The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #127734 Message #2855164
Posted By: M.Ted
03-Mar-10 - 02:15 PM
Thread Name: American Folk / Country: Dividing Lines
Subject: RE: American Folk / Country: Dividing Lines
The line about country music being rock and roll with cowboy hats can be expanded with the idea that rock and roll is just rhythm and blues played fast, with the logical conclusion that Country music is just Rhythm and Blues played fast, with a cowboy hat.
This has been the case for a long time--some of us, at least, know and love the old King and Queen Labels, where King would release the country version of a song, while Queen release the R & B version at the same time.
Before that, you could (and can still) hear a lot of Blind Lemon Jefferson (as well as other blues) when you listen to the Carlisle Brothers(and other 30's/40's "hillbilly" artists), and how many folks can tell the difference between black string bands and white ones?
Uncle Dave Macon, who was pretty much the first of firsts in country music, learned his stuff by playing with black field hands--and before that, the White Minstrels in Blackface had become Black Minstrels in Blackface by the 1870's.
The music goes round and round....