The story of Tennessee's contribution to American music is essentially the story of three cities: Nashville, Memphis, and Bristol. While Nashville is most famous for its status as the long-time capital of country music, Bristol is recognized as the "Birthplace of Country Music". Memphis musicians have had an enormous influence on blues, early rock and roll, R&B, and soul music, as well as an increasing presence in rap.
Bristol: "Birthplace of Country Music" See also: Bristol sessions and Appalachian music
Bristol is best known for being the site of the first commercial recordings of country music, showcasing Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, and later a favorite venue of mountain musician Uncle Charlie Osborne. Bristol is also the birthplace of Tennessee Ernie Ford.
In 1927, Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to capture the local sound of traditional 'folk' music of the region. One of these local sounds was created by the Carter Family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed from Maces Spring, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.
The U.S. Congress recognized Bristol as the "Birthplace of Country Music" in 1998 for its contributions to early country music recordings and ongoing influence.
Nashville: "Music City, U.S.A." Nashville, the most populous city and metropolitan area in the state, is home to the Grand Ole Opry (est. 1925) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (est. 1967), and bears the nickname "Music City, U.S.A.".
In a tour of Great Britain and Europe in 1873, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the first former slaves to tour Europe after the Civil War, performed the spirituals "Steal Away to Jesus" and "Go Down, Moses" for Queen Victoria in April. According to local oral tradition, Queen Victoria was so impressed by the Singers that she commented that with such beautiful voices, they had to be from the Music City of the United States. Hence, the moniker for Nashville, Tennessee – Music City USA – was born. They returned to Europe the following year, touring from May 1875 to July 1878. This tour raised an estimated $150,000 for the university, funds used to construct Fisk's first permanent building. Named Jubilee Hall, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975 and still stands.
Ryman Auditorium, opened in 1892, is a world-famous music venue in downtown Nashville, known for hosting the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and The Johnny Cash Show from 1969 to 1971.
WSM (AM) signed on in 1925, the same year launching WSM Barndance soon known as Grand Ole Opry. The weekly stage show and broadcast would play an important role in the popularization of country music and is today the longest running radio program in the world.
By the late 1950s, the city's record labels dominated the country music genre with slick pop-country (Nashville sound), overtaking honky-tonk in the charts. Performers reacting against the Nashville sound formed their own scenes in Lubbock, Texas and Bakersfield, California, the latter of which (Bakersfield sound) became the most popular type of country by the late 1960s, led by Merle Haggard. Progressive country and outlaw country emerged to challenge the prevailing Nashville sound. Nashville's predominance in country music was regained by the early 1980s, when Dwight Yoakam and other neo-traditionalists entered the charts.
Even as country music became central to Nashville's identity and music commerce, a string of clubs on Jefferson Street played host to electrifying rhythm and blues. It's where Jimi Hendrix cut his teeth and where Etta James 'Rocked The House' on her 1964 live recording from the New Era Club. Meanwhile, white and black met in Printer's Alley, where Music Row studio musicians gathered at day's end to play jazz and rock and roll. Nashville's WLAC radio was a vital source for R&B from the mid-1940s through the 1960s. The 2004 compilation album Night Train to Nashville, spawned by an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, showcased and celebrated this history.