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The story ofTennessee's contribution to American music is essentially the story of three cities:Nashville,Memphis, andBristol. While Nashville is most famous for its status as the long-time capital ofcountry music, Bristol is recognized as the "Birthplace of Country Music". Memphis musicians have had an enormous influence onblues, earlyrock and roll,R&B, andsoul music, as well as an increasing presence inrap.[1]
Bristol is best known for being the site of the first commercial recordings ofcountry music, showcasingJimmie Rodgers and theCarter Family, and later a favorite venue of mountain musicianUncle Charlie Osborne. Bristol is also the birthplace ofTennessee 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 theCarter Family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed fromMaces Spring, Virginia, toBristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producerRalph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.
TheU.S. Congress recognized Bristol as the “Birthplace of Country Music” in 1998 for its contributions to early country music recordings and ongoing influence.
Nashville, the most populous city andmetropolitan area in the state, is home to theGrand Ole Opry (est. 1925) and theCountry Music Hall of Fame (est. 1967), and bears the nickname "Music City, U.S.A.".[2]
In a tour of Great Britain and Europe in 1873, theFisk Jubilee Singers, the first former slaves to tour Europe after the Civil War, performed thespirituals "Steal Away to Jesus" and "Go Down, Moses" forQueen 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.[2] 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. NamedJubilee Hall, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975 and still stands.[3]
Ryman Auditorium, opened in 1892, is a world-famous music venue in downtown Nashville, known for hosting theGrand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 andThe Johnny Cash Show from 1969 to 1971.
WSM (AM) signed on in 1925, the same year launchingWSM Barndance soon known asGrand Ole Opry. The weekly stage show and broadcast would play an important role in the popularization ofcountry music and is today the longest running radio program in the world.[2]
By the late 1950s, the city'srecord labels dominated the country music genre with slick pop-country (Nashville sound), overtakinghonky-tonk in the charts. Performers reacting against the Nashville sound formed their own scenes inLubbock, Texas andBakersfield, California, the latter of which (Bakersfield sound) became the most popular type of country by the late 1960s, led byMerle Haggard.Progressive country andoutlaw country emerged to challenge the prevailing Nashville sound. Nashville's predominance in country music was regained by the early 1980s, whenDwight Yoakam and otherneo-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 electrifyingrhythm and blues. It's whereJimi Hendrix cut his teeth and whereEtta James 'Rocked The House' on her 1964 live recording from theNew Era Club. Meanwhile, white and black met inPrinter's Alley, whereMusic Row studio musicians gathered at day's end to playjazz[4] androck and roll. Nashville'sWLAC radio was a vital source for R&B from the mid-1940s through the 1960s. The 2004 compilation albumNight Train to Nashville, spawned by an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, showcased and celebrated this history.[5]
In 1966,Bob Dylan released his landmarkBlonde on Blonde album, primarily recorded in Nashville, assisted by local session musicians the Nashville Cats by suggestion of producerBob Johnston.[6] The album's success helped transform Nashville's conservative music reputation and artists includingSimon and Garfunkel andLeonard Cohen soon followed to record there with Johnston. Dylan continued his relationship with the city on 1967'sJohn Wesley Harding and 1969'sNashville Skyline.[7]
Exit/In is a long-time Nashville club, opened in 1971, having played host to many rock legends and locals includingJason & the Scorchers and featured inRobert Altman'sNashville.
Lucy's Record Shop was an independent, locally owned record store and all-ages music venue in Nashville in the 1990s. During its five and a half years of operation, Lucy's supported a growing punk andindie music scene in Nashville, and even received national notoriety as a prominent underground music venue.Lambchop played some of their first shows at Lucy's.[8]
Outsider music greats from Nashville includeR. Stevie Moore andDave Cloud.
Today, there is still a thriving country music scene in Nashville, however there are other scenes and genres gaining in outside attention, such as indie, rock, and metalcore.Infinity Cat Recordings, home ofJEFF the Brotherhood andBe Your Own Pet, andJack White'sThird Man Records are prime examples.Dolly Parton, "the Queen of Country" and owner ofDollywood, had 2 #1 Hot 100 hits, including "9 to 5" in 1981. In pop music,Kesha from Nashville has had 3 #1 Hot 100 hits on the Billboard charts, including "Tik Tok" in 2009.Miley Cyrus fromFranklin has had 2 #1 Hot 100 hits like "Wrecking Ball" in 2013 and "Flowers" in 2023. The pop punk bandParamore, also from Franklin and fronted byHayley Williams, had a #1 album on theBillboard 200 withParamore in 2013. Country superstarKenny Chesney from Knoxville has had 8 #1 albums on theBillboard 200 from 2002 to 2020 likeWhen the Sun Goes Down in 2004. Chesney graduated fromEast Tennessee State University in 1990.Lady Antebellum from Nashville had 3 #1 albums on theBillboard 200 includingNeed You Now in 2010.Hillary Scott attendedMiddle Tennessee State University.The Civil Wars, an Americana and folk duo, also had a #1 album on theBillboard 200 in 2013. Country and R&B singerKane Brown from Chattanooga had a #1 album in 2018.Morgan Wallen from the Knoxville area has had 2 #1 albums likeDangerous: The Double Album in 2021, and he had the long running #1 Hot 100 "Last Night" in 2023.Judah & the Lion andMoon Taxi are popular bands from Nashville, and members from both bands attendedBelmont University.
Murfreesboro hosts several music-oriented events annually, such as the Main Street Jazzfest presented by MTSU's School of Music and the Main Street Association each May. For over 30 years, Uncle Dave Macon Days has celebrated themusical tradition ofUncle Dave Macon.[9] This annual July event includes national competitions for old-time music and dancing.[9]
Because ofMiddle Tennessee State University's large recording industry program, the city has fostered a number of bands and songwriters, including:A Plea for Purging,Self,Fluid Ounces,The Katies,The Features,Count Bass D,The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza,Destroy Destroy Destroy,De Novo Dahl,The Protomen, andThose Darlins.[9] Several notable musicians have attended or graduated from MTSU, includingJulien Baker,Sharon Van Etten,George S. Clinton,Hardy,Tay Keith,Lecrae,Amy Lee, andHillary Scott.
Spongebath Records was a key force in the Murfreesboro indie music scene in the late 1990s.[10]
The state of Tennessee once had a strongOld-time music tradition. In its earliest days theGrand Ole Opry featured banjo players, fiddle players, andstring bands fromMiddle Tennessee such asUncle Jimmy Thompson,Uncle Dave Macon,Fiddlin' Arthur Smith,Sid Harkreader, theMcGee Brothers,Humphrey Bate and his Possum Hunters,Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers, theGully Jumpers, the Fruit Jar Drinkers, and The Crook Brothers String Band.East Tennessee old-time artists includeClarence Ashley,Charlie Bowman,Uncle Am Stuart,Theron Hale,Curly Fox, andG. B. Grayson.[9]
Tennessee also has a strong history of Appalachian ballad singers. Collectors like Cecil Sharp, Artus Moser, C P Cambiaire, Edwin Kirkland, Lillian Crabtree, and George Boswell all included TN ballads in their collections. Notable TN ballad singers include Dee and Delta Hicks, Carmen McCord Hicks, May Ray, Tillman Cadle, Sam Harmon, J B Cantrell, Marianna Schaupp, Linnie Johnson and Jesse Robinson, and Jeff Stockton.
Memphis' most significant musical claims to fame are as "Home of theBlues" and "Birthplace ofRock and Roll". TheAfrican-American composer,W.C. Handy, is said to have written the first commercially successful blues song, "St. Louis Blues", in a bar onBeale Street in 1912.[11] Handy resided in Memphis from 1909 through 1917.[11] He also wrote "The Memphis Blues".Memphis blues is a regional style created by area musicians such asFrank Stokes,Sleepy John Estes,Furry Lewis,Memphis Minnie, andMemphis Jug Band[12] in the 1910s-1930s, with stylistic origins inCountry blues andDelta blues.[13]
Memphis was a center of blues music for much of the 20th century. Pianist and singerBooker T. Laury was born in Memphis in 1914 andBlues Hall of FamersJohnny Shines andMemphis Slim were born there in 1915. During the 1940s and 1950s, Memphis was the home ofB. B. King,Bobby Bland,Rosco Gordon,Junior Parker,Johnny Ace,Willie Nix, andJoe Hill Louis. Duke Records was started in Memphis in 1952. Also in 1952,Sam Phillips startedSun Records, an early rock and roll andelectric blues label. Among the artists who made some of their recordings on Sun wereElvis Presley,Johnny Cash,Roy Orbison,Jerry Lee Lewis,[11]Muddy Waters,Howlin' Wolf,Ike Turner,Carl Perkins, andCharlie Rich.[7]
Country blues is one of the earliest types of blues. Country blues artists from Tennessee includeMemphis Jug Band,[12]The Two Poor Boys,Howard Armstrong,Yank Rachell,Sleepy John Estes,Hammie Nixon,Son Bonds,Noah Lewis,DeFord Bailey,John Henry Barbee,Memphis Willie B.,Hattie Hart,Mississippi Fred McDowell,Brownie McGhee,Blind James Campbell,Hambone Willie Newbern,Sonny Boy Williamson I, andTerry Garland.[11]
Memphis-bornjazz artists include clarinetistBuster Bailey, singersAlberta Hunter,Eden Atwood,Dee Dee Bridgewater, violinistErskine Tate, bassistsMoses Allen,Jamil Nasser, trumpetersBooker Little,Louis Smith,Johnny Dunn,Marvin Stamm, pianistsLil Hardin Armstrong,Harold Mabern,Phineas Newborn, Jr.,Rozelle Claxton,Jimmy Jones,James Williams, alto saxophonistsFrank Strozier,Sonny Criss, saxophonistsGeorge Coleman,Hank Crawford,Charles Lloyd,Ben Branch,Ben Smith,Garnett Brown,Frank Lowe,Kirk Whalum, drummersJimmy Crawford andTony Reedus, and guitaristAbu Talib. In addition, legendary band leaderJimmy Lunceford is closely associated with Memphis due to the influential jazz orchestra he formed in the late 1920s in that city.[4]
Legendary blues singerBessie Smith was born inChattanooga, andbusked its streets with her brother as a young girl. Double bassistJimmy Blanton, member ofDuke Ellington's band, pianistLovie Austin, trumpeter and singerValaida Snow, multi-instrumentalist and composerYusef Lateef, and saxophonistBennie Wallace were also born in Chattanooga. The city is immortalized in the 1941big bandswing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
TrumpeterDoc Cheatham was born in Nashville. SingerJoyce Cobb was born in Oklahoma, but raised in Nashville. Bandleader and vocalistAnna Mae Winburn was born inPort Royal. PianistPhineas Newborn, Jr. and his brother guitaristCalvin Newborn were fromWhiteville. SaxophonistSam Taylor was born inLexington. Alto saxophonistCharles Williams was born inHalls. TrombonistDicky Wells was born inCenterville. TrombonistJimmy Cleveland was born inWartrace. PianistJohnny Maddox was born inGallatin. VocalistKing Pleasure was born inOakdale.[11]
Current large jazz orchestras from Tennessee that have notable recordings are theJazz Orchestra of the Delta (Memphis), theMemphis Jazz Orchestra, the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, theDuffy Jackson Big Band (Nashville), Tyler Mire Big Band (Nashville), and the Music City Big Band (Nashville).[4]
R&B singersBig Maybelle andLuther Ingram were born inJackson.Tina Turner was born inNutbush.Clifford Curry was born in Knoxville.Willie Mabon was born in Memphis.Koko Taylor was born inShelby County.Roscoe Shelton was born inLynchburg. Saxophonist and bandleaderPaul Williams was born inLewisburg. DrummerClyde Stubblefield was born inChattanooga.Arthur Gunter,Bobby Hebb, andJackie Shane were born in Nashville.Excello Records was based in Nashville.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the city was home toHi andStax Records,soul musicrecord labels. Stax put out funky, distinctlySouthern records by artists such asOtis Redding,Sam & Dave,Wilson Pickett,Booker T. & the M.G.'s,Rufus Thomas,Carla Thomas,William Bell,Wendy Rene,The Temprees, andThe Bar-Kays; that stood in sharp contrast to the smoother, morepop records coming out ofDetroit'sMotown.Isaac Hayes born inCovington, was an in-house producer and songwriter at Stax. His "Theme from Shaft" was a #1 Hot 100 hit in 1971.David Porter was a staff songwriter.
Hi Records' peak was in the early 1970s, due to the highly creative work of Al Green, whose hits on the label included "Tired of Being Alone", "Let's Stay Together", "I'm Still in Love with You", and "Call Me". Other artists on the label, includingO. V. Wright,Don Bryant,Otis Clay, andAnn Peebles released soul singles or albums.[11]Goldwax Records introduced James Carr, Spencer Wiggins, and the Ovations.[14]
Funk Band, Ebonee Webb, released "Something About You" which peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot R&B/ hip-Hop charts on December 5, 1981.[15]
Justin Timberlake "the Prince of Pop" from Memphis has had 4 #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits in the R&B genre, including "SexyBack" in 2006 and "Can't Stop the Feeling" in 2016.
See also:Southern hip hop § Tennessee, andMemphis rap
Despite not always being on the forefront of the national Hip-Hop scene, thehip-hop scene in Tennessee has been very active across the state but most prominently in the Memphis area. Some notable acts includeAcademy Award-winning rap groupThree 6 Mafia (withJuicy J) was formed inMemphis. They had a #3 album on theBillboard 200 withMost Known Unknown in 2005. Other notable Memphis rappers includeProject Pat,Gangsta Pat,Gangsta Boo,Playa Fly,Moneybagg Yo (had a #1 album in 2021),Blocboy JB,Young Dolph,Blac YoungstaAl Kapone, the duoEightball & MJG,Yo Gotti, andGloRilla.Mr. Mack is based out ofKnoxville.Isaiah Rashad is from Chattanooga.Young Buck,JellyRoll,Starlito,Tha City Paper,Negro Justice, andAll Star Cashville Prince are from Nashville. Young Buck started the labelCa$hville Records.Christian hip hop groupGRITS are also from Nashville.[16]
BothDuane Allman andGregg Allman,[17][18] founders of theAllman Brothers Band, were born in Nashville in 1946 and 1947, respectively.
TheCharlie Daniels Band is closely associated with Tennessee's contributions to thesouthern rock genre, and with theVolunteer Jam, an annual rock festival first held in Nashville in 1974.
Other notable musicians include Knoxville'sJerry Riggs, Nashville'sBarefoot Jerry, and the Nashville bandArea Code 615.Kings of Leon were formed in Tennessee in 1999. Their early music was closely associated with this genre. The Kings had a #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 with "Use Somebody". This song was also #1 on the Alternative chart and Adult Top 40 Chart in 2009. Kings of Leon had a #1Billboard 200 album withWalls in 2016.
The Dirty Guv'nahs is an AmericanSouthern rock band fromKnoxville, Tennessee. Known for enthusiastic live shows, the band was continually named theBest Band in Knoxville by readers of the alternative newspaper,Metro Pulse.
Punk rock has had active scenes in Tennessee, such as the scenes in Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis's River City Hardcore scene in the 1980s and 1990s. A fewhardcore punk bands gained a following, includingHis Hero Is Gone (Memphis), Nashville'sLove Is Red,From Ashes Rise, and Committee for Public Safety, and Knoxville's Johnny Five, The Malignmen, The Splinters and STD.
Knoxville's punk scene began in the late 1970s with Terry Hill's Balboa, and took off in the early 1980s with bands such as the Five Twins, The Real Hostages, Candy Creme and the Wet Dream, and the hardcore bands Koro and UXB. During that era the scene was based in a series of short-lived nightclubs such as The Place, Hobos, Uncle Sam's, and Bundulees. Later in the 1980s several Knoxville bands such as theJudybats and Smokin' Dave and the Premo Dopes emerged to wider acclaim not limited to the local Knoxville scene. The scene again reached a peak during the mid-1990s, at that time tied closely to The Mercury Theatre, a popular all-ages venue where many Knoxville bands, such asSuperdrag, got their start. After the close of the Mercury, another venue, The Neptune, opened for a short time under the same management. In 2004,Paramore originated out of Franklin.
The early 1970s power pop bandBig Star, cited as a primary influence by many grunge and alternative rock groups since, was from Memphis. Memphis-basedGoner Records, founded in 1993, has released artists includingOblivians,Reigning Sound, andJay Reatard. Indie rock singerJulien Baker was active in the Memphis hardcore scene as a teenager, and continues to collaborate with punk and hardcore bands.[19]
Heavy metal music groups from Tennessee includeA Different Breed of Killer,Brodequin,Place of Skulls,Straight Line Stitch, andWhitechapel from Knoxville;Clockhammer,Intruder, andToday Is the Day from Nashville; Hosoi Bros,Nights Like These, andTora Tora from Memphis;Tragedy in Progress from Chattanooga; andDestroy Destroy Destroy from Murfreesboro.
Tennessee's location in theBible Belt has led to an activesouthern Gospel music scene with such groups asThe LeFevres, as well as being the origin of some notableChristian rock bands such as Memphis'sDeGarmo and Key. The country group theOak Ridge Boys started in 1945 as the Oak Ridge Quartet, a Southern Gospel group based in Knoxville who performed for workers at the nearby Oak Ridge facilities duringWorld War II.[16]
AnAfrican Americana cappella ensemble, theFisk Jubilee Singers, consisting of students atFisk University in Nashville have been performing since 1871.The Fairfield Four started in Nashville and have existed since 1921.[3]
Nashboro Records was a gospel record label active in Nashville in the 1950s-60s. Christian rock bandSkillet, from Memphis, had a #2 album on theBillboard 200 withAwake in 2009. Nashville Christian hard rock bandRed had a #2 album on theBillboard 200 in 2011.
Tennessee cities are home to several symphony orchestras:[20]
Each summer,the University of the South campus inSewanee hosts the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, including classes for some 200 advanced music students and a series of concerts by well-known guest artists. While classical music predominates, bluegrass and other musical styles also are featured.
CellistJoan Jeanrenaud from Memphis played with theKronos Quartet from 1978 to 1999 and has since pursued a solo career.
