
By the early 1940s the crooners had begun to make their mark, with Jimmie Davies — future Democrat governor of Louisiana — having led the way. Many of them had toiled and crooned in the 1930s. But with a world war slowly engulfing the globe, the market wanted, and got, romance. More than that, men took their country songs with them to the army and disseminated the music among their fellow soldiers. Country music thus found new fans, and its leading singers — Roy Acuff, Gene Autry, Red Foley, Tex Ritter, Eddy Arnold — gained a national audience. In 1945, [...]

This is the first of a series in probably nine parts, aimed at providing a brief history of country music (all accompanied by an appropriate CD-sized mix). I hope it will not only inform those who have an interest in the genre, but also persuade those who resist becoming acquainted with country music to give it a chance, perhaps weakening resistance and preconceived notions which might be reduced to the stereoptypes of Confederation flags and the jargons of Hicksville. Of course it is very possible to dislike the sound of the steel guitar, the banjo, the fiddle or the yodel. [...]
Threads: Guns! Guns! Guns!John Cale, Gun.Nas, I Gave You Power.Gene Autry, Guns and Guitars.Cat Stevens, I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun.Julie Brown, The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun.Ray Ellington Quartet, I Didn't Know the Gun Was Loaded.The Bobbettes, I Shot Mr. Lee.Jimmie Rodgers, Pistol Packin' Papa.Al Dexter, Pistol Packin' Mama.Lulu, The Man With the Golden Gun.Blondie, Rifle Range.Bradley Kinkcaid,