The History of American Folk and Country Music

In the Appalachian Mountains, settlers from England, Scotland and Ireland kept singing their old ballads for generations. When Cecil Sharp visited the region in 1916–1918, he found English songs that had almost disappeared in England. The music also borrowed from African American traditions – the banjo, for example, has its roots in West African instruments.

Radio and records turned this rural music into a national success. In 1925, a radio show began in Nashville that later became the Grand Ole Opry, and in 1927 the famous Bristol Sessions recorded the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers – often called "the big bang of country music". In the 1930s, Woody Guthrie sang about the poor farmers of the Dust Bowl, and in the 1940s Bill Monroe created the fast, virtuoso style called bluegrass.

In the 1960s, a new folk revival began in cities such as New York. Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan used folk songs to talk about civil rights and war. Meanwhile, Nashville became "Music City", the home of the country music industry, where stars such as Dolly Parton – herself from the Tennessee mountains – became household names.