ey afterhas been the subject of many

ey afterhas been the subject of many

ey WriteAppalachian Musicians And Singers and The Songs They WriteGrowing up in Appalachia and around its music has made a great impact onmy life. I can remember, as if it were yesterday sitting on grandpa’s frontporch with my family singing along with Hillbilly songs on the radio. Alongwith entertaining the music eased the tensions of living a meager existence inAppalachia.

By relating with these song writers and the stories in there songswe somehow find our life less tedious and more bearable. Most country andgospel Appalachian song writers find the words to there songs in the day to dayexperiences of there lives.One of the most prominent and popular types of music to come out of theAppalachian region is gospel music. Writing about the religious experiences onefelt at the alter or the hope of seeing a lost family member in the here afterhas been the subject of many Appalachian gospel song. Singers and song writerslike Tennessee Ernie Ford and Ernest Tub have left us with joy in our harts andtears in our eyes.

Singing and listening to songs like The Old Rugged Cross hascarried over from generation to generation in Appalachia.Another branch of Appalachian music that encircle around religion isbluegrass. One of the best known Bluegrass artists (Bill Monroe)Known also asthe father of bluegrass music, dedicated a portion of every performance to agospel bluegrass harmony number.

Bluegrass became popular in the region for anumber of reasons. Not the least of which was the inexpensiveness of home madeinstruments.(Ergood and Kuhre 189) The relatively small size made theinstruments easily transported from home to home.

The variance of topics in Appalachian music can not be numbered. Thesubject of a song can be anything from the pine trees on the highest mountain tothe cool water in the stream at the bottom of the lowest holler or any thing inbetween. Anything seen heard or felt might have a song written about it.Another brand of Appalachian music honky tonk music was made popular by a mannamed Hiram (Hank) Williams. Songs about cheating harts and Honky Tonkin mightno have been popular with the churches, but they were with the Appalachianworkers in the city bars that couldn’t be down home with there loved ones.

HankWilliams, although not mentioned in our text had a high pitched pining soundthat was common among Appalachian singers. Blue grass instruments carried overinto this style of Appalachian music. Hillbilly as it is referred to in slangterms also known as country and western or just country as it is referred totoday is one of the most popular styles of music. Many of today’s top countryartists got their start in churches or at family gatherings with the oldstandard gospel and bluegrass songs like In The Pines or The Circle Be Unbroken.The text mentioned Dolly Parton’s song Coat Of Many Colors and Loretta Lyne’sCoal Miners Daughter for including there Heritage in the songs(Ergood and Kuhre189).There are many Nationally known Appalachian Song writers musicians andsingers today.

Gospel, bluegrass, country and western or rock whatever thestyle of music it has some origins in Appalachia. Most Appalachians have beensurrounded in the music since birth. In some Appalachian families, like theStonemans every member of the family has a role in the performance. Althoughthese singers and song writers and many more lesser known and those from timesgone by also. Those not heard of yet have many differences there will always beto common bonds. There Appalachian style of singing about the land that theylove.

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