GETTING TO THE `ROOTS OF COUNTRY'.Byline: Nancy Hewitt Daily News Staff Writer Country music is America's music, reminding us of our heritage and bridging the past, the present and even the future. It is this connection that is explored in ``America's Music: The Roots of Country,'' a three-part series spanning 75 years of country music. ``It's the best journalistic piece on country music ever done. It captures the heart and soul of country,'' said singer Marty Stuart Marty Stuart (b. September 30 1958, Philadelphia, Mississippi) is an American country music singer, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music. In the early-1990s, he had a successful string of Country hits. , one of about 200 people interviewed for the series. ``We're set for the next century. New people can plug in and see where they fit in.'' The documentary was written by Robert K. Oermann, a Nashville journalist and TV personality hooked on the spirit of country music. ``This series is not a dry, historical overview,'' Oermann said. ``We paint a portrait of a culture, of styles that are still alive - vibrant, breathing styles.'' The first of three installments airs June 2 and covers country music's early years, including the singing cowboys of the American West. On June 9, Part 2 celebrates the role of honky tonk A honky tonk is a type of bar with musical entertainment common in the Southwestern and Southern United States, also called honkatonks, honkey-tonks, tonks or tunks. The term has also been attached to various styles of 20th-century American music. and the emergence of the Nashville sound The Nashville Sound (often known as Countrypolitan) arose during the late 1950s as a sub-genre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the Honky Tonk sound which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. in the 1950s and '60s. The final episode, on June 16, finds country singers returning to folk roots, and combining different styles to form today's sound. ``Everyone relates to it. ``From the Cajun culture to the Tex-Mex culture, country music is the `quilt' of all music,'' said Oermann, who has written five books on the subject. ``There's not a nickel's worth of difference between rock, blues and country. They all share the same roots,'' said Stuart, who describes his own musical style as ``hot-wired honky tonk with a bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. soul.'' According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Stuart, each generation of performer left a musical legacy to those that followed. ``Bill Monroe For the retired NBC News correspondent of the same name, see Bill Monroe (journalist). William Smith Monroe (September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American musician who developed the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his is probably, singlehandedly, the most important living creature in country music,'' Stuart said. ``He is the father of country music.'' Another mentor was Ernest Tubb, who was responsible for helping the career of Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (born Loretta Webb April 14, 1934) is an American country singer-songwriter and was one of the leading country female vocalists during the 1960s and 1970s and overall is revered as a country icon. . Jimmie Rodgers paved the way for blues-style country, and Roy Acuff's Appalachian roots helped him define a sound that was part of the Grand Ole Opry Grand Ole Opry, weekly American radio program featuring live country and western music. The nation's oldest continuous radio show, it was first broadcast in 1925 on Nashville's WSM as an amateur showcase. for 50 years. Mark Chestnutt, one of the newest of the '90s country singers, said country music appeals to more people than ever. ``Nashville opened its door a few years back, signing new acts along with its old established acts,'' he said. ``It began attracting younger audiences. Younger people didn't want to listen to the old acts because they were too corny corn·y adj. corn·i·er, corn·i·est Trite, dated, melodramatic, or mawkishly sentimental. [From corn1. , they were singers they couldn't identify with.'' Oermann recalls that singer/writer Dolly Parton par·ton n. Any of the point particles believed to be a constituent of hadrons, now known as quarks. No longer in technical use. [part(icle) + -on1.] best defines - in the series - the overall appeal of country music. ``It's music of the earth. It is somehow connected to us as a nation, as our most enduring symbol.'' Oermann maintains that country music has remained popular because it evolved with the times. During World War II, for example, country music found new audiences in other countries, helped by the hundreds of young men drafted from rural areas. ``To a man in a foxhole in Okinawa, hearing a country song means America, means home,'' Oermann said. But back in the states country music was evolving. ``Hank Williams was one of the honky tonk superstars during this era,'' Oermann said. ``Honky tonk music addressed the problems of cheating, drinking and divorce - the problems of everyday life.'' Despite country music's many contributors, the biggest helpmate help·mate n. A helper and companion, especially a spouse. [Probably alteration of helpmeet (influenced by mate1). was probably the Opry, which started in 1925 as a Barn Dance radio broadcast on Saturday nights. ``The Opry, early in its career, gave country a stage to perform on it,'' Stuart said. ``It was a place to figure itself out.'' During the past 75 years, country has changed directions many times. In the late '50s and '60s, young listeners rediscovered folk music, while mainstream listeners found the Nashville sound, a mix of honky tonk and strings. ``Nashville produced folk-oriented stars - the Johnny Cashes, the Roger Millers, the Bobby Bares,'' Oermann said. ``In the '60s, everyone came to record in Nashville - Ian and Sylvia Ian and Sylvia Tyson, CM, were a Canadian folk music duo who performed and recorded from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. Ian Tyson was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1933. In his teens he decided upon a career as a rodeo rider. , Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez - because recording there was more authentic, more earthy and honest.'' AMERICA`S MUSIC: THE ROOTS OF COUNTRY When: Part 1, 4 p.m. June 2; Part 2, 4 p.m. June 9; Part 3, 4 p.m. June 16 Network: TBS Narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. : Kris Kristofferson CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Johnny Cash, left, Suzy Bogguss and Mark Chestnutt are among the performers featured on `America's Music: The Roots of Country.' Cover design by Jon Gerung/Daily New (2) Marty Stuart joins about 200 other performers to salute 75 years of country music. |
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