Happy New Year, 2023!

2022 was the 100th anniversary of the first country music on the radio and the 100th anniversary of country recordings by Eck Robertson and Henry C. Gilliland, as well as lesser-known artists like William B. Houchens. I turned 50 in 2022, but it boggles my mind to realize that I’ve been around for half of the “country music timeline.”

It’s unsurprising that I don’t feel any connection to the young artists who largely dominate country radio, streaming, and social media. I long ago felt that I had “aged out” from mainstream radio, but streaming and social media favor an even younger demographic than radio. I see no point in even attempting to keep up with a bunch of acts half my age, and that’s just as true of the “indie scene” as it is the mainstream. I don’t fit with the “country music is dead” crypt keepers who attack everyone born after 1950, either. I’ve never really fit anywhere, anyway.

I’ll probably continue to post occasionally, as I did in 2022. I do still go to some shows. Over Christmas break, I saw Grammy-winning zydeco artist Chubby Carrier and I saw Nathan Best, who won a Grammy for his part on the “O Brother” soundtrack. Neither is a “country artist,” but both were very enjoyable.

I hope to see a good variety of music in Texas this year, plus I plan to visit Nashville a couple of times, and I plan to see at least one concert in Oklahoma.

One can argue whether the country music industry timeline began in 1922 or even earlier, but certainly 1923 is the year when it really took off. Artists such as Fiddlin’ John Carson, Henry Whitter, Wendell Hall, John Baltzell, and Jasper Bisbee are featured on my playlist, 1923 Country Music:

Best wishes to all of you for the new year. As always, enjoy the music!

December 27, 2022 Over 100 Years of Country Music

As 2022 comes to a close, I’ll remind everyone that the commonly accepted “country music industry timeline” began in 1922 with the recordings by Eck Robertson and Henry C. Gilliland. The first country music on radio was also in 1922 with Fiddlin’ John Carson in Atlanta. Why was there no major celebration of 100 years of country music? The artists I mentioned aren’t in the CMHOF, either.

Of course, music didn’t begin in the 1920s, and rural-themed songs have been known for a very long time. You can find published works of country dance music in Europe from the 1600s, and folk and religious music even earlier. In the US, there are published fiddle tunes from the late 1700s, but especially noteworthy is Knauff’s Virginia Reels in 1839 (see Bluegrass Messengers article), which specifically covered southern tunes, many of which were recorded as “country music” in the 1920s.

I have assembled large playlists of “pre-country” music from 1922 and before. People can argue which of the entries should count as “country,” but in some cases, they’re early recordings of songs that were covered in the 1920s and considered country then. Even if the “country music industry” doesn’t want to include anything from before 1922 in the official “country music timeline,” then there should at least be an asterisk or footnote or something to acknowledge the connections to pre-1922 music.

Pre-Country (450-song playlist of music recorded prior to 1920)

1920-1922 Country Roots playlist

December 22, 2022 A Look Back At 2022

Since 2015, I’ve made playlists for new country releases. For 2022, my list includes 100 videos released within the calendar year, limited to one per artist.

2022 Country Videos

My Christmas playlist includes over 100 entries from a variety of musical styles.

Robert’s Christmas List

I took over 170 phone videos from concerts in 2021-2022:

2021-2022 Phone Videos

I also posted a lot more of my own content on my YouTube channel in 2022. My 100 Sounds Series explored different ways to make noise. My slideshow series includes 25 videos showcasing my photos from across the country. I know that negativity is what sells these days. “Everything popular is bad” draws millions of views. The “indie scene” has become even more about trash talk and ego than the mainstream scene that they hate so much. Doing something positive apparently isn’t very interesting to most, but I prefer it, anyway.

December 8, 2022 Classic Country Christmas

Christmas music and country music often go together this time of year. You’ll find Christmas classics from decades ago on the current week’s Billboard country charts from such artists as Burl Ives, Gene Autry, Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley, and Bobby Helms.

There were connections between country music and Christmas music over a century ago. Eugene Jaudas made a cylinder recording of a “Medley of Country Dances” that includes both “Jingle Bells” and “Auld Lang Syne.” According to 45worlds, this is from December 1909, then re-released. The UCSB cylinder archive lists that date as 1913.

Eugene Jaudas, 1913 Medley of Country Dances

Vernon Dalhart recorded Christmas songs as a country artist, but also as early as 1917, before country music was recognized by the music industry as a distinct genre.

Fiddlin’ John Carson and other country pioneers recorded Christmas songs, too.

The Grand Ole Opry and the other great barn dance shows celebrated Christmas, too. Here are some old episodes that deserve more views:

National Barn Dance Christmas 1942

TNN Opry Christmas

1959 Grand Ole Opry Christmas

1955 Ozark Jubilee Christmas, part 1

1955 Ozark Jubilee Christmas, part 2

My 2022 Christmas playlist is mostly modern and covers a wide range of musical styles:

Robert’s all-genre Christmas playlist