In a way, this four-disc set of early radio transcriptions functions both as a mini-history of American radio in the '30s, '40s, and early '50s, as well as a crash course in the rise of country music from its Appalachian folk roots through what was then known as hillbilly music to the advent of honky tonk and what could be clearly termed "modern country." Radio in the '30s and '40s was king, dominating American parlors and living rooms the way television would at the close of the 20th century, and for programming ...
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In a way, this four-disc set of early radio transcriptions functions both as a mini-history of American radio in the '30s, '40s, and early '50s, as well as a crash course in the rise of country music from its Appalachian folk roots through what was then known as hillbilly music to the advent of honky tonk and what could be clearly termed "modern country." Radio in the '30s and '40s was king, dominating American parlors and living rooms the way television would at the close of the 20th century, and for programming flexibility, transcriptions of popular performers playing live were cut to metal discs (later discs were glass-based), then slipped on the air as if the artist was broadcasting live in real time. Thanks to this practice, and the fact that many of these transcription recordings have survived, it is possible to re-create the feel of old-timey radio on collections like this one. The first two discs of Early Country Radio feature the Carter Family in recordings done in the mid-'30s, while disc three includes transcriptions by Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Pardners, Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers, and J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers from around the same time period. The final disc leaps into the '40s with sets from Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners (who apparently lost the "d" and gained a "t" by this time), the little-known Cowboy Slim Rinehart, and a transcription done by Hank Williams & the Drifting Cowboys for a 1951 March of Dimes show. As the '50s opened, television quickly replaced radio as the dominant entertainment medium in American homes, although the eventual installation of radios in cars kept that audio format alive, and the rise of modern country and rock & roll is tangibly linked with the ability to drive one's car and have music be just a click away. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
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Add this copy of Early Country Radio to cart. $34.26, good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Jsp Records.
