristol recording sessions of 1927, and the Johnson City sessions of 1928 and 1929, it is regarded as one of the events which helped to launch the modern country music industry.
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