Country music is defined as "a form of popular music originating in the rural southern US. It is traditionally a mixture of ballads and dance tunes played characteristically on fiddle, guitar, steel guitar, drums, and keyboard."
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Country music star, and “gentleman farmer” Randy Owen of Fort Payne, Alabama, is the lead singer in the country band “Alabama.” Whenever Randy is not out touring on the road, he spends time on his...
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Segment 2 follows musician and composer Leon “Pappy” Self. Leon is a fiddle player, whose been pickin’ and singing in Texas since 1931. He was hired by a band called The Light Crust Doughboys, to...
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At Bill’s Pickin’ Parlor, in Columbia, South Carolina, every Saturday, patrons can come to create “Bluegrass Jam Sessions.” Bill Wells talks about how his Pickin’ Parlor came to be, and his passion...
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To understand the mountains, one must hear their music: folk songs, old hymns, and haunting ballads passed down from generation to generation. In this segment, music maker Dean Eades joins to discuss...
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A short profile of many popular musicians who got their start in Spartanburg, S.C., including Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones, Paul Riddle, the Marshall Tucker Band, Pink Anderson (from whom Pink...
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“C” is for Chapman, Martha Marshall, II [b. 1949]. Musician. A native of Spartanburg, Chapman moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt and has lived there much of her adult life. Classified by many as...
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Noted South Carolina historian Dr. Walter Edgar discusses the key issues in SC History. in this episode, learn about South Carolina Music and Musicians. Genres of music like spirituals, blues, gospel...
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Country music as we know it today grew out of blues and folk music. In country music’s earliest form, southern musicians both white and black, created music for the working class that told stories...
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"Friday At Bill's" is a story about music and it's also a story about a small business in transition. Bill Wells, founder of Bill's Music Shop and Pickin' Parlor, died in November 2011, and his son...
