Country music versus bluegrass

[electra225]

Until the early 1960's country music was just that. All flavors under one genre. With the introduction of the Nashville Sound, stereo, improved reproduction equipment, enhanced recording techniques were being employed. The introduction of drums and other percussion instruments along with orchestra instruments brought a major divide to the country music genre. The bluegrass artists had no room for drums and electric instruments. What became "Country and Western" artists used drums and even string sections, choirs, all the way to oboes and French horns. Lifelong friends and colleagues became bitter enemies over this.

In the mono recording days, my opinion of bluegrass music was not very high. Nasally vocals with southern accents so strong the words are hard to understand, Tinny, tinkly music with zero bass. And the dratted strummed mandolin, the nastiest instrument ever created.

The stereo days introduced several "requirements" that improved the quality of bluegrass music considerably. Although they still used accoustic instruments, the recording engineers put mics in front of the individual instruments. This gave stronger bass, cleaner dobro and banjo. They still strummed the mandolin, but amplification and editting tended to dampen the tinny sound considerably.

I actually acquired a taste for "calm" bluegrass music, material that headed toward country. There were several bluegrass artists I collect, but Mac Wiseman and Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper were among my favorites. Mac Wiseman would have been hardcore country had he employed a drummer. He used amplified instruments with double-beat bass. His material would include covers of popular songs, not necessarily country songs. Pat Boone's "Love Letters In The Sand" is one that comes to mind and on which he had a chart hit. Wilma Lee Cooper was a typical bluegrass singer, but she was a pretty fair mandolin player. Instead of strumming the mandolin, she picked it like a banjo or a dobro. Their band had multiple rythm guitar players, one would occasionally have solo duties. They also had a slap bass that was amplified so bass in their recordings is really good. "Hello, Central, Give Me Heaven" was Wilma Lee's signature song. The appreciation of Wilma Lee's singing is an aquired taste, so there is that. But the sum total of their material is very pleasant. They had one of the best bluegrass bands in the business, IMHO. I won't link the Wilma Lee Cooper song I mentioned, as it has a religious flavor, and I don't want to press my luck there. It is actually a tribute to a mother, who has passed and about the daughter who misses her and wants to hear her voice once more. I am sorting some of the CD's I got into genres and got to thinking about this.

[danrclem]

I have quite a bit of bluegrass music that I've enjoyed through the years. I like a lot of different artists and groups like Jim and Jesse, Hylo Brown, Flatt and Scruggs and others. Hylo Brown is one of my favorites and I discovered him about ten or so years ago when I bought a cd with various artists on it. I guess he could be classified as country also. The old live videos on youtube really don't do him justice as much as a cd recording does.

I saw Wilma Lee at the Opry and a song she usually sang was Big Midnight Special. It's the song that identify her with. She may have sang "Hello, Central, Give Me Heaven" but it's been so long ago I can't remember. Her daughter, Carol Lee Cooper was usually there singing backup for other people.

https://youtu.be/4zicjxQSIfs?si=oTzPw_umLygLtNGr