Seeking American Country Songs

Classic Representatives of American Country Music (5CD)

The five albums of American Country Music (Eternal Classics) launched by Beijing Modern Music Training Institute include almost more than 80 American country music albums. All classic and representative works in the history of country music. In order to let everyone better appreciate these five CDs, I will first briefly introduce to you the history of the development of country music and the landmark representatives in country music. .

American country music history

Jimmie Rodgers’ mixed music style, the Carter family’s traditional style, and Vernon

Dalhart’s pop style. Between these, they sketched out a sketch of country music, a uniquely American musical culture.

Their talent was aided by the climate of the times: if a large number of radio and recording products were abandoned, American-style music would be banned and not spread, and then country music would not be able to spread. Created in the 1920s.

Dalhart may have been forgotten by most people, but he was country music's first big star. Born in Marion Try Slaughter, East Texas, to a cattle ranching family, he came to New York in 1910 and found a job singing at funerals. He then took part in performances of operettas. His recording career began in 1924 with the release of “The Prisoner’s Song” and its flip side, “The Wreck of the Old 97”. His unique way of singing Southern mountain songs won over everyone and earned him his first million-seller in country music.

In search of greater success, recording companies began sending talent scouts to the south. Ralph Peer of Victor Recording Company discovered Jimmy Rodgers and the Carter family and recorded for them in Bristol and Va respectively in 1927. "These recordings are uniquely important in the history of country music." Veteran country artist Johnny Cash said.

Rodgers and Carter’s family includes A.P., his wife Sara, who has an innocent voice, and guitar master Maybelle (Sara’s cousin). They played a very important role in forming two different styles of music traditions. .

Rodgers combined the styles of blues, yodels, and folk tunes to sing about bums and longshoremen. The Carter family focuses on home, God, mother, family and faith. It uses a comfortable and harmonious style of music. Maybelle's "Carter Lick" became the most influential work in the history of country music.

Rodgers was quite popular in his day. While tuberculosis weakened him, he refused to slow down his frenzied pace of making films. He told his wife, "I want to die wearing my shoes."

For most entertainers like the Carter family, singing is just amateurish. During a break in the recording, Sara said, "We'll go home and grow cotton." To save money, A.P. printed their names on their performance posters, along with the promise "The show is guaranteed to be great," and then a lot of horizontal lines underneath. , used to fill in the date and location of the performance.

Dalhart’s popularity is declining. In the 1940s, he worked as a night waiter at a hotel in Bridgeport, Conn. until his death in 1948.

Any discussion of country music in the 1990s must begin with Garth Brooks. He was the best-selling artist in country music history and performed concerts with an exaggerated rock style.

Garth cited artists such as George Jones, pop singer James Taylor, and the charismatic rock band Kiss as influences, making his country music station's output more sophisticated and popular than ever before.

And some country artists, like Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn, have also followed suit and transformed their own performance stages into gorgeous and complex ones.

Reba was once a competitive singer, and her talent surpassed all female artists of her time. Her string of hit hits has firmly established her position in the business.

Alan Jackson is in sharp contrast to Garth Brooks. He is a neo-traditionalist (the mainstream style of country music in the 1980s). He has collected Hank Williams' knives and an old guitar of Hank's. , and of course inherited the simple but sincere feeling of his song style. People in the 1990s were also the first generation to grow up listening to rock music, which naturally affected country music. Today's country radio alternates between traditional country songs and modern country music that owes a lot more than the Carrers.

This decade is considered another high point in the development of country music, but it was not as popular as the movie "Urban Cowboy" in the 1980s. Country music seemed to be developing steadily in the 1990s. While rock music has invaded most radio stations, country radio stations have united and held their own, making it the largest radio format in the United States. According to the latest statistics from the Country Music Association, there are currently 2,105 country music stations broadcasting throughout the United States. 285 radio stations, interspersed with sports and interviews.

Brief introduction of representative country singers

John. Denver (John Denver)

John Denver

Denver’s original name was Henry John Dechtdorf Jr., who was born on December 31, 1943 in Routh, New Mexico. Will. When he was 8 years old, his grandmother gave him a Gibson guitar made in 1910. He played it very well. After studying architecture at Texas Technical College, Denver went to Los Angeles and began to engage in music.

In a recruitment process for the Chad Mitchell Trio group, he auditioned and was selected among 250 applicants. He stayed with the group for almost 4 years. In 1969, he signed with RCA Records as a solo singer and released the album "Rooted". One of the songs in the album, "Jet Plane," became the repertoire of folk singers like Peter, Paul and Mary, and topped the Billboard singles chart at the end of 1969.

In 1971, Denver made his first appearance on the Top 40 Songs chart with the album "Poetry, Prayers and Promises", ranking 15th. Before that, he had released two albums : "Take Me Until Tomorrow" and "Whose Garden Is This?" "Take Me Home, Country Road" was a hit song that Denver co-wrote with Bill Danloff and Tabbe Navitt. The record sold one million copies, and Denver entered the country charts (No. 50) and the pop charts (No. 2) for the first time. In the next album "High Rockies", Denver's singing improved again, ranking No. 4 on the 1972 charts. The title song ranked No. 9 on the pop song chart, winning the title of "pop music king". a place.

The mid-1970s were a breakthrough for Denver. It opened with the pop hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders," which quickly became his signature song. An album in mid-1974, "Home Again," also topped the charts. One of the main songs, "Annie's Song," entered the 100 most popular songs and won the first place. The title song of this album also won the country Top of the music charts.

This momentum continued into 1975, when the video "John Denver Nights" won the number one spot in both country and rock. Since then, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", "I'm Sorry", and "Carriso" have also achieved some success on the pop song charts.

His frequent activities shifted to the television entertainment industry. He hosted the "John Denver Special" in 1974 and 1975, and won the Emmy Award for Best Music Special in 1975 and 1977. In 2006, Denver successfully broke into the film industry again, in "Oh, God!" "" starring opposite George Burns.

In addition to singing, Denver is also actively involved in social work and environmental protection. He has joined organizations such as "Friends of the Earth", "World Wildlife Fund" and "The Hungry Project", and participated in the documentary "John "Denver Alaska: American Children" was filmed, and sometimes a song about environmental protection was sung in the U.S. Congress: "Going Wild".

After 1975, Denver's chart rankings declined, while his albums continued to be popular: from 1971 to 1982, his songs totaled *** Listed 15 times.

During the 1980s, Denver was more successful on the country charts than on the pop charts, and some of his major records were with others: with opera star Prado Domingo. "Maybe It's Love" was No. 59 on the pop charts in 1982; "Boundless Montana Sky", a collaboration with Emmylou Harris, was No. 14 on the Country Songs chart in 1983; He collaborated with the Neddy Grady Det Band on "So That's It", which reached No. 14 on the Country Songs Chart in 1989.

John Denver has won 21 gold record awards and 4 platinum record awards so far. He is also one of the most familiar American country singers to Chinese audiences. In October 1997, he unfortunately died in a plane crash during a flight.

Kenny. Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers was born on August 21, 1938 in Houston, Texas. While in high school, he learned guitar and violin and played in a mountain rock band called The Scholars. In 1966, he formed a band named "First Edition", which disbanded in 1972. In 1976, Rogers moved from a "hippie" style to a smooth country music path, becoming a A reformer of country music, he incorporated a large number of pop music elements into country music, making a perfect combination of the two. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Rogers was busy with charity work, concerts, TV shows, and movies. , photography and his fast food chain, etc.

Kenny Rogers has a strong voice and a free and easy expression. He loves to sing songs with a light and free rhythm and a slightly narrative tone, sometimes combining country music and urban gentleness. Rock and roll are integrated. Representative works include: "Lucille" (1977), "Lady" (1980), "Crazy" (1983), etc.

George. George strait

George Strait was born in Poteet, Texas on May 18, 1952. He was one of the most influential country singers in the 1980s.

Scott grew up on his father's ranch, sometimes helping his father with work such as fencing and herding livestock. In 1971, he began playing music. Enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Hawaii in 1973. The base commander wanted to start a military country band. This attracted him. He bought a cheap guitar and began to imitate Hank Williams' records. The band was named "Rambling Country" and often performed outside the camp.

In 1975, he returned to his hometown and entered Southwest Texas in order to meet his father's expectations. Southwest Tesxas University, while pursuing a degree in agriculture, he organized a band. In 1979, he recorded his first album on MCA Records. Since then, Scott has occupied a high position on the ranking list for a long time, topping the list nearly 30 times. By the '90s, many singers (including Garth Brooks) looked to him as a role model. Space was reticent and gave far fewer interviews than other famous singers, but in 1992 he appeared in the film Pure Country, which had four chart-topping songs. Scott was at the forefront of country music.

Scott became a focal point in country music.

His career is still developing, but he now only spends half a year recording and touring, while the rest of the time he lives in seclusion in his hometown in Texas, riding horses, hiking, and having sex with his family. Good times.

Vince. Vince Gill

Vince Gill was born on April 12, 1957 in Norman, Oklahoma, formerly known as Vince Grant Gill. ). His father was a federal judge who played the banjo. Gere began learning guitar at the age of 10 and joined a local country rock band called Mountain Smoke when he was in middle school. After graduating from high school, he received a golf scholarship to attend college in Louisville, Kentucky, and soon joined a band called the "Southern League." At this time he played mandolin, fiddle and banjo in addition to guitar.

In 1979, Gere came to Nashville and quickly became a celebrity at the music festival. In 1984, his song entered the top 40 on the country charts for the first time. Since then, his songs have continued to do well on the charts.

In the 1990s, Gere left a brilliant footprint. In addition to recording records, he was also one of the top ten stars in concerts and twice won the Country Music Association's Best Entertainer Award. He said: "I hope someone remembers me that I cared about the integrity of country music. I also like being an actor, a songwriter, and a career. In the same way, I care about history, where it started and where it goes. "

Vince Gere's representative albums include: "I Still Adore You"; he signed with Capitol Records in 1988. At the end of the year, his first album was completed and published in 1989.

Garth. Garth Brooks

Brooks became a hugely popular country singer within two years of his entry into the music scene. At the 25th Country Music Awards in 1991, he won four awards. Then he was named the Best Country Singer in 1992 and "Cross the Boundary" won the Best Pop Singer. It is unprecedented for a singer to win these two awards at the same time.

Garth Brooks' representative albums include: "Garth Brooks" (1989), "No fences" (1990), "Ropin' the wind" (1991), The chase (1992), In Pieces (1993), The Hits (1994), Fresh horses (1995).

Senia. Shania Twain

Shania Twain, born on August 28, 1965 in Ontario, Canada, is the most popular modern country music representative after Garth Brooks in the mid-1990s. singer. Tang En learned guitar, composition and singing since she was a child. In her early days, she performed in bars and clubs around the country, and occasionally appeared on local radio stations. In 1993, she released her debut album "Shania Twain". In 1996, she won the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocalist for her song "Any Man of Mine".

Although Twain has achieved outstanding results, she has often been criticized by critics because of the hard rock style in her music and because of her bold and sexy appearances on MTV. As a country singer, Twain was the first model to achieve success with sex appeal.

Shania Twain's representative songs include: "What Made You Say That" (1993), "Any Man Of Mine" (1996) , "You'ar Still The One" (1999)

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