APPALACHIAN MUSICIANS AND
SINGERS
AND THE SONGS THEY WRITE
Growing up in Appalachia and around its music has
made a great impact on my life. I can remember, as if
it were yesterday sitting on grandpa's front porch with
my family singing along with Hillbilly songs on the
radio. Along with entertaining the music eased the
tensions of living a meager existence in Appalachia.
By relating with these song writers and the stories in
there songs we somehow find our life less tedious and
more bearable. Most country and gospel Appalachian
song writers find the words to there songs in the day
to day experiences of there lives.
One of the most prominent and popular types of
music to come out of the Appalachian region is gospel
music. Writing about the religious experiences one
felt at the alter or the hope of seeing a lost family
member in the here after has been the subject of many
Appalachian gospel song.
Shenandoah Appalachian Trail #3
English: Display of banjos from around the Appalac...
Dolly Parton at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.Singers and song writers like
Tennessee Ernie Ford and Ernest Tub have left us with
joy in our harts and tears in our eyes. Singing and
listening to songs like The Old Rugged Cross has
carried over from generation to generation in
Appalachia.
Another branch of Appalachian music that encircle
around religion is bluegrass. One of the best known
Bluegrass artists (Bill Monroe)Known also as the father
of bluegrass music, dedicated a portion of every
performance to a gospel bluegrass harmony number.
Bluegrass became popular in the region for a number of
reasons. Not the least of which was the inexpensiveness
of home made instruments.(Ergood and Kuhre 189) The
relatively small size made the instruments easily
transported from home to home.
The variance of topics in Appalachian music can
not be numbered. The subject of a song can be anything...