"I'm going to come back to West Virginia when this is over. There's something ancient and deeply rooted in my soul. I like to think that I have left my ghost up one of those hollows, and I'll never really be able to leave for good until I find it. And I don't want to look for it, because I might find it and have to leave."
-Breece D'J Pancake
Every state in the Union has contributed to the soundscape of America. However, at some point in the telling of that story West Virginia has gotten a bum rap, even though it was pretty much the birthplace of Appalachian folk music.
What happened?
Was it that people's tastes changed? I'm inclined to think that's only part of the reason. I can remember driving into Wheeling from Ohio and seeing the sign, "Welcome to West Virginia — Open for Business" and thinking not since Connecticut changed its slogan from "The Nutmeg State" to "The Constitution State" had I been more confused and disgusted by a State's change of face. I can't be completely certain but I think that whoever came up with that slogan ("Open for Business") has since come to their senses, was fired or voted out of office. It was later changed, hopefully still, to the more appropriate "Wild and Wonderful." Because when it comes down to it, that's what the state is.
That "Open For Business" slogan can pretty much sum up why so many people easily brush off West Virginia's contributions to American music. I mean, is it me or does all the industry and 'open for business' seem out of place for the state? It seems so entirely unnatural. It's like West Virginia is that pretty girl in school who doesn't think she's pretty enough to be with anyone. West Virginia, in my mind and many others I hope, is the birthplace of Americana, a place that should be left as unspoiled as the C chord. The new slogan should be "We Agree Not to Congregate" and everyone should be proud of their Appalachian heritage and stop it with all the industry already. It'd be nice if West Virginia was known for what it really did best, making great music.
Because between the world famous Mountain Stage and Augusta Heritage Center, West Virginia has so much to offer in terms of authentic contributions to music. That major contribution? is country music, folk music, Appalachian music, whatever you'd like to call it.
Here is a very short history lesson of the origins of country/folks music. The Ulster-Scots, lowland Scots who emigrated to the Northern Ireland county of Ulster, later emigrated to all corners of the world, most important being the United States. They brought with them a communal music tradition — think sitting around the campfire playing and singing songs rather than sitting around watching someone else. It's this idea that gave birth to pickin' and fiddle music that would later morph into country, bluegrass, and folk music to name just a few genres.
Musicians from West Virginia vary from the down-right old-timey like Hazel Dickens ("A Few Old Memories") and The Lilly Brothers ("Little Annie") to the twangy country style of Hawkshaw Hawkins and the blue-grass finger picking sound of Tim O'Brien ("Look Down that Lonesome Road" and a great performance with the Chieftains of Shady Grove).
West Virginia is home of true country music. It was about heartache, lonesomeness, porch sitting, pretty women and dancing. There isn't any "checking for ticks" or "saving horses" or "riding cowboys." That kind of music is Nashville's bastardization of all that is good and wholesome about country music. It's music made easy for easy money. It takes all the goodness out of being an American and replaces it with what John Egerton wrote about as the "Southernization of America," and described by George Packer as an ideal that "identifies real Americanism with a southern accent, an insouciant swagger, a down home manner, and an undercurrent of violence"(I'd like to substitute or add ignorance in addition to violence). The music we are told is country music is nothing more than redneck music, the equivalent of gangster rap. That kind of country is what Bob Newhart was talking about when he said, "I don't like country music, but I don't denigrate those who do. And for the people who do like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'"
So, I leave you with that to marinate on. You may not agree. You may be thinking, "who invited the crabby old man to write for Graffiti?" Well, you may be right about the crabby part but I have good reason to be crabby. West Virginia has been thrown out with the musical bath water, been lumped together with all the other so-called 'country music' states when in fact it is very unique and has something uniquely American to offer when it comes to music. I hope someone out there takes the time and listens to what came before Brad Paisley; open your eyes and see the mountains the way they used to look.