Ahonky-tonk (also calledhonkatonk,honkey-tonk,honky tonk, ortonk) is either abar that providescountry music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) used to play such music. Bars of this kind are common in theSouth andSouthwest United States. Many prominent country music artists such asJimmie Rodgers,Ernest Tubb,Lefty Frizzell,Hank Williams,Patsy Cline,Johnny Horton andMerle Haggard began their careers as amateur musicians in honky-tonks.
The origin of the term "honky-tonk" is disputed, originally referring tobawdy variety shows in areas of the old West (Oklahoma, theIndian Territories and mostlyTexas) and to the actual theaters showing them.
The firstmusic genre to be commonly known as honky-tonk was a style ofpiano playing related toragtime but emphasizingrhythm more thanmelody orharmony; the style evolved in response to an environment in which pianos were often poorly cared for, tending to be out of tune and having some nonfunctioning keys. This honky-tonk music was an important influence on theboogie-woogie piano style. Before World War II, the music industry began to refer tohillbilly music being played from Texas and Oklahoma to the West Coast as "honky-tonk" music. In the 1950s, honky-tonk entered itsgolden age, with the popularity ofWebb Pierce,Hank Locklin,Lefty Frizzell,Faron Young,George Jones, andHank Williams.
The origin of the termhonky-tonk is unknown. The earliest known use in print is an article in thePeoria Journal dated June 28, 1874, stating, "The police spent a busy day today raiding thebagnios and honkytonks."[1]
There are subsequent citations from 1890 inThe Dallas Morning News,[2][page needed] 1892 in theGalveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas)[3] (which used the term to refer to an adult establishment inFort Worth), and in 1894 inThe Daily Ardmoreite in Oklahoma.[4] Early uses of the term in print mostly appear along a corridor roughly coinciding withcattle drive trails extending from Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, into south central Oklahoma, suggesting that the term may have been a localism spread by cowboys driving cattle to market. The sound ofhonky-tonk (orhonk-a-tonk) and the types of places that were called honky-tonks suggests that the term may be anonomatopoeic reference to the loud, boisterous music and noise heard at these establishments.
One theory is that the "tonk" portion of the name may have come from the brand name of piano made by William Tonk & Bros., an American manufacturer of large upright pianos[5][page needed] (established 1881),[6] which made a piano with the decal "Ernest A. Tonk". The Tonk brothers, William and Max, established the Tonk Bros. Manufacturing Company in 1873, so such an etymology is possible,[7][8] however, these pianos were not manufactured until 1889, at which point the term seems to have already been established.[9]
An early source purporting to explain the derivation of the term (spelledhonkatonk) was an article published in 1900 by theNew York Sun and widely reprinted in other newspapers.[10] The article, however, reads more like a humorous legend or fable, so its veracity is questionable.
An article in theLos Angeles Times of July 28, 1929, with the headline"'Honky-Tonk' Origin Told", which was probably in response to theSophie Tucker movie musical,Honky Tonk (1929), reads:
Do you know what a honky tonk is?
Seafaring men of a few years ago knew very well, as the honky-tonks ofSan Francisco'sBarbary Coast constituted perhaps the most vivid spots in their generally uneventful lives.
The name originated on the Barbary Coast and was applied to the low "dives" which formed so great a part of this notorious district. In these establishments, which were often of enormous size, much liquor was dispensed at the tables which crowded the floor, and entertainment of doubtful quality was given on a stage at one end of the room.
The honky tonk, as a matter of fact, was the predecessor of the present-daycabaret ornight club, the principal differences being that the prices were lower and that the former establishment made no pretense of "class."[11]
In this context of the term’s meaning and its possible origin, an example from roughly the same period is theHarvey Oliver Brooks song “They Call Me Sister Honky-Tonk,” sung byMae West in the 1933 filmI’m No Angel.[12]
Honky-tonks were rough establishments, providing country music in theDeep South andSouthwest and servingalcoholic beverages to aworking-class clientele. Some honky-tonks offered dancing to music played by pianists or small bands, and some were centers ofprostitution. Katrina Hazzard-Gordon wrote that the honky-tonk was "the first urban manifestation of thejook", and that "the name itself became synonymous with a style of music. Related to the classic blues in tonal structure, honky-tonk has a tempo that is slightly stepped up. It is rhythmically suited for many African-American dance."[13]
AsChris Smith andCharles McCarron wrote in their 1916 hit song "Down in Honky Tonk Town", "It's underneath the ground, where all the fun is found."
Although the derivation of the term is unknown,honky tonk originally referred to bawdy variety shows in theWest (Oklahoma andIndian Territories andTexas) and to the theaters housing them. The earliest mention of them in print refers to them as "variety theaters"[14] and describe the entertainment as "variety shows".[15] The theaters often had an attached gambling house and always a bar.
In recollections long after the frontiers closed, writers such asWyatt Earp and E.C. Abbott referred to honky-tonks in the cowtowns of Kansas, Nebraska, and Montana in the 1870s and 1880s.[16] Their recollections contain lurid accounts of the women and violence accompanying the shows. However, in contemporary accounts these were nearly always calledhurdy-gurdy shows, possibly derived from the termhurdy-gurdy, which was sometimes mistakenly applied to a small, portable barrel organ that was frequently played by organ grinders andbuskers.
As late as 1913, Col. Edwin Emerson, a formerRough Rider commander, hosted a honky-tonk party inNew York City.[17] The Rough Riders were recruited from the ranches of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Indian Territories, so the term was still in popular use during theSpanish–American War.
The honky-tonk sound has a full rhythm section playing a two-beat rhythm with a crisp backbeat.Steel guitar andfiddle are the dominant instruments.[18]
The firstmusic genre to be commonly known as honky-tonk music was a style ofpiano playing related toragtime but emphasizingrhythm more thanmelody orharmony; the style evolved in response to an environment in which the pianos were often poorly cared for, tending to be out of tune and having some nonfunctioning keys.
Honky-tonk music influenced theboogie-woogie piano style, as indicated byJelly Roll Morton's 1938 record "Honky Tonk Music" andMeade Lux Lewis's hit "Honky Tonk Train Blues." Lewis recorded the latter many times from 1927 into the 1950s, and the song was covered by many other musicians, includingOscar Peterson.
Thetwelve-bar bluesinstrumental "Honky Tonk" by theBill Doggett Combo, with a sinuoussaxophone line and driving, slow beat, was an earlyrock and roll hit.New Orleans nativeFats Domino was another honky-tonk piano man, whose "Blueberry Hill" and "Walkin' to New Orleans" were hits on the popular music charts.
In the years before World War II, the music industry began to refer to honky-tonk music played from Texas and Oklahoma to the West Coast ashillbilly music. More recently, the term has come to refer to the primary sound incountry music, developing in Nashville asWestern swing became accepted there. Originally, it featured theguitar,fiddle,string bass, andsteel guitar (imported fromHawaiian folk music). The vocals were originally rough and nasal, as exemplified by the singer-songwritersFloyd Tillman andHank Williams, but later developed a clear and sharp sound, such as that ofGeorge Jones andFaron Young. Lyrics tended to focus on working-class life, with frequently tragic themes of lost love, adultery, loneliness, alcoholism, and self-pity.
Copyrighted and released in 1941, "Walking the Floor Over You", byErnest Tubb,[19][20] his sixth release forDecca,[21] helped establish the honky-tonk style and Tubb as one of its foremost practitioners.[22] Tubb, from Crisp, Texas, was a fan of Jimmie Rodgers and fused Western swing, which had been using electric guitars for years, with other "country" sounds.[23]
He took the sound to Nashville, where he was the first musician to playelectric guitar onGrand Ole Opry. In the 1950s, honky tonk entered itsgolden age, with the popularity ofWebb Pierce,Hank Locklin,Lefty Frizzell, Faron Young, George Jones, and Hank Williams. In the mid- to late 1950s,rockabilly (which melded honky-tonk country withrhythm and blues) and the slick country music of theNashville sound ended honky-tonk's initial period of dominance.
The Rolling Stones' number-one single and gold record "Honky Tonk Women" (1969) was based on the sound of 1940s honky-tonk artists like Hank Williams[24] and referred to the reputation of honky-tonk bars as centres of prostitution.[25] In the 1970s,outlaw country's brand of rough honky-tonk was represented by artists such asGary Stewart,Waylon Jennings,Willie Nelson,David Allan Coe, andBilly Joe Shaver.
