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Historic Downtown Bristol
810 State Street, Bristol,
TN ,
USA
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Tennessee State
Historical Marker
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Historic Downtown Bristol
Bristol, Tennessee - Virginia
Birthplace of Country Music
Bristol has long been known as a hub for traditional mountain music. In the summer of 1927, Ralph Peer, a record producer from Victor Talking Machine Company, traveled to Bristol and set up a portable recording studio four blocks east of this location. During his twelve days in Bristol, Mr. Peer recorded seventy-six songs by nineteen different acts capturing a wide cross section of traditional Appalachian music, including old time dance tunes, ballads, gospel songs, blues, and others. These sessions also produced the first recordings of the Carter Family from nearby Maces Spring, Virginia - the First Family of Country Music - and Jimmie Rodgers - the Father of Country Music.
Music Historians consider these recordings to be the beginnings of the commercial country music industry and in 1998 the United States Congress declared Bristol the Birthplace of County Music.
While Peer's 1927 recordings stand as a milestone in the development of country music, the musical heritage of Bristol continued after those recordings. In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, radio programs in Bristol, most notably WCBY's Farm and Fun Time, became popular and assisted in the development of a new genre of music - bluegrass.
Last updated: 2/14/2015 15:17:00 |
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